H&M Controversy

 

    I am speechless, however I am not surprised by the recent racist controversy that yet another store has bought on itself. First let me start by saying as a woman of color and mother of 5 who has purchased merchandise from the retailer the picture of a young King sickened me and a plethora of celebrities.

On January 8, 2018, H&M posted an ad with a young African-American boy with a sweatshirt that said,“Coolest Monkey In The Jungle“.  Over the past 5 years I have shopped for my children and have come across many clothing that had a picture of a monkey but with no caption like this. Majority of the time I encountered this at stores that are frequently shopped at by lower and middle class parents who may be on a budget. As someone who knows everything the entertainment industry or fashion industry releases has a message behind it. I say this because in order to make it on the shelves it has too be approved. How does something in this nature make it past marketing and promotion, an executive and then placed in stores? Rasicim is very much alive and it is in our faces everyday. Unless we as minorities continue to buy the merchandise these hideous clothing with such slogans will continue to be manufactured , unfortunately I also question the parents of this young child on how or why they allowed this and/or why it was ok?

On the flip side of this story, H&M have lost some great musicians who merged with them in the past and present. Abel Tesfya aka The Wkend cut ties with the Swedish Company. Social media went in a frenzy over this poor choice in advertisement. Le’Bron James took to instagram and expressed his disgust. James, stated, “African-American people will always have to break barriers. After this the Cavs superstar posted a picture of the young child used in the ad with a crown above his head, replaced the controversial H&M slogan for another crown and the heading read “King Of The World”. I can’t agree enough that it is time we teach our youth just how real racism is and they are indeed Kings and Queens.

Nevertheless, one Hip Hop Mogul who is known to help African-Americans break barriers with his new slogan #TEAMLOVE is none other than Sean “PDiddy” Combs, Combs has reportedly offered the young model one million dollar contract to model for his Sean John, children apparel. Another Hip Hop Artist G-Eazy also cut ties with H&M, the rapper took to Instagram as well and stressed his concern about the recent ad H&M posted. G-Eazy was excited to start his merge with the company that set for release March 1, the rapper said the feelings of excitement for his global campaign quickly evaporated.

So my question is when does it stop? When will the consumers stop falling for this blinded racism? Why don’t more people buy from small businesses? I urge Society just to take the time to think about how these situations affect us? Know matter what race you are we are all part of the human race. These opinions are solely mine and as a writer my goal and obligation is to speak from facts and my spirit. I would love some feedback from our Readers. What are your thought? As for me,my family and friends will boycott any company who promotes racism and negativity.

 

********** THIS IS WHATS HOT IN HIP HOP****

About ChefJuvon

Chief Social Media Officer/ Co-owner of WHATSHOTINHIPHOP.COM. Owner and Excutive Chef at Jayvon Makers Catering and J.M. Cakes. Love to play piano, cook and go out at times. Used to sing with the Boys Chior of Harlem so singing and music developed from my bone narrow. LOOKING FOR MOR BLOGGERS..HIT ME
This entry was posted in Community News, Fashion, Hip Hop, Music, Politics and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.
0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest

0 Comments
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments