negro cloth is a mindset and lifestyle brand that expresses the values of grinding, resilience, freedom, equity, and justice through fashion.
Our Mission
negro cloth fashion tees and hoodies are what we call "art on negro cloth", and designed to educate, enlighten and empower people to become aware of biases and privileges sustained by living in systemic racialized society that does not rely on people to produce inequity, but policies and practices embedded in our social structures. Even if there were no more racist actors or acts of discrimination in our society, we would still observe racial inequities. Why? because of how people are situated in our social structures of housing, education, and the economy. We are devoted to improving humanity and ensuring everyone, regardless of race or place has equal opportunity to thrive.
Our Mission
negro cloth fashion tees and hoodies are what we call "art on negro cloth", and designed to educate, enlighten and empower people to become aware of biases and privileges sustained by living in systemic racialized society that does not rely on people to produce inequity, but policies and practices embedded in our social structures. Even if there were no more racist actors or acts of discrimination in our society, we would still observe racial inequities. Why? because of how people are situated in our social structures of housing, education, and the economy. We are devoted to improving humanity and ensuring everyone, regardless of race or place has equal opportunity to thrive.
50 percent of our profits are donated to nonprofit organizations who focus on policies that positively impact residential desegregation, promote racially integrated communities and provide start up capital for America's most historically excluded racial group; Black Americans.
History of negro cloth
negro cloth or (slave cloth): a strong coarse cloth formerly used in making clothes for Black slaves beginning in the early 18th century.
Textiles in which slave clothing was produced were legally used as a means to enforce social stratification in chattel environments. For example, according to The South Carolina Negro Act of 1735, authorized individuals had the right to seize goods if they were to:
. . . find any such Negro slave, or other slave, having or wearing any sort of garment or apparel whatsoever, finer, other or of greater value than Negro cloth.
We chose the name negro cloth because of the product's unique history and symbolic values. Slaves had to grind to survive. Negro cloth was durable but also cheap and often caused skin irritation and discomfort to slaves. Our designs are deliberately created to cause mental irritation and discomfort through retelling America's complete history (rarely taught in schools), and exposing people's racial biases to help form a more perfect democracy. Negro cloth was manufactured to dehumanize Blacks and confirm their inferiority with clothing. negro cloth today is manufactured to empower Black Americans and all people who feel a connnection to the art, the history and the desire to address the consequences of a racialized society.
negro cloth was founded in 2019 by Bird Guess, entrepreneur, author and CEO of Racial Equity Group. negro cloth is 100 percent Black owned.