* MY BRANDING

Brands, labels, titles, it’s interesting how we, as humans have chosen to identify power, status, ourselves. For me, it all started when I was in elementary school in Michigan, I was out playing with my friends during recess, and one of the teachers walked right up to me and asked if I played any sports. I looked to them in awe, instantly they spouted out, ". . . well, that would be a waste of height; if not, you won't make it to college unless you play sports but lose weight first". Mind you; I was 6'0  & 220 lbs. in the 6th grade, still, I was astounded and hurt by this supposedly "wiser and more mature" person perception of me.

That day I became a label, the tall awkward fat black kid. I ran home and told my mom that I would never go to college based on sports alone. I would use my intellect from academic disciplines to make it on my accord. Little had I known, at the ripe old age of 11, I had entered a phase of self-awakening that went beyond my self-identity and illuminated society as a whole; how we all developed as a collective culture of sub-cultural trends, ideas and conditional imprinting from generational labels. In this adult's world, I already was branded, a young, tall, black kid; who's the only chance at success was athletics and noting more.

I began to understand where the conditioning went deeper into the mind, I couldn't listen to certain music because of my parent's religious beliefs, I couldn't wear individual styles of clothes because it was associated with being too "flamboyant" or "ghetto." As children we understand these words on the surface but not for the intended, implied intent, as we investigated our parents' faces, we began to understand the generational scars cast on them by other's comprehension of "the unknown" . . . a stagnated fear of not being aligned with their own "identities."

Lumped into a history of stereotypes, we must be either this or that, knowing in-between, who are we if not just ethnicities, social ranking, or gender-identity roles? Up until some point in life, family values could protect us with the pleasantries of a false sense of protection . . . all shattered within seconds of stepping into the "grown-up world."

The effect, generations of kids learning from good old-fashioned group conditioning, swearing by whatever our parents or older siblings taught us, like running with the scissors we were told not to run within hand. Dull and cracked, we used these scissors to cut through the fat of division, right into our homo-socialized tribes of girls teaching girls vs. boys teaching boys confusing a vast majority of individuals and their assigned sub-cultures of identification further.

Made-up rules established from a hierarchy of status to be drizzled down by order of those whose family had the newest "it" item. . . guaranteeing rite of passage into society. Consumerism, a byproduct of demands from the titles and status of prestige for which they represent. The best visual that comes to mind is the scene from the movie "Devil Wears Prada." When Meryl Streep's character (Miranda Priestly) is questioning Anne Hathaway's character (Andy), about what she found so comical about the difference between two blue belts she was debating over. Streep's character was pausing to school the young and naive child of the correct color, which was Cerulean blue to be exact and how Andy's fashion choices, image, and identity were decided for her and not by her.

(Devil Wears Prada Scene https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awmyDjY-8e8)

So, is it a culture that decides the trend or the trend which defines the culture? Growing up through a history of deemed cultural appropriation, we're being instructed on what we can and can't say & whom we can & can't say it around. From a dual perspective of acceptance, I got harassed for adapting to mainstream pop culture or "white music," like all 90's kids, and from the Midwest, I loved Nickelodeon, TGIF Friday, boy bands, country music, and hip-hop culture.

Growing up in Michigan, all we knew was corn, farms, cows, and bonfires; being the only cross culturalization we had to experience life outside of our established tribes, was when we could hang out with our friends. We'd go from listening to country music to rap to 90's garage bands, and right back to rap, and these were the first times we ever felt real. We could be more than one thing, not just a color, not just a neighborhood, not just music, and for me, not just the tall awkward fat kid who couldn't fit in. Our worlds of home life & social life were finally able to merge effortlessly; instantly, a whole new world of brands, concepts, and ideologies thrust upon us, and we indulged eagerly.

(The Power of Inclusive Marketing https://insights.newscred.com/inclusive-marketing/ )

Up until then, kids born after the 1980s only knew culture from the late '80s, then we observed it morph into 90's culture with the introduction of the internet, later in the early 2000's it became the "Urban culture" . . . fast forward to now, and it's  "the young peoples" culture. Brand diversity has been reborn time again and returns stronger each reincarnation, giving birth to a multitude of ethnic backgrounds with various generations of conditioning, growing past conditioned social norms of genre-based stereotyping.

With greater accessibility to technology, the more significant influence of trends the market will see and coming consumers can explore, the goal of diversity becoming much clearer as we navigate it ourselves. By taking the "group" ownership out of free expression,  present and coming generations may dive deeper into the depths of what it means to be "self" vs. conforming to current or previously established social guidelines.

Our entire lives, we have been living between the blurred lines of society and family conditioning, attempting to blend gaps of understanding through the biased perspective of experiences. Who are we if we aren't being told? Whose voice do we reference if we can't find our own? We are taught in Elementary to try, coached in Jr. High to get ready, tested in high school to be prepared, and in college, we compile it all together to learn memorized information to mimic on demand.  

Upon graduating, we enter a world of parentless parenting, which we are quickly reminded to assimilate and accommodate to "society says," primarily driven by the fear of not fitting in. Naturally, without question, we all fall back to the tried and true, the old beauties and nostalgia of cultures and times of ancestors, the "simpler times." With this sentiment, we become the very trends or labels that we feel no longer serve us, yet we keep identifying & romanticizing these versions of past selves.

Bridging cultural, generational, and socio-economic gaps of understanding, is crucial to how we extinct biased conditional beliefs that hinder growth on all levels. What we are, who we are, and how we choose to express ourselves is our legacy. Trends will always come from the demographics of youth, streets, and the people who live their lives day-to-day in the trenches. Morals tethered and streamlining from the actions of the brands with which we support, respect, and represent; because this is how empathy and brand loyalty are attained, thru trust.

Brand diversity is not only our collective ancestor's legacy, but it's our future-present selves’ birthright to gain clarity to the individual and still see the "I" within-group identities, using this knowledge as a gift vs. a curse. By viewing status as a tool and not a weapon, we can utilize innovative marketing methods to educate ourselves on the future of economics from subcultural demographics, which we already invest capital into daily. Companies are now identifying the individual within the self, not on tangible imprints only but also the intangible desires, recognizing the unknowns of where some dare not go but appreciating the gift of giving through expression.

When brands can genuinely imagine how people want to be heard, not for validation's sake but for exposing our hearts' true passions and interest correlated to something meaningful; we welcome in new generations of facilitators who bring love to the careers they work, stability to the communities they live and value to the products which they choose to invest.

Whatever we choose to represent now, the critical factor is that we are inspired. Inspired to be a brand of humans who care enough to embrace the beauty in all diversity we represent and honor how we share it with future generations.

Love,

JAH