Blacklava Apparel: For Asians, By Asians, But So What?

I recently came across Blacklava, a California-based company that sells what IMdiversity.com dubs “Asian American-themed apparel with a political consciousness.” Blacklava caters almost exclusively to the Asian American community. It offers T-shirts, buttons, and bumper stickers with messages like “I Speak English,” “I Suck at Math,” “I Will Not Love You Long Time,” and “I Am Not a Terrorist.” As Blacklava puts it, it’s “clothing for a new state of mind.”

Ryan Suda started the company in 1992 initially for surf wear, but soon after progressed to T-shirts intent on raising cultural awareness and civil activism. His first protest shirt displayed the slogan “Asian, Not Oriental.” Through the years, Blacklava gained a strong cult following within the APA community. Perhaps the most commendable aspect of Blacklava’s mission has been its unwavering dedication to APA independent artists. It sponsors the “Tuesday Night Cafe Project,” which showcases local underground musicians and spoken word poets while fundraising to bring art resources to inner-city APA neighborhoods.

Grateful as I may be that such a company thrives for my community’s benefit and embraces political participation, I admit that I find most of the message tees, well, distasteful and chintzy.

Moreover, wearing a message tee like “Got Privilege?” ironically transforms a very serious message into a trendy commodity I cannot possibly take seriously. It simply does not emanate that same provocative humor-from-pain essence of Margaret Cho comedy, which I assume was the original point.

Also, I suspect they may in fact do more harm than good. Seeing an Asian American wear a T-shirt that reads “I Suck at Math” or “I Will Not Love You Long Time” hardly makes me think, “Wow, he or she really defies the stereotypes.” Rather, it makes me think, “Wow, he or she is neither creative nor powerful enough to instigate social change in a productive way.”

Doubtlessly, as a conservative young professional, I am not Blacklava’s target audience. However, even my college-aged liberal-leaning sister, to whom such apparel would much more likely appeal to, would be subject to ridicule from me if I caught her wearing these tees. This is because sporting these messages on your person speak less about the socio-political issues at hand and much more about the immaturity of the individual wearing it. In a balancing test, the scales weigh unequivocally in favor of a more adroit mode of civil disobedience.

I absolutely love how Blacklava promotes APA musicians and artists. I also love the fact it sells books and other publications I would have trouble finding elsewhere. Above all, I hold the company in highest esteem for going to great lengths to give back to its community. It’s just the slogans that make me cringe. “I Am Not White”? No, really. I’m not. And in case you didn’t already figure that out, you can read it off my chest.