William Wilson Partners with Allen Edmonds Shoes
Celebrity clothing designer, William Wilson, known for being one of the most exclusive custom clothiers in America, has entered into a partnership with men’s shoe manufacturer Allen Edmonds as a brand ambassador. The agreement will allow his custom clothing firm, William Wilson Clothing, to provide its clients with the full line of highly respected men’s shoes, including custom shoes, without having to go to the store. So clients can order their suits, shirts, skirts, trousers, overcoats and shoes without ever having to leave their home or office. This is the first apparel partnership for William Wilson Clothing.
“No suit is complete without a great pair of shoes. My customers had often asked if I was going to start making shoes, or if I had recommendations for shoes. I knew it was important to provide that service, but I also wasn’t going to rush into an agreement just to say I provide them. I wanted something that was commensurate with the William Wilson brand. Allen Edmonds has a legacy
of quality, a reputation for superb customer service, and a commitment to sticking to its core values. The fact that it is an American company was icing on the cake. After meeting with Paul Graangard, President and CEO of Allen Edmonds, and Heron Laing, GM of the Allen Edmonds store in the upscale Southpark area of Charlotte, NC, I knew this was the company to partner with. I look forward to a long, and productive, relationship between Allen Edmonds Shoe Company and William Wilson Clothing.”
In honor of the new partnership, for the month of January, clients who purchase 2 William Wilson suits will receive a pair of Allen Edmonds shoes.
To schedule an appointment, or to learn more about William Wilson Clothing
Log on to WilliamWilsonClothing.com
William Wilson to Design Jacket for Bronko Nagurski Winner
From the Grammys, to the Oscars, to NASCAR, if there is a high profile sports award to be given, celebrity clothing designer, William Wilson appears to be the man to call. The Bronko Nagurski Awards are no exception. William Wilson has been chosen to design the jacket for the winner of the 2011 Bronko Nagurski Award. This is one of the most prestigious awards in all of sports. It is presented to the top defensive player in college football. The award will be presented on December 12 at 7PM, at the Westin Hotel.
Previous award winners include some of the most recognizable names in the NFL. Some of the legendary winners are Warren Sapp, Champ Bailey, Charles Woodson, Terrell Suggs, James Laurenitus, Brian Orakpo, and last year’s winner Da’Quan Bowers. This years finalists are nothing to sneeze at either. They are Mark Barron from Alabama, Morris Claiborne from LSU, Luke Kuechly from Boston College, Whitney Mercilus from Illinois, and Devon Still from Penn State.
“The Bronko Nagurski Award is about consistency in excellence, at the highest level. The William Wilson brand operates on the same principle. To partner with such prestigious brands as the Bronko Nagurski Award and The Touchdown Club was an easy decision.” says CEO, William Wilson. “I only partner the William Wilson brand with brands that share a common creed. John Rocco has done an amazing job with the Bronko Nagurski brand, and I look forward to a long lasting relationship and productive relationship.”
No one knows who the winner is. That secret is kept well guarded. But whoever it is, they will definitely be well dressed. They will be presented with a midnight black, custom sports coat from the William Wilson Black Label Collection. The Black Label is an invitation-only collection, and it one of the most exclusive clothing brands in the world. Though the jacket will be priceless, a regular sports coat from the collection has a starting retail price of $3500.
Shut Up and Do It
I’m just gonna come out and say this. Do you know why many of you aren’t successful? You don’t deserve to be. Why? It’s simple. You talk too much, and don’t work hard enough. You TALK more about being successful than you are willing to SACRIFICE to be successful. Until you are ready to commit to being successful; just shut up. Stop holding our ears hostage. Stop telling everyone what you are going to do “one of these days”. We all have that friend, buddy, or colleague that since the day you met them, they have always told you what they need to do, but you never see them do it. They are always talking about success, but they never commit to having any.
Success doesn’t accidentally happen. You don’t just fall into it. You work for it. You fight for it. You risk for it. And you sacrifice for it. Sometimes you win, and sometimes you lose, but you fight. You get knocked down and you get back up. THAT is where success comes from! I laugh sometimes when I read my Twitter timeline and I read “Lets Go!”, “Let’s Get It”, “Make it Happen” and all the other stuff. I can read their timelines for a month and not see what they are doing to actually “Get It”. It’s bravado. Don’t get me wrong. I say it sometimes too. But then I make something happen. Not everything I make happen results in success, but they do result in a lesson learned. A lesson I wouldn’t have learned just typing “Let’s Get It” on Twitter and then going about my usual routine. Yelling words of encouragement, with no plan of executing it, is cheer leading. “Let’s Go?” Yea right!
