Pyer Moss designer Jean-Raymond's #theyhavenames shirt is proper use of a platform.

At his Spring 2015 menswear collection Kerby Jean-Raymond wore a shirt in tribute to the many black men who have been victims of the justice system from their murders by police, to their killers not being held accountable for their crimes to the full extent of the law. He has recognized that he has a platform to influence others and is using his position to keep his peers and supporters aware. Though the shirt may not make it to production this still draws attention to the issues at hand and was an excellent use of his platform. 

According to Jean-Raymond’s Instagram @kerbito , “I screened my shirt by hand, I hit my head in the process and never cleaned off the screen so it’s ruined. I can’t make you one right now. Not sure if I even want to. I’m working with some interesting people currently to figure out ways to make a lasting impact on our culture. What we come up with may or may not be as public. Thank you for supporting and inquiring #useyourplatform” 

In a time where we have seen so much turmoil ensue due to the system being designed against us what often happens is we get outraged for a few weeks, then go back to daily life till a new headline hits a little too close to home again and we repeat. Often the reason so many move on so quickly is because the problem is not in their face anymore. Though we know the main stream media is controlled by those in cahoots with our government to dumb us down and keep us preoccupied with irrelevant issues. Do our mainstream artists and public figures have to move on as well?

If more artists and people with a platform in the mainstream pop culture would keep speaking on injustices maybe “the people” aka their fanbase of sheeples would care enough to start acting. Considering so many of them (especially in rap) were raised in areas and demographics targeted by this subliminal method of control and oppression, you would think they would care enough to try and keep those same places and people aware. 

We can fight back by teaching one another and the youth. It begins with not forgetting and moving on. It’s never an old topic because it is always affecting us.