IslandMix

You are in love with Tommy,
Because his last name is Hilfiger,
But behind closed doors, Tommy,
Is calling you a nigger,

But you could care less,
Because you have been taught to dress to impress,
If I ask you about your true history,
You would have to look on the back of your jeans and Guess,

You come up in the club wearing Versace,
Clothes made by a homosexual male,
So even when you say you are straight,
It is very hard to tell,
And for footwear, you wear Timberlands,

Even under the sun,
That same tree that's the symbol for them,
Could have been the same one your ancestors were hung from,

I cannot forget Nautica,
When was the last memory you have of ships,
Coming to North America in shackles,
Being beaten over the back with whips,

And to my beautiful black queens,
Whose creative womb has become barren,
I am confused because your face says Nefertiti,
But your sweater reads Donna Karen,

When was the last time you saw Liz Claiborne,
Conversing with black women,
But as soon as her name is printed on a purse,
To Macy's you quickly go, running,


Ralph Lauren doesn't even look at black men,
Unless they are driving him around town,
But as soon as that slave master appears on the back of a horse,
You put whatever you have picked up down,

My people reclaim your status in this world and in your life,
F.U.B.U. in case you didn't know, stands for (For Us By Us),
Buying black will someday suffice,
Do you know who owns Timberland fashion?

Well, Timberland is owned by the president of the KKK,
Surprised? Don't be.
Read more books black people,
Always hope for the best and prepare for the worst,
You may not get what you pay for,
But you'll surely pay for what you get.

~ Maya Angelou

wow, very powerful

yes very powerful!

I agree.

We should read more.

KKK owns TIMBERLAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.................

__________________
"They made us many promises , but they only kept one. They promised to take our land and they took it." - -Chief Red Cloud

thats what i said!!

MADNESS!!

wow i didnt know that at all. Don't own a pair and don't plan to

Beautiful poem, I really need to read some more

This poem is not written by Maya Angelou. It has been circulating on the internet for a number of years.

Please go to Dr. Angelou's official website to see her REAL poems and writings. Maya Angelou's disclaimer can be found on her website, under the contacts link or here-----> http://www.mayaangelou.com/Contact.html

Take a look at this:

Origins: This
piece, variously titled "Clothes" or "FUBU," began circulating in March 1999. It has come to be attributed to Maya Angelou, the celebrated African-American poet, but it is not hers, and she even disclaims it on her web site. According to a spokesperson at Dr. Angelou's speakers' agency, "It is not her work. She is aware of it and is very disappointed." (As well she should be — what's circulating on the Internet is dreadfully executed and lumpen, and it must be galling to have so many think she was capable of writing that far beneath her abilities.)

That the poem is ascribed to her shouldn't surprise anyone; it's written from the stance of an African-American's pointing out to others of that tree men and a booty community the errors of their consumeristic ways. For many, African-American + poem = Maya Angelou, in the same way that any rumor about hamburgers is transmuted by those who hear it into something associated with McDonalds, or anything to do with fried chicken devolves onto KFC.

Timberland isn't owned by the Ku Klux Klan, nor does it have any such connections. This very successful outfitter was founded in 1952 by Nathan Swartz. It remained a family-owned business until 1987, when Sidney Swartz (Nathan's son) took the company public. Timberland now trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol TBL, and in 2000 its consolidated revenue totaled $1.1 billion.

As for who runs the company, according to the corporate profile on Timberland's site:

Our company was founded by Nathan Swartz, whose legacy of craftsmanship, integrity and quality is carried on today through the active involvement of his son, Sidney Swartz, Chairman, and his grandson, Jeffrey Swartz, President and Chief Executive Officer. As of March 28, 2003, the Swartz family, together with trusts and a charitable foundation established by the family, held approximately 46% of Timberland stock and approximately 82% of voting power.

Jeffrey Swartz (the grandson of the founder and Timberland's President and CEO) has been a member of the board of City Year, the national youth organization that provides community service in 13 U.S. cities, since 1991 and its chair since 1994. He is also a director of several social justice organizations, including Business for Social Responsibility and Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston. He's hardly recruitment material for the KKK, even if he weren't Jewish. (The KKK regards Jews with about as much affection as it does African-Americans.)

This rumor persists in part due to claims about the tree on Timberland's logo representing a tree on which blacks were lynched. (Apparently a tree can't just be a tree any more.) Snapple was subjected to a similar rumor having to do with the sailing ship then on its label: common knowledge had it the ship was a blackbirder, a vessel that brought slaves in chains to America. It wasn't — the image came from a drawing of the Boston Tea Party, but facts didn't long stand in the way of rumor, and the label was changed.

Slanders about this or that company's being owned by the KKK are a dime a dozen, ranking right up there with equally fallacious claims about the CEOs' of such companies appearing on The Oprah Winfrey Show to utter appallingly disparaging comments about blacks. (Sometimes these mythical CEOs announce that their companies tithe to the Church of Satan, which vilifies them to an even wider audience.) These are common rumor types, and such tales should be dismissed as gossip not even worth the effort of repeating.

One statement from the poem does hold true, though: Fubu did take its appellation from "For Us By Us." source: SCOPES.COM
----------------------------------------------------------------
Maya Angelou: www.mayaangelou.com

folkes, do yourself a favor and stop reading dumb shit like this

and if i go a party in a bobby's shirt, bata bullets and some fulton street gunmouth jeans, no woman want me. It figures top dog will find a poem without bad statements about sean john and phat farm.

This was an email i received and just shared with allyuh...this forum is called 'Junkmail humor and tings'... if the statements or origins are false, then so be it. I'm glad Duppy Woman cleared it up, Thanx! But as for whom eva you may be, clothes don't make the man... and plz stop watch me! This poem has nothing to do with me, cause guess what, I must have every color Timbs in my closet, so I would be slammin myself for supportin KKK.

You have a blessed day!

TImberland is not really owned by kkk......just a rumor......timberland is owned by a jew...........................but Tommy hilfiger is really a racist pig...............it said it in the news paper...............he even admited when his clothes first came out it was only intended for rich white europeans................after it became a urban fashon he did allow his son to wear his clothes ......

__________________
"They made us many promises , but they only kept one. They promised to take our land and they took it." - -Chief Red Cloud

Oh the lies... sorry to disappoint all that have been reading this poem.. but maya angelou.. DID NOT write this poem....someone perpetrating to be her did... it is ok... but don't get it twisted

TOPDOG:

No one is blaming you personally. I just wanted to make everyone aware that this is not something Dr. Angelou has ever written and she shouldn't be credited with that bad piece of poety. I admire her work and just wanted to clear up that little discrepancy.

Peace Brother,
DW