On Christmas night at 12:30 I sent out a tweet asking 1 simple question: “Whose working?” The people that responded were the ones I thought would respond. They were on their computers planning for 2011, while most were out partying. They were exactly who I thought would be at home working. Because I see them all year doing the same thing. They don’t tweet about parties, they don’t tweet about their relationship problems, and they aren’t constantly re-tweeting what everyone else is saying or doing. They are moving forward. They are sacrificing. They have put their heads down and committed to being the best. They will be successful. Or at least they have the best chance. I’m not saying, you can’t party. I’m not saying don’t enjoy yourself. But I AM saying, if you don’t fully commit, you won’t fully grow.
While sitting at my computer at 12:24 Christmas night, I came up with an incredible idea, that I will be launching soon. I’m giving away $100,000 dollars to a fortunate person that follows me on Twitter and “Likes” my Facebook FanPage. This is going to be an incredible branding opportunity. I wouldn’t have come up with this in the club. I also formed a strategic partnership that I will be announcing next year. I wouldn’t have done that in the club either.
I’ve had over a hundred people ask me what am I doing for New Years Eve. I told them “I will be in church. I am giving God my real time, not my obligatory, or spare time.” Many of them applauded my actions. Some even said, they needed to do that. To which I responded, “Why don’t you just do it then?” They have a variety of different answers, but it all comes down to where your priorities are. I’m not saying they should be like me, or that I am right and they’re wrong. I started doing this a couple of years ago, and my life began to change. I started becoming more successful; and the craziest goals I could think of began to be exceeded. This has worked for me, and I will keep doing it.
Success is a fruit that takes time to ripen. We are about to embark on not only a new year, but a new decade. Now is your chance to commit to greatness. I’m no one special, if I can be successful, you can definitely be. But you have to commit. You have to be 100% in. Otherwise, you’re only fooling yourself, and wasting a ton of time and money. Buying a pack of business cards and building a website doesn’t make you a success. It doesn’t even make you a business. I can build a website, and buy business cards that say I’m a neurosurgeon; but you don’t want me cutting into your brain. Trust me! Hard work, dedication, commitment, and sacrifice are key ingredients to success. If you aren’t willing to give it 100%, then why bother? Why start a goal or a business if you aren’t willing to work, fight, and sacrifice to see your vision come to life? If you choose the club over planning. If you choose sleep over research. If you choose the party over the paperwork; that’s fine. Just don’t be upset when your competition leaves you in their dust. After all, at least you got your party on. Until next time…
God Bless and dress well,
William Wilson, CEO
William Wilson Cloting
Don’t Make The Mistakes I Made This Year
I want to personally thank you all for helping make 2010 an incredible year for William Wilson Clothing. Like any company, we have had our share of ups and downs, yet it simply made us a stronger brand. As you know, I’m a transparent guy. I like to help those I can. I have made some good and bad decisions this year, some could have been catastrophic, but God placed people around me to make sure it wasn’t. In hopes of helping you avoid some of the mistakes I have made, I will let you in on some of my LEAST desirable situations.
First, I waited too long to put together a team. I treat my company like it’s my child, and I didn’t trust anyone else to take care of certain things. I tried to do everything myself. As a result, some of my greatest accomplishments went unnoticed.
For example, I did Calvin Richardson’s suit for the Grammys this year. He was recognized as “Best Dressed on the Red Carpet”. This is a big deal. For a local clothier from Charlotte to even be doing a suit for the Grammys should have at least warranted some interviews, not to mention being named best dressed. But it went relatively unknown. I may never repeat that feat again, but again it’s a lesson learned. Fortunately there’s a bright side to this lesson, Calvin has been nominated again for the Grammys, and I will once again be doing his suit. This time it will be the William Wilson Black Label Grammy debut. And I’m determined that it receives its proper press.
Second, I contracted with a PR firm and didn’t have the outcome I anticipated. I will take the blame and say I did this without fully understanding how PR works. I assumed they kind of took the lead in this arena, since they were the experts. Apparently, I wasn’t as involved as I should have been. I now know EXACTLY what is a reasonable expectation, and I will make sure to leave no window of doubt concerning my expectations next time. In addition, I will ensure that I don’t allow myself to feel as if I’m not a big enough client to demand the attention I feel I should have received. Again, my fault.
