Summary of What the quarter-zip craze tells us about Blackness and respectability

Overview of Code Switch — "What the quarter-zip craze tells us about Blackness and respectability"

This episode of NPR’s Code Switch (host Gene Demby) uses a viral TikTok trend — young Black men styling quarter-zip sweaters — as a lens to examine long-standing conversations about Black self-presentation, respectability politics, policing, and fashion. Fashion here is treated not as trivial style gossip but as a cultural signifier that reveals how Black bodies are read, surveilled, and occasionally afforded safety or status.

Key takeaways

• The quarter-zip trend on TikTok (sparked by a popular video from “Rich the Fifth”) is less about the garment itself and more about what it signals: an embrace of “grown” or respectable presentation among young Black men.
• Clothing choices are embedded in a long history of policing and surveillance of Black bodies — from post-Emancipation social controls to modern debates over respectability.
• Respectable dress can sometimes open social doors or reduce friction, but it has limits; “a suit is not armor” — dressing well does not eliminate structural racism or physical danger.
• The trend ties into a broader return to Black elite or “dandy” aesthetics in recent cultural moments (e.g., fashion spreads, TV shows, museum exhibitions) and may partly respond to contemporary political shifts and nostalgia for the Obama years.
• Critics worry that framing such shifts as “respectability” can flatten Black self-expression into a single acceptable form and risk policing others’ dress choices.

Topics discussed

• The TikTok origin and remix culture that amplified the quarter-zip moment
• Historical examples of respectability politics (post-Emancipation surveillance, Bill Cosby’s “pound cake” remarks, critique of airport bonnet/bonnet-and-pajamas moments)
• The dual strategies during the civil rights era: conformist dress vs. countercultural expression
• Black dandyism: focused, sometimes subversive attention to masculine presentation
• Contemporary cultural markers: Ralph Lauren’s Oak Bluffs spread, Gilded Age's Black characters, museum shows and exhibitions highlighting traditional suiting and Black elite aesthetics
• The stakes of dress — safety, perception, and dignity — with concrete examples (e.g., Trayvon Martin and the hoodie)

Historical and cultural context (condensed)

• Policing of Black appearance intensified after emancipation; self-presentation became a contested site of identity and survival.
• Respectability politics are recurring: public figures and community debates have long argued over whether “improving” dress and behavior counters stereotypes or unfairly burdens Black people.
• Dandyism adds another layer: it’s about style performance with a wink — a way of signaling both elegance and a subversive reclaiming of status.

Why this moment (why now?)

• The guest, Jonathan Square, suggests a resurgence of elite Black dress rooted in recent cultural outputs and a political moment: rising conservatism globally, nostalgia for pre-2016 cultural optimism, and visible representations of Black affluence.
• The quarter zip functioned as an accessible, viral entry point into broader conversations that were already in cultural circulation — the garment became symbolic because of who wore it and how they framed it.

Notable quotes and insights

• “Black bodies have been policed and surveilled since time immemorial.” — Jonathan Square
• “It’s not so much about the garment. It’s about what the garment is tapping into about respectability politics.” — Jonathan Square
• “A suit is not armor.” — paraphrase/point made by Jonathan Square: dressing well can change perceptions but won’t eliminate structural violence.
• “I also challenge people to look at someone wearing a Nike Tech or a suit and find them elegant and worthy of respect as well.” — Jonathan Square

Guest & episode details

• Guest: Jonathan Square — professor at Parsons School of Design; teaches Black visual culture. Forthcoming book: Negro Cloth: How Slavery Birthed the American Fashion Industry.
• Host: Gene Demby
• Production: Produced by Xavier Lopez; edited by Daya Mortada; engineer Robert Rodriguez. Other Code Switch staff acknowledged in credits.
• Platform: Code Switch podcast (NPR)

Practical takeaways / what the listener can do with this

• When discussing fashion trends tied to marginalized groups, look beyond surface aesthetics to power, history, and context.
• Avoid flattening conversations about dress into simple praise or condemnation; recognize multiple valid modes of Black self-presentation.
• Challenge stereotypes: respect and human dignity should not be conditional on a person’s clothes.
• If engaging in public commentary, consider how internet virality can amplify complex cultural histories and create reductive narratives.

Where to learn more / subscribe

• Follow Code Switch on Instagram (@nprcodeswitch) or subscribe to the podcast via NPR or your podcast app. The guest’s forthcoming book (Negro Cloth) will explore related themes in greater depth.