Educated. Black. Men. This should not be a rarity in this day in age. We have a black president and not every young person should strive to be a ballplayer, hustler, or a rapper. Demetrius Walker, a Vanderbilt University alum and co-creator of DangerousNEGRO.com with his impressive team, is cultivating a new way to empower the youth of today to realize that being smart is cool. Using fashion as a platform, to reach the masses, they have created, this site to not only spread the message but also invoke a conversation. The line is not just about graphic tees and catchy logos. Ten years ago the urban apparel market was the toast of the town. It became the accessible mascot for young kids wanting to “keep it real” mimicking the style of their music idols and fake street thugs. Kids today are not buying into the façade. Now is the time raise the bar.
STYLE & SUBSTANCE: Who are the creators of Dangerousnegro.com?
dangerousNEGRO is myself, Demetrius Walker (Marketing Director), Tre Baker (Chairman), Sebastine Ujereh Jr. (President), Justin Giboney (Attorney), Tracy Holmes (Customer Service Director), Gary Mavindidze (Community Relations Specialist), and Frank Robinson (Technology Specialist). Six out of the seven of us went to Vanderbilt University, where we were friends with similar interests in Black empowerment. From there we all furthered our education in different ways. I’m proud to say we boast amongst our ranks an MBA, an MBA candidate, a PhD candidate, a JD., a Master of Engineering, and 2 Bachelor of Arts scholars. Justin and myself (Demetrius Walker) are also public speakers that travel around the country lecturing.
STYLE & SUBSTANCE: What is the meaning and goal behind your site Dangerousnegro.com?
dangerousNEGRO arose from the minds of Black men united in a quest to deliver consciousness to a lost generation. Point blank there is way too much coonin and way too much glorification of ignorant behavior going on these days. So we decided to take a stand by giving the world a positive visual representation of Black culture. Our goal was to start not just an innovative clothing line, but a movement that could branch out into every major avenue of influence in the Black community. We firmly believe that through our products we can increase the number of socially conscious individuals around the world, and, in turn, increase their impact on the community. By serving as a visual representation of the Black Empowerment Movement, our brand can help to inspire action and combat the apathy that has taken over many aspects of the Hip Hop culture and Black society.
STYLE & SUBSTANCE: How long did it take you to get your ideas and thoughts together to launch this exciting movement?
Well Vanderbilt was really the incubator for most of our ideas. So debates amongst ourselves in undergrad laid the foundation for what would become a dynamic movement. After our Chairman, Tre Baker, learned about the remarkable work of A. Philip Randolph, and him being labeled “the most dangerous Negro in America” by President Woodrow Wilson, we found a name to place on top of our thoughts. The FBI also called MLK a ‘dangerous Negro’ after the March on Washington. There was pretty much a trend used by the Federal government in labeling Black leaders with organizational skills “dangerous Negroes”. We felt like those are the cats we needed to emulate. Those are the people that put fear into the powers that be…. not these fake want to be gang bangers on TV and the radio. We noticed there was nothing out there as far as fashion that portrayed what we stood for… The Stop Snitching shirt movement was going hard in the streets. Dope Boy tees was popular. We wanted a visual representation of a new way of thinking… hence the clothing line. So to answer your question directly, it took a couple of months to officially launch the business, though our thoughts and beliefs had been constructed year’s prior. We started selling t-shirts in December of 2005 and officially became an LLC in February of 2006.
STYLE & SUBSTANCE: One of your hot sellers, the “Young.Gifted.Black.” tee was banned in a school in South Georgia, why do you think one tee shirt could cause such a negative reaction?
Taking pride in ones Blackness is often construed as being ultra radical, super militant, or as history tells us – dangerous. For a shirt like “Young.Gifted.Black” to scare the mess out of a public school in the 21st Century, it just proves we still have a long way to go in terms of American race relations. Everyone needs to understand that loving your ethnicity and taking pride in which you are does not mean you are racist. Racist people take pride in their race, but also go out of their way to degrade other races. There’s a huge difference.
STYLE & SUBSTANCE: The urban apparel market has become saturated with a lot of clothing that may be branded as trendy and “overnight sensations” what will make your brand stand the test of time?
dangerousNEGRO will be here forever because it goes way beyond just clothing. It’s a mentality, a lifestyle, and a way of thinking. We’re taking the fashion industry by storm because we’ve been so shut out that it’s only sharpened our swords… People’s ignorance has only made us stronger and helped us build more character, confidence, and competitive spirit…Not to mention, it has forced us to cut out middle men and make ourselves much more profitable.
STYLE & SUBSTANCE: Are you surprised about the success of the site?
As far as success is concerned, we’re happy that people have embraced our message. However, we still have not reached the extremely high goals that we set for ourselves back in 2005. Honestly, we feel like we’re just getting started. There’s so much more to accomplish. Until we can clearly see a paradigm shift in the mentalities of our people, we really haven’t accomplished anything. Every household in the Black Diaspora needs to be familiar with the concept of dangerousNEGRO.
STYLE & SUBSTANCE: What is next for dN|Be Apparel and dangerousNEGRO.com?
dN|Be will be branching into every major avenue of influence in the Black community. TV is not out of the question. Political engagement is in the works. We have books coming out. As far as the clothing line, people will notice more attention to detail, quality, and creativity in our designs and concepts. Stay tuned for dope hats, more women’s selections, and premium/limited edition items in the near future.
STYLE & SUBSTANCE: What is your Style & Substance?
Our company’s tag line is “The Style’s In The Message!” Therefore, what gives dangerousNEGRO substance is the principle of Black Empowerment that goes into every decision we make. That puts us in our own lane. Show me another clothing line that inspires so much thought and action in the minds of its followers. We own social media… look at how large our following is on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and Youtube. There’s simply nobody on the Planet Earth doing what we’re doing right now. We’re in a league of our own.
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