Third, I hosted my first golf tournament, The William Wilson Celebrity Invitational presented by Jetpool. The tournament, and the pairings party, was a smashing success. Everyone had a great time. You would never guess the mess we had with the food. I will show the guilty parties more respect than they showed me, or my events, and not get too detailed. Let’s just say I thank God for providing me with a sponsor that was more involved with the event than the food sponsors. We were in a precarious position, because the ball was dropped and we didn’t know until 48 hours before the event. This actually left us in a tight spot up to 20 minutes before my event was set to start. Through Jetpool’s professionalism and preparedness, we were able to form a contingency plan to keep a potentially catastrophic and embarrassing event from happening. I have three words of advice on this one: “Trust but verify.” I didn’t think of this, it was actually a quote from Pres. Ronald Reagan.
Kevin Conway,with girlfriend Angel Taber, wearing William Wilson Black Label on the Red Carpet at the NASCAR Awards.
Fourth, I again was not prepared to maximize an opportunity in front of me. NASCAR driver, Kevin Conway, won the 2010 Sprint Cup Raybestos Rookie of the Year. Kevin debuted the William Wilson Black Label, the most exclusive line of men’s custom suits in the world, at the NASCAR Awards Banquet in Las Vegas on national television. Again, as incredible as this was, it went relatively unnoticed, except by you, my loyal fans. Even some people in the media that knew about it, let the moment pass; preferring to write yet another article about one of the 300 local fashion shows taking place in Charlotte.
As you can see, I made some huge errors in judgment. I made many, many more as well, but I don’t want to bore you with them. Fortunately, I have learned from my mistakes. The first thing I did was acquired a mentor, Leonard Wheeler. Next, I began to assemble my team. God has put some incredible people in front of me to help guide me. Now I have Alexander Sok as my Director of Creative Development and Operations, Lilly Pad & Pen as my Editorial Firm and Kaytlyn Lackey to head my Video department. On Christmas Eve, I added our first intern, Grace Mills to serve on board our Graphics department. I feel these individuals, as well as others I will add to the team, will help William Wilson Clothing fill some voids in our brand. I look forward to what the New Year will bring. We have some incredible projects in store for 2011. I hope God blesses your 2011 to be more amazing than you could ever dream of, and that this blog will help you avoid making the same mistakes I did. Until next time…
God bless and dress well,
William Wilson, CEO
William Wilson Clothing
You Can’t Be a Preacher in the Strip Club!
William Wilson, CEO William Wilson Clothing
When you have branded yourself a certain way, there are places you can’t go, and things you can’t do. Not that they are illegal, or immoral; but because they are contradictory to your brand. As a business owner, your brand is a factor of future success. Without proper branding, you can only expect to have limited success- if that.
Simply defined, branding is labeling. Breitling Watches is a watch manufacturer, Breitling is a high-end luxury timepiece. William Wilson Clothing is a clothing manufacturer. William Wilson is an exclusive custom clothing brand. Get it? Branding is the foundation of how you are known as a business, or a person.
What is your brand? By industry standards, William Wilson is defined as “an ultra- premium luxury brand”. That’s easy to write. But I also have to live my brand. As a CEO, especially with my name on the company, I am never off work. Everything I do, everywhere I go, everything I say, and even the media I allow myself to be in, reflect on my brand, both corporately and personally. Therefore, they are tied to my success. The mistake many small business owners make is believing that people do business with them because of their product. Rarely is your product, or business, as important to others as it is to you. People do business with people, not companies. Who you are as a person, has everything to do with how you are seen as a brand.
It is also important to connect yourself to people that reflect, or protect, your brand. I have suffered business disappointments, and put the integrity of my brand at risk, by attaching myself to firms that either didn’t understand the William Wilson brand, or just couldn’t provide the service they offered, to a brand like mine. I ended up with people that were more concerned with self promotion, being in the spotlight, and looking to promote big stars than they were in handling my business properly. I severed those ties, not because I didn’t like those people personally, I did and still do. But I have to think of the way my brand is represented. If your brand is at risk, your success is at risk.
