“There are more guns in my hood than jobs. Times are still hard and I can’t knock another man’s hustle when he’s just trying to survive. I can assure you that any race will clash with each other when put in a situation of poverty and violence. The streets are real. It’s not a video; this sh*t is so real that it hurts. I know what it feels like to be hungry and lose control, but I need my race to progress—we need you. ARME will continue to expose our plight until the world pays attnetion. If they don’t pay attention, our world will eventually become their world and...welcome to the hood...help protect American hoods.”

This is not a speech by a politician, an activist or a reverend—it is a quote on a T-shirt.

This reporter was going to work in Brooklyn, when she spotted a shirt, with a graphic of a huge hand gun and what looked like bullets, and the words, 'Protect the hood.'

A line of T-shirts by a company called ARME – with images of nine millimeters, AK47s, switchblades, bullets and clips—is being sold in at least one chain store, and on line.

The concept seems somewhat exploitative, given the nature of America's youth (and adult) obsession with guns; but the company, claims that their raison d'etre is merely to provide an eyeopener.

The pictures of the guns are so big, that it is that which catches the eye, long before the words are scanned.

Unless you're recruiting, or highlighting the point that American citizens have the right to bear arms, initially it looks like the toting of a big gun is just being encouraged.

Then the question has to be raised as to who is doing the promoting, and for what end? Is it merely a financial consideration? A disguised project with genocidal objectives? Or is it an ode to a socio-political mission with revolutionary leanings? Or circle complete, is it just about piling up the bucks, plain and simple?

"On Wednesday May 19, I was among a couple of hundred people who took the pilgrimage to Ferncliff Cemetry to observe the 79th birthday of Malcolm X; and today (May 20), it is the birthday of the late, great Abubadika Sonny Carson, and both these mentors strived to save our communities from death and destruction," New York City teacher Caleef Cousar spoke to the Challenge yesterday. Just after he made these comments, he said he saw a13-year old boy with a fake gun being chased down and apprehended by cops as he tried to rob a bodega.

"It is a serious wake up call that speaks to the desperation that some of our people feel, because

quite deliberately the system makes sure of the dire conditions. This child will now get locked up, possibly raped, and learn some new tactics on the larceny note. The cycle will continue. These companies see what is happening in the streets and either: market high-priced garbage, to make us feel a value in clothes, which really are manufactured in sweat shops and have less value than a couple of dollars; or they exploit our condition; like Kool cigarettes and liquor with urban imagery. They've always done it. It is up to us to recognise it and reject it.

"We should be buying Black and positively. There are enough Black businesses to service virtually all our needs. We don't have to support these white companies which hide insiduously behind Black retail staff."

In the wake of influential groups like Public Enemy and X Clan, and Spike Lee's 1992 Malcolm X movie, mainstream stores across the globe began selling Africa-shaped insignia and pseudo-African-style clothes; and 'X' hats, T-shirts and snacks etc. It got to ridiculous proportions, so obviously about the dough, as opposed to any kind of cultural sensitivity and/or acknowledgement.

"There's a new trend coming and the clothing stores see it," said Cousar, head of Transitions, a community based organization. "They are counting their projected profits daily. People are hurting, and we always find a way of expressing how we feel through our music, dance and through what we wear. This summer is going to be hot, and cultural type clothes will be in. Bob Marley, Malcolm X, Huey P, Min. Khallid Abdul Muhammad, they are all on T-shirts. Thankfully many brothers and sisters are just paying homage to our grassroots and personal icons, but some agencies and companies, some of them - Jimmy Jazz and all that, they are just trying to capitalize on our situation.

“With these gun T-shirts, it is by no accident that they are now marketing this sense of violence in our community. These shirts are probably not being marketed in white communities. There is violence and poverty and unemployment in Little Italy and Chinatown, but they are not going to put their problems out on a T-shirt like that. In fact, violence in their communities is glamorized and sanitized, like in movies and TV such as: 'Scarface,' 'The Sopranos,' 'Fist of Fury', ' The Five Deadly Venoms,' or plain white America's 'Kill Bill' and 'Pulp Fiction.' Their

violence is celebrated, but those communites are not painted as deadly, violence-proned peoples. 'It's just entertainment,' is what we hear about them. With us, they act like it is part of our nature.

"My feeling is that these chain stores selling these t-shirts with gun logos are just trying to take

advantage of the disadvantaged."

There are many Black-owned and operated businesses who sell cultural products, from T-shirts, posters, films, food stuffs and household products: including Harlem's Soul Brothers Boutique, Nubian Heritage (in Queens and Brooklyn; and numerous vendors across the city.)

The Challenge could not find out by Thursday's (May 21) press time who was funding ARME, but when asked if they were a Black, urban or mixed company? The man answering the phone quickly said, "Urban, we're urban."

He refused to say much more, and the paper waited and waited for 'Brad' the marketing guy to return two calls as promised.

ARME stands for A Rapidly Moving Entity. 'Looking for soldiers in search of an Arme,' they say. On the care label of their clothing, they state: 'Made in...a hurry."

Powerful points are made on their shirts, and–a suitable play on words–the imagery is arresting.

A range of T-shirts, one says:

"There are no gun factories on my block; there are no gun shops in my hood so if my t-shirt shocks you then fix the problem because this is just a t-shirt,"

And another: "Imagine this pistol being pointed in your face so somebody can eat tonight. this is my daily reality...Welcome to the Hood."

Trying to be as 'hood' as they want to be, a trip to their somewhat sophisticated website reveals part of their stated mission.

They say, " Arme was created with the fundamental idea to be the voice for an otherwise voiceless community. We are unquestionably against gun violence, and for that matter, any kind of violence. Through our clothing we have been able to raise awareness and spark an interest because of the very unique message we stand for and portray. We believe this is the

reason our clothing has been so successful. We attract a wide range of consumers who been requesting our product and assistance to reach out to their students, to police officers who have witnessed the truth in our messages. Our customers are not limited."

The disclaimer at the top of their site states: "Carrying a pistol is one year mandatory—don’t do it. Felons get charged a mandatory one to 10 years by the federal government. Jail is not a cool place; just ask a real gangsta, he'll let you know."

“The answer is economic and political. The resources exist to salvage our great community, but those in government and business who can help us, have a vested interest in not doing so,” concluded Cousar. “We need to take control of our own future. We should have enough power and respect and political muscle to determine what is and not allowed in our neighborhood. We sure have the spending power. Let us focus on the business of being self-sufficient.

"Every day they come after our children and their parents: through the educational system; the court system; the criminal justice system; the greedy leisure and entertainment industry. Our dollars determine their bottom line, our own pride should determine ours—if not that then at least let’s flex like the big players we say we are and tell those businesses what images we will tolerate; and not keep letting those who hate us, exploit us while building mansions and trust funds off of our bleeding backs.”