Teens Make Video About Dressing Up To Defy Stereotypes

Suited and Booted! Roland Martin spoke with high school student Hayden Hinton and counselor Tiffany Gholson about an inspiring video making the rounds on the Internet.

Black male students at Illinois’ Central High School put together “Suit & Tie in the 217” to offer a counter-narrative for young black men. For Black History Month, they released a video of students dressed to the nines with the messages “we are not gangsters and thugs,” “we are employees and volunteers,” “we are scholars” and “we are athletes.”

“The negative stories told daily in the media and in our culture about our young African-American men tend to ignore their successes and don’t tell the full story about how young Black men are becoming leaders within our community schools,” said Central High counselor Tiffany Gholson, who worked with the students on the effort. “In this video, our students reclaim the narrative of who they are and inspire other students to follow in their footsteps.”

You’ll want to watch the “Suit and Tie in the 217” video that inspired the segment below.