Now I will concede, to many people I may appear obsessive about my brand. That is correct. A lot rides on my success; and not just for me. As my brand grows, so do the brands of the people on my team. As my brand grows, I can help others with their education and their careers. As my brand grows, I become more and more of a role model to children and adults alike. As my brand grows, I can help raise more money for non-profit organizations. So you see, the importance of my brand integrity is crucial not only to my success, but to people I don’t even know. Who knows, you can be someone reading this blog right now that I don’t know, but you may look up to me. I have a responsibility to you.
So here are some things I do that protect my brand:
1. I keep it clean. I don’t curse, belittle others, or otherwise poorly represent myself, or my brand, on my tweets, blogs, Facebook posts, and in public venues. (FYI- If you re-tweet other people’s garbage, you may as well have said it yourself. Spreading garbage is speaking garbage)
2. Take time for everyone. I’m always mindful to acknowledge everyone that approaches me, whether they email me, or want to take a picture with me. Even on social media, if you comment on my Facebook wall, I reply. I may only be able to say thank you, but if you take time out of your busy day to reach out to me, the least I can do, in return, is respond.
3. Choose events wisely. I don’t go to events that start after 10PM unless I know what they are about. (FYI- No “Networking event” starts at 10 with drink specials. Those are called parties.)
4. Don’t fall for gimmick marketing. I don’t go to ANYTHING if it has the description “Grown and Sexy” in it. (My experience is 9 times out of 10, they are neither.)
5. Know when to go home. I rarely spend more than an hour at an event. I get in, take pictures, do my business, and leave. Being in the event when the lights come on is like going to a strip club in the daytime. It’s not illegal, it’s just sad and pathetic)
6. And on that note. I don’t go to strip clubs, nor do I sell to strip club owners. ( I just don’t see the point in the first part. As for the second, I speak to and support organizations that empower and help rebuild women’s self esteem and value. It would be hypocritical to turn around and sell clothing to individuals that make their money doing the opposite. If that offends you- you are welcome to purchase your clothing from ANYONE else. In fact I encourage it. Not all money is good money.)
7. I don’t drink. I have never had alcohol in my life, so it’s not like I stopped for the sake of my branding, so I can’t accept credit for this. I don’t think drinking is bad. But a drunk in public is a sad and pitiful sight. (And ladies, it’s even worse when we see you sloppy or “tipsy”. It’s neither cute nor lady-like! I’m just saying.) Not to mention the pictures, or repercussions that result from them can be catastrophic.
8. I support the community. I leverage the value of the William Wilson brand to bring credibility, and funds, to events that may otherwise not have happened. Though my brand is still in it’s infancy, I do what I can, to help who I can, do what they dream.
9. I connect with like-minded people. There are 3 people that I have grown to love like brothers; Ryan Stone, Bill Wiley and Leonard Wheeler. Bill is a spiritual rock. He is transparent, vulnerable and genuine which is a sign of a man who has true inner strength. He’s genuine and always has a good word, and it comes from a place of love and care. My relationship with Ryan started off as business and turned into a true friendship. His honesty, business acumen, and commitment to transparency allows me to say something that I don’t often say, but I completely trust him. My partnership with Jetpool (Ryan is the CEO) has played a major role in the remarkable branding success of William Wilson Clothing. Being with people that think like you, or even more advanced is how you grow and learn. And how you open other doors to success.
10. I got a mentor. No one has all the answers; and we have to be accountable to someone. The rapid success of my company often places me in positions in which I am unfamiliar. I asked my friend Leonard Wheeler to be my mentor. I cannot put into words the respect I have for Leonard. He shoots it to me straight. Sometimes what he says hurt, cuts, or may even make me angry. But I know it’s the truth and it comes from a place of love. Many of the changes you see, and will see happen in the near future for William Wilson Clothing is a direct reflection of Leonard’s influence on my life, and my business.
Branding is a crucial part of your success, both personally and professionally. Who you display yourself to be, is what people see you as. Business lessons often mimic life lessons. Many of us never see success because we focus on the wrong things. Your brand is the foundation of your reputation and what people will think of you. Take time as ask yourself. How do others describe me? How do they describe my company? The way they answer these questions are how they see your brand. If you’re happy with what they say, then keep doing what you’re doing. If not…. Until next time.
