Black Child Clothing: Fashion With A Conscious Cause

Black Child Clothing is a Chicago-based clothing brand making a cultural impact in our community.

In their most recent “300 signature collection”, Black Child Clothing is commemorating the approximately 300 Freedom Suit Cases filed in the St. Louis Circuit Court House from 1814 to 1860. It was illegal for slaves in the United States to be found literate at that time, imagine that!

People “commonly” correlate slavery with the physical torture of Africans kidnapped and taken to the Americas. Specifically, with depictions of slaves picking cotton in the hot sun, lynching, rape, being whipped, and limbs amputated if caught attempting to escape the horrific conditions.

Through it all, the mental torture is incomparable. Not being permitted to read and write and potentially killed for doing so. That’s how you know that knowledge is power! One day, you’re reluctantly set “free” in a society that regulates the transfer and sale of property based on one’s signature. How do you know what you’re signing and the repercussions of signing something that could be detrimental to you and your family’s existence? Let’s put this into context! Post slavery, being held captive physically and mentally for over 200 years, having to now sign documents, theoretically bartering with your signature to receive an item (i.e., “signing our life away”).

The designs on the 300 Signature Collection display replicas of authentic slave signatures from these 300 Freedom Suit Cases.

“Owner and Founder, Matthew Delashment, created Black Child Clothing to continue the story from slavery to freedom, hoping to represent the move to empowerment among the Black community. He named his clothing company “Black Child” after being inspired by the poem “Hey Black Child,” written by Useni Eugene Perkins. Their 300 Signature Collection aims to further Mr. Perkins’ vision into today’s generation, taking pivotal moments within Black culture and creatively expressing them through fashion.”

Black Child Clothing is pretty remarkable. Affordable, fashionable, and a walking conversation piece. The historical relevance behind their collections deserves several rounds of applause. The retail price of each piece varies from $24.99 – $119 and can be purchased now at: https://www.blackchildclothing.com. We can’t wait to see what other fashionable facts they hit us with next. Don’t forget to follow them on social media via Instagram and Facebook.