Tales From the Childhood: Back to School Shopping

August, 1990.

Reese's mom takes 13-year old Reese to the mall in order to purchase a new set of clothes for the school year. Reese's mom thinks this will be an easy task, but she hasn't realized that her daughter recently decided to adopt a new style of dress. Reese's determination to stick with this new style will prove problematic for the task at hand...

Mom: "Hey, Reese, try these jeans on. They're on sale."

Reese: "I'm sorry Mom, but I can't do that."

Mom: "Why not?"

Reese: "Because, those are the "Man's" jeans."

Mom: "The "Man's" jeans?"

Reese: "Uh-huh."

Mom: "And, what's wrong with the "Man's" jeans?"

Reese: "Mom!?! We are at war!!!"

Mom: "We are?"

Reese: "YES!"

Mom: "With who?"

Reese: "THE "MAN"!!"

Mom: "I see."

Reese: "We, as Black Americans, will no longer freely give our money to the “Man”.”

Mom: "We won't?"

Reese: "NO!!"

Mom: "Why not?"

Reese: "Because the "Man" is trying to take us down! But, he will not take us down..."

Mom: "Uh-oh..."

Reese: "...we will survive by ANY MEANS NECESSARY..."

Mom: "Oh, geez! I knew this was going to happen. I should have never allowed her to read the Autobiography of Malcolm X..."

Reese: "...WE DIDN'T LAND ON PLYMOUTH ROCK! PLYMOUTH ROCK LANDED ON US!!!"

Mom: "...or watch Do the Right Thing..."

Reese: "FIGHT THE POWER!! WE'VE GOT TO FIGHT THE POWER'S THAT BE!!!"

Mom: "Alright, alright. What do I have to buy to get you to stop quoting Malcolm X and Public Enemy???"

Reese: "I have a list of things that I am prepared to wear this school year."

Mom [reading Reese's list]: "Sigh. African medallions- only the red, green, and black kind, not the one with yellow on it, because yellow doesn't have any place on an African medallion anyways, that's just stupid..."

Reese: "Word."

Mom [still reading]: "A red, green, and Black "X" cap, and also several Black Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, and Marcus Garvey t-shirts..."

Reese: "Word."

Mom [continues reading]: "Any and everything Cross-Colors..."

Reese: "Cross-Colors is fresh, Mom, I'm tellin' you!!"

Mom [finishing reading]: "And a couple of New Edition/Bell Biv Devoe buttons?!?"

Reese: "Ronnie DeVoe is soooo hottt!!!"

Mom: "Alright, Reese, is any of this stuff here at the mall, because I'm not getting it if it's not."

Reese: "I KNEW the "Man" already had you brainwashed, Mom. I KNEW you would make this difficult for me. That's why I made sure we came to the only mall that has a Black-owned clothing store. Let's go!!"

Mom: "Why did I have to instill pride of culture in this girl!?!"

Reese and her mom leave Sears and arrive at the very colorful, Black-owned boutique called The Motherland.

Mom: "Oh, geez. This looks expensive..."

Reese: "Hehehehehe!!! Finally! A store just for my people!!"

Mom: "Alright. Show me what "your people" want and I'll tell you if "your family" can afford it."

Reese: "Oooooo, I want all of these medallions, these X caps, these BBD buttons..."

Mom: "Uh-huh..."

Reese: "This Cross-Colors green jacket, this Cross-Colors yellow t-shirt, and this Cross-Colors orange jumpsuit!!"

Mom: "Wow. Has Black pride rendered you color blind?"

Reese: "Ring it up, cashier!"

Mom: "Hold on. All of these Cross-Colors items cost way too much! The t-shirt alone is $40.00!!"

Reese: "Are you saying, you're not going to buy this stuff for me?"

Mom: "Yes."

Reese: "But, MOM!! You're the one who's always saying that we should support Black-owned businesses. Now, you don't want to do it. I can't believe this!!"

Mom: "I knew those words would come back to haunt me."

Reese [looking sorry and pitiful]: "I DON'T BELIEVE IN ANYTHING ANYMORE!!!"

Mom: "Alright! Far be it from me to destroy my own child's foolish ideals. You get one BBD button and one Cross-Color's t-shirt. The rest of the stuff we'll buy off the street in the city. Bootleg is much cheaper than authentic. AND, you'll still be supporting Black-owned “businesses”."

Reese: "WORD!! THAT'S DOPE, MOM!!"

Mom: "Yea, yea, whatever."

Reese: "GET UP, GET, GET, GET DOWN! MY MOM IS THE BEST IN THIS TOWN!!!"

Mom: "Sigh. I've created a monster."




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