God bless and dress well,
William Wilson
Win a Free Wardrobe Consultation
William Wilson, CEO William Wilson Clothing
Have you ever wanted to get your wardrobe professionally evaluated? Have you ever felt the need to have a true style specialist take a look at your closet and tell you where you stand in the world of style? Well here is your chance. One fortunate Charlotte-area subscriber will get that chance. I have joined with one of Charlotte’s premier personal style consultants, Catherine Horgan, to provide one fortunate subscriber with a free closet consultation worth $300. That’s right! Here’s you chance to win a professional wardrobe consultation by one of the best in the business.
Catherine Horgan CEO of Closet of Style
Catherine Horgan is the owner of Closet of Style, and editor of style blog [My] Style Files. Her love affair with everything stylish began twelve years ago. Styling friends and family — with essentials from fashion, beauty and skin care — was just the beginning of her unbeknownst career in the fashion industry. Her passion soon became her mission: to help clients identify and confidently express their own personal style. With a background in corporate branding, Catherine’s knowledge translates into real world experience. And it was evident two and a half years ago with the growth of her clientele, that the consummate stylist make the shift from part-time to full-time styling.
If you would like to win a chance to get your closet and wardrobe assessed by one of the best in the area, all you have to do is subscribe, and tell me why (in 50 words or less) you think you should win. There is no purchase necessary, but you do have to be a subscriber.
I wish you all the best. The contest is open to current subscribers as well. The contest runs until midnight July, 31st. But it won’t hurt to get in early. Until next time….
God Bless and Dress Well,
William Wilson, CEO
William Wilson, Private Clothier
Want to Get Treated Like a Lady, Dress Like One
William Wilson, CEO William Wilson Clothing
I tend to post gender neutral blog postings about business, style, or things that are happening in my life. But today I’m writing this post because I’m often asked what kind of woman I like. And I think my answer tends to surprise some people. This often leads to conversations that led to this blog post. To sum it up, I’m not attracted to women that dress too provocatively. I tend to feel they are insecure, lacking attention, and will eventually lead to a relationship ladened with drama, arguments, and unsolicited input from her girlfriends (who have no man). I know I’m painting with a broad brush, and I know it isn’t applicable to EVERY woman. But I have to draw on my experiences. After all, this is The William Wilson Perspective. If this isn’t you, don’t be offended. If it is, this is my perspective. I offer it out of love, and hope that it will give you a better insight to how you may be viewed.
I understand there is a distinct difference between being sexy and being trashy. There are some gowns and outfits that are extremely sexy, but are still tasteful. The dress Brittney Cason was wearing at the Sex and the City premier garnered a lot of attention from the fellas. (I know this because I heard the responses from men as she emceed the start of the fashion show). But of the responses I heard, none of them were crass, or objectifying in a negative way. It was a sexy, but elegant dress. Brittney is in great shape so
Jacinda Garabito, Dianne Gallagher, Me, Brittney Cason, and Jordan Fish at the Sex and The City 2 Premier at Mez
she can get every ounce of beauty out of a dress. It was appropriate for the occasion, and fully captured the theme for the evening. In fact all four women (Brittney Cason, Jacinda Garabito, Dianne Gallagher, and Jordan Fish), are extremely beautiful women that fully embodied the theme of the evening, and hit home runs with their impeccable attire. There were other women that displayed elegance and beauty at the event Kenetria Richardson (fiance’of NFL star Chris Harris), T-Strong (aka The Style Mavin), and Jameeka Whitten (JSW Media Group), Nadia Moffette (Miss North Carolina USA 2010) and her publicist Yolanda C. Broadie (YCB Agency).
On the flipside, there were some that honestly, should have known better. Now I don’t claim to the the bastion of knowledge in all things female fashion; far from it. But just because it’s fashionable, doesn’t mean it isn’t trashy. Just because it’s in fashion, doesn’t mean it’s for you. And just because YOU think it’s cute, doesn’t mean you don’t really look like a tramp to everyone else. Get mad if you want. I’m just saying.
