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Cornealius C. Simmons

English 131 MA: Analysis: Why Is Everyone Focused on Zuckerbergs Hoodie,

Authur, Somini Sengupta

Dr. Adrienne Phillips

February 9, 2020 

            When I walked into the store, I noticed the sign on the door read, “Please remove all hoodies before entering the store”, I had just flown into Sanford, Florida airport and needed to make a quick stop at local convenience store to pick up that toothbrush that escapes my packing skills every trip. When I entered the store, I took off my black Adidas hoodie even though I did not want to comply; I understood that this was for security and I complied. The history of the city that I was in did not escape my memory. 

A teenage boy named Trayvon Martin was wearing a hoodie the night he was shot and killed in a gated townhouse community in Sanford, Florida (Sengupta) 2012.  Trayvon Martin and I have two distinctions that we share; we are Black Americans targeted for dress code violations. As stated in the article Why Is Everyone Focused on Zuckerbergs Hoodie, the author guises at the business establishments view that Mr. Zuckerberg,the CEO of Face Book was extremely disrespectful for his appearance in a hoody.  His critics thought it was a sign of immaturity and disrespect. His defenders stated his hoodie signified Sillicon Valley ethos: a brash, youthful self-confidence( Sengupta) The author did a great job displaying the difference in the different views of the hoody and what the hoodie represents to our society in America today.

I often wonder if when I went into the store and did not comply would I have made it to the Super Bowl that weekend, this article written by Somini Sengupta  was fresh in my mind and I thought about Mr. Zuckerberg and wondered if he would have complied and if not what would be the results. In the Black Community, the Hoodie, has always been more then gear to work out in or stay warm, it is culturally connected and is an instant escape portal from society when pulled over the heads of many Black Americans. When it was stated that Mr. Zuckerberg was a master of optics it appeared to me that Mr. Zuckerberg is a master of taking advantage of the media and using the swagger and style of a black culture to achieve this look and have his defenders call it brash, youthful self-confidence.

When society sees a Black American in a hoodie, the media image is not one that displays brash youthful self-confidence. The image portrayed is the exact opposite of previous stated image, Black Americans, perceived to be the complete opposite even dangaerous.