Los Angeles Times

Commentary: Black people are better dressers than white folks. There's a reason

Black people are better dressers than white folks. At least that's what my Grandma Ada always taught me.

As a colored girl growing up in the early '60s in Virginia, I loved eavesdropping on Grandma's conversations as she connected the dots of life. Her outrageous proclamations made huge impressions on my young mind, and some of them have taken me years to untangle.

Like this one: "White people just don't like wearing socks or drawers. I tell you, it's the truth."

I remember, as a girl of 10 or so, moving in closer to hear more and watch Grandma Ada shaking her head in exasperation as she ironed the weekly laundry,

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Times4 min readSocial History
Jackie Calmes: Donald Trump's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Second Term
Millions of us are justifiably focused on seeing that Donald Trump is held to account for what he's allegedly done in the past. Scheming to flip the legitimate 2020 election result and resisting the peaceful transfer of power, a first for U.S. presid
Los Angeles Times3 min readAmerican Government
Lawmakers Grill California Gov. Officials On Homelessness Spending After Audit Causes Bipartisan Frustration
LOS ANGELES — Democrats and Republicans expressed frustration Monday as they grilled Gov. Gavin Newsom's top housing officials in a tense legislative hearing about how billions of state dollars have been spent on the worsening homelessness crisis. T
Los Angeles Times4 min read
Commentary: What A Quail Taught Me About Grief By Joining A Flock Of Turkeys
It’s dusk in spring, and the seven-year anniversary of my mother’s death from cancer is approaching, a death that marked the end of my biological family. I want to text my friend Margot, who lost her dad to AIDS in the spring years ago, and ask, “How

Related Books & Audiobooks