I like women that dress classy, and respectful. I find female confidence to be very attractive. I believe a beautiful woman couldn’t hide her beauty if she wanted to. A classy, confident woman can not only catch my immediate attention, but they can occupy a space in my mind for a while. I am rarely moved by women that I see dressed up like high priced (sometimes cheap) call girls. Necklines to their belly buttons, clothes 2 sizes to small, and so much butt showing I sometimes question why even pretend they’re trying to cover it. Sure you will get attention, but is it really the attention you want? Do you want to be respected and considered a lady? Or would you prefer to purely be the object of someone’s sexual desire? Here’s a little secret about SOME guys that are just out for sexual conquests. He will be everything you’re looking for until he gets you in bed, or gets tired of being in bed with you. Then the interest disappears, and you WILL be replaced with another woman shortly. Now don’t put the blame on him solely. Yes, he’s responsible for his actions, but so are you. Stop getting mad at men because they only think of you sexually, when you leave your house looking like the cover girl for “I Need Sex Tonight Magazine“. You can either leave the house looking like someone a real man wants to date, or someone that a man just wants to lay, that choice is yours. You decide what you wear when you leave the house. Just because you CAN do something, doesn’t mean you SHOULD do it. You’re grown, you can do what you want. But there are consequences to your actions.
Now I’m not your father. I may not even really know you. But I do have an interest in this, and I will tell you why. I consider myself to be a good, honorable, respectable, God fearing man. I make my mistakes, and I am far from perfect. But I get tired of being grouped into the “all men are dogs” category, (especially from women that leave the house looking like doggy snacks, and get mad when dogs take a bite). Don’t leave the house looking like a stripper, meet a guy looking for a stripper, get treated like a stripper, then get mad because he didn’t treat you like an executive, and then bash ALL men. You catch a fish based on the bait you use. If you want a good man, look like a good woman. Want to get treated like a ho, dress like one. It’s not complicated.
Feel free to respond. I doubt that real, respectable, confident woman that have pride about themselves, and value their image will disagree with me. But I can be wrong. Let me know what you think. Just be respectful, and watch your language.
God bless and dress well,
William Wilson
It’s Time For Some Racial Accountability!
I have been asked all day about what I thought of Sen. Harry Reid’s comments about America being willing to vote for Barack Obama because he was light skinned and didn’t use the “Negro Dialect”, unless he wanted to. I will upset some of you when I make my next statement. I absolutely agree! Not only do I agree, but I know many people agree because it was a topic of discussion on many occasions for me. Look, we can try to put our heads in the sand, and act like this statement isn’t true. We can even feign a false sense of offense to the statement. But it is absolutely true. Look at Madison Avenue. Look at the cover of just about every magazine. Look at the television stars. Look at movie stars. And this isn’t just about white America. Look at the covers of Ebony, Jet, and other “black magazines”. You will see a dominance of straight haired, light skinned blacks on a majority of the covers. I’m not saying this is right, or that it is even fair, but it is true; even in our own community. I am a dark-skinned black man. I thank God often for Spike Lee and Wesley Snipes. In Mo’ Betta Blues, when Shadow was breaking off Cynda Williams’ character (sorry I can’t remember her name), that changed the market value for the dark-skinned brother everywhere. It was okay for us be sexy then. Before then it was Al B. Sure, Christopher Williams, El DeBarge and other light-skinned brothers that were holding it down. Spike made it ok for Morris Chestnut to be sexy. But dark-skinned brothers are considered less sexy in many instances. The guy that handles my security is a 6’2, 6’3 light-skinned brother named Jason Barton. I’m secure enough to say Jason is a good looking guy (and he will break you down if you roll up on me too quick at an event). My boys and I give Jason a hard time for being a pretty boy. We do this because we still know the score. Light-skinned guys will more often be considered more attractive, just as light-skinned women will, though us dark-skinned ones get our love too. And though us dark skinned brothers are getting more love now, I admit, it is still a much larger gap between light and dark skinned women, til this day. So if we are going to act like this in our own community, how can we be shocked if the same sentiment is shared in the white one?
