Truth be told, my brown God Daughter’s favorite artist is Taylor Swift. At age 15, the tales of a brokenhearted misfit resonate more with her than the hip-hop culture that molded my impressionable teen-age mind. The hip-hop imprint was greater than any lyric sheet or rhythmic synchronization pattern. The culture became a prevailing force in my community, a means of communication ranging from style to linguistics.
With the expansion of the hip-hop culture came more intense conversations between parents and their children, U.S. Presidents and their constituents either defending or berating the infiltration of gangster rap, one group in particular commanding more attention than most, N.W.A. Questions were asked from all sides. Was hip-hop beginning to normalize violence in urban communities? Doesn’t our youth have every right to voice concerns over growing police brutality in their neighborhoods?
Somewhere in the middle of the conversation, the answer was constructed and delivered in the form of verses narrated over beats composed by what would become one of the most prolific music producers in history. Perhaps their story telling method was not as palatable as authoritarians would have liked, however it was their story to tell. Compton was their community, weapons were brought, sold and used in their community, drugs were sold in their community, brown boys were called ni**ers in their community.
The group’s ascension to iconic superstardom would afford fans and critics alike the opportunity to witness the transformation of boys postured as self-proclaimed niggers to men. Ice-Cube and Dr. Dre would develop into business moguls who would mature to advocate realistic accounts of the fatal consequence involved in a sordid existence rooted in gang activity and violence. Thus, offering a comprehensive landscape of social issues that are often marginalized by pop culture.
Cross-culturalism is universal in this era and messaging is certainly not reserved for the founding ethnic group. Yet, as an African-American woman, I ask, what was Forever 21’s intention in celebrating the city of Compton and its favorite sons, N.W.A by way of apparel and a social media campaign?
Did the marketing department consider the added responsibility of African-American mothers instantly forced to recount the story behind N.W.A. to their children? Did the Forever 21 philanthropy department feel remorse in promoting a controversial racially charged message while not currently championing any charitable causes in the African-American community? Was the Forever 21 Public Relations department so confident in the African-American community’s willingness to accept such reckless advertising that it didn’t feel the need to reach out to an African-American owned Public Relations firm for counsel? Is the advertising department at Forever 21 spending enough advertising dollars with African-American owned publications and blogs to consider possibly offending their readers?
My guess is that the answer to all of these questions is a resounding no. Had Forever 21 given any African-American owned organization a private platform, then the lesson that they learned publicly in the wake of social media uprising could have been circumvented with one meeting?
Removing the merchandise and deleting the social media advertisement is a great start but only a beginning. Forever 21, I encourage you to open a dialogue with African-American publications like Rolling Out, Essence Magazine, Ebony Magazine or employ the services of advertising gurus Burrell Communications or Translation or assign your multicultural initiatives to boutique PR firms like 135 St Agency or The Chambers Group. Tapping into a brain trust that has a cultural stake in communities like Compton will only empower the Forever 21 brand. You must always consider, what is profit for your retail chain can result in a much higher cost to an entire community and too often that price is the lives of our children.
Forever 21, you don’t have to sacrifice social responsibility in order to commercialize edgy cross-cultural messaging. Perhaps Forever 21 could have achieved the desired results with positive innovation. Imagine those same white models used in the N.WA. campaign, donning edgy Tee’s that read, “Black Girls Rock!”