But the bigger issue I have is the “offense” we are taking with the “Negro Dialect” statement. Let’s stop faking like this is so appalling and we can’t believe it. I’ve been listening to this story a majority of the day and you know what I hear as a defense? I hear the same 4 people called out as articulate, not by white people, but by black ones. Martin Luther King, Al Sharpton, Colin Powell, and Jesse Jackson. Those are the four. 15 hours and a parade of hosts later and our own people can only think of 4 articulate men to use as a defense for us. That’s embarrassing and alarming to itself. I can’t count how often I hear Jesse Jackson mocked in the black community for LACK of articulation, and for making up words. So today to have him elevated as part of the standard is amusing in itself. Now I have often said that I am accused all of the time of trying to “act white” because I didn’t necessarily use the same vernacular as some others. I use proper grammar and I still get ridiculed. Not by white people, but by black people. My people! I hate to let the cat out of the bag, since apparently some of you didn’t know this, but there IS an assumed “Negro Dialect”! It may not be called that, but it is. We call it street, slang, and dirty south talk, and my favorite, keeping it real. I don’t even know what that means. And I won’t even start on our use of “The N word”. I listen to “our station” in the mornings sometimes and I hear, “What da business is? I watch BET and for but a select few shows, it just perpetuates the stereotype of our ignorance, laziness, and lack of sophistication. I am proud to say that the majority of programming and portrayal of black men on television doesn’t reflect me. But I’m sad to say, it affects me. I have to fight certain prejudices already due to my skin color. To say otherwise would be naive. But when I hear ignorant speaking, and look at my television and the representation I see is Lil Wayne, I shake my head. I listen to “our music” and all they do is tell me how much “cush” they’re smoking, women they are sleeping with, and calling women b’s and h’s. It’s pathetic. But what’s more pathetic is, not only do we allow it, we encourage it. We encourage it by doing nothing. I see women go crazy about seeing Drake, as he brags about lying to women and using them. Is this what we want to be depicted as? Irresponsible, non-moral having, panty chasers with nothing useful to say or do, but brag about being rich, sleeping with as many women as possible, get high an dsee how many times they can cuss in 3 minutes. Listen to what we say. Look at what we do. Where is our own respect? Where is our pride? We are more upset that Michael Vick killed some dogs than we are that women are being called b’s and h’s in almost every hot rap song out there, and we line up to pay money to place these people on pedestals buy buying there cd’s and going to there concerts.
If we depict there is a difference, don’t be upset that it is identified. Obama is more articulate and less threatening than many of the men (black or white) that I see (myself included- but I’m working to get better everyday). He makes people comfortable. He is a role model. If I had children, I would want them to look to him as a model of how to act in public and to display the pride of my family. But only for that. I don’t know what skeletons he has in his closet, and that isn’t my business, or the issue. The issue is Harry Reid’s statements. He said what a lot of us said (black and white). I know it. I said it. And I had it said to me. His articulation was impressive. It was. But if we are going to be insulted and pissed off, and call for a man to lose his job because we were embarrassed by what he said. Maybe we should spend some time fighting to be represented better by our own media. We hold the white media to a higher standard with our image than we do our own. Don’t think so? Why are people watching Real Housewives of Atlanta? That is ghetto if I have ever seen it. And Tiny and Toya? Really? We are entertained by shows we would be too embarrassed to watch with our white friends,and family.
Before we complain and be upset by the way white America sees us. Maybe we need to hold black media accountable for how THEY choose to portray us. But if you don’t want to, that’s your choice. I get up every morning and do whatever I can to display a positive image, be a good role model, and a positive ambassador of black America. For those of you who want to call that selling out, you can kiss my tail. For those of you offended by my words, too bad! Read someone else’s blog. Because to be honest, if you live in the real world and don’t think what I am saying is the God honest truth, I” don’t represent you anyway. You are part of the problem and you can feel free to de-friend me on Facebook, and un-follow me on Twitter!
I have worked too hard for the good and respectable name that I have. And too many people have sacrificed for me to be here. And I refuse to let some low expectation having, wanna-be, but never will, destroy the positive pavement I am trying to lay for the people, black, white, and otherwise, that come after me. I owe the black, and white, people that sacrificed during the civil rights movement for me to be treated equal, and have the same opportunities as everyone else. I owe my mother that sacrificed and did without, so that we could have. I owe the people that have helped me get to where I am, and to where I am going. I owe the generation that won’t ask to be born into this world, but will be here anyway. And I owe all of you who look up to me, that say the kind words of encouragement to me, that tell your children to look up to me, that asks me to come to your school and your organizations to speak to your members and students. I owe every one of you. I owe it to you to be the best man I can be. And I will do my best. I’m not perfect. I’m gonna make mistakes. I’m gonna fall flat on my face at times. But I promise you, I will get back up, and I will keep going. And hopefully, when my time on Earth is over, and I face the Lord in Judgment; he will say “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”
God Bless and Dress Well
William Wilson
William Wilson is the CEO of William Wilson Clothing, America's Most Exclusive Private Clothier. His clients are the who's who of corporate America, professional athletics, entertainment and politics.
