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You're listening to TED Talks Daily, where we bring you new ideas to spark your curiosity every day. I'm your host, Elise Hu. What can suits sneakers and even the way one walks through a tunnel onto the basketball court Tell us about History
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the story of NBA fashion is a story of black people dating back to the 1940s, which is also to say it's the history of America.
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That was writer and TED fellow Mitchell S. Jackson. In his talk, he explores how the fashion of NBA players, from pioneers like Bill Russell to cultural icons like Michael Jordan and Allen Iverson, tells a much bigger story of US History than you might think, and how clothing can be a powerful reflection of identity and resistance.
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Kobe's cosmopolitan sensibilities challenge biases about the breadth of black men's cultural influences. LeBron wearing the last words of Eric Garner Garner empowered a new generation of athletes to broadcast their politics.
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This is indeed a story about love and basketball culture and the ways that style can be worth a thousand words. That's coming up right after a short break. This podcast is supported in part by Bill, the intelligent finance platform that helps businesses and accounting firms scale scale with proven results we often talk about the habits and systems that help people do their best work. For many leaders, that might include building processes that reduce friction and create clarity. That is exactly why so many finance leaders turn to Bill. With AI powered automation, Bill isn't just moving money, they're simplifying financial operations for nearly half a million customers. They're even trusted by over 90 of the top 100 US accounting firms to get it right. That trust is built on scale. Bill has securely processed over a trillion dollars in real transactions, supporting teams in handling payables, receivables and expenses. When financial tasks are organized and visible, it can free up time and energy to focus on what matters most, whether that's your team, your mission or your community. Visit bill.comproven and get a $250 gift card as a thank you after speaking with a bill expert. That's bill.com proven terms and conditions apply. See Offer page for details. This episode is brought to you by Duck AI. AI can be incredibly useful, but sometimes it gives me pause to think that my chats might be saved somewhere forever. Between work stuff and embarrassing personal questions, A lot of us share more with AI chatbots than we realize, and information shouldn't come at the cost of your privacy. That's why DuckDuckGo built Duck AI so you can chat privately with the same AIs you might already be using, like ChatGPT or Claude and protect your data from hackers, scammers and data hungry companies. There's no account required, it's completely free. Plus it's from DuckDuckGo, known for protecting your data, not collecting it, so you can chat freely without worrying about your AI conversations getting stored or exploited. If you want to use AI without giving up your privacy, visit Duck AI Talk today. That's Duck AI Talk, a private way to chat with AI from DuckDuckGo, where AI is always optional and private. This episode is brought to you by Bombas. Lately, I've been thinking about the small things that make a big difference in my day. You know those upgrades you don't realize you needed until you try them? That's exactly what happened with Bombas. I picked up their women's Pima cotton V neck tee, which is what I own, and now I reach for it constantly, whether I'm recording or just doing school pickup. It works. Dress it up with a blazer. Keep it casual with jeans. It's that rare piece that adapts to whatever your day throws at you and their base layers. Just game changing. The underwear and tees are so soft and breathable you'll wonder why you settled for anything less. Here's the best part. Every purchase means an essential clothing item goes to someone experiencing housing insecurity. One purchase equals one donated. They've already given over 150 million items. Ready to upgrade your basics? Head over to bombas.com TTD and use code TTD for 20% off your first purchase. That's B O-M-B-A-S.com TTD code TTD at checkout. And now our TED Talk of the Day.
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Serious two part question for you. What are you wearing and why? Well, I hope none of you are decked in an outfit against your will. I happen to think our fashion choices should be deeper than just because we like something. Who am I? I'm a long ago Hooper. That jumper was wet too. Lifelong basketball fan and long aspiring fashionisto. But most importantly, I wrote the book on NBA fashion, literally a project that taught me that the story of NBA fashion is a story of black people dating back to the 1940s. Which is also to say it's the history of America. And I plan to show you how players fashion choices have been both a reflection of the times and a catalyst for changing them. And furthermore, how for those who think these times are indeed troubling, they serve as a model for styling ourselves into resistance. The NBA was founded in 1946. There aren't many off the court photos of its first fashion era, but the ones that exist show men who adhered to the status quo dress influenced by the conservation mandates of World War II. It's important to note that early NBA fashion extends from pre civil rights into the heart of the movement. The first black player was drafted in 1950 and those pioneers were also de facto ambassadors of the best of their race. Hence many of them dressed like men who were set on proving their dignity. Know this. Bob Cousy's civil rights were never in question. Real talk. Bill Russell's smile was a requisite for a respectable black man. Yeah, Will got spicy later, but in the 50s he conformed like everybody else. The second era is shaped by the Civil Rights act, the black power movement and the war in Vietnam. Plus the huge popularity of soul music and the birth of of blaxploitation films. By the 1970s, 75% of the league's players were black. And those black players and some of the white ones began dressing like young men who were claiming their hard fought freedom to loosen or dash their ties and assert themselves as individuals. You can see it in their planetary afros, in their kente cloth and dashikis, in their hippie digs or flashy jewelry. If you ask me, Clyde Frazier's cape is a flamboyant symbol of freedom. Here's Bill Walton dressing his then radical politics and look. Dr. J could have been a blaxploitation action star with his earthly afro and edgy fashion. The NBA paid its first million dollar per season salaries in 1979-80. The following year Reaganomics became law. A few years later, Michael Jeffrey Jordan entered the league and in time became the most famous person on earth. Jordan once said that Republicans buy sneakers too. And though he since claimed his comment was in jest, its apparent apoliticalness was a defining feature of his eponymous third era. As were the excesses born of America's booming economy and the lingering illusion that Nixon's black capitalism initiative was a net positive for black folks. Jordan was brazed on southern black respectability and wore suits, but he also customized them joints with an icons flair look. Little says Nouveau Reese, like magic wearing a fur in the 1980s. Yeah, maybe his billionaire status now was what Nixon meant by black economic equality. Jordan's suit proportions. My God, aren't they 90s extravagance? Yeah. Dennis Rodman was the iconoclast of the Jordan era with style that bridged him to a liberated white world. Hip hop becoming the most dominant force in youth culture sets the fourth era in motion. In a short span, several rappers reached diamond sales and Outkast and Lauryn Hill won Grammys for album of the year. Around that same time, Allen Ezell Iverson became the poster child for hip hop's influence on the NBA not just his style, but his irreverence and aplomb. However, the racist idea of thugs pervading hip hop colored the perception of players following AI's leading. And that infamous brawl known as the Malice at the palace, well, it didn't help matters. In fact, it spurred the NBA dress code that is a new way to restrict Black men's freedom of expression. Hip hop is over the top, no doubt, which in AI's case meant bling. You could see from the nosebleeds and the lollipop distress insouciance. D. Wade's getup reminds us that posturing tough is part of hip hop's DNA. Tell me this, does Jermaine Oneills gaudy jewelry challenge the stereotype of the Black male thug? While it was shaped by President Obama's first term, David Stern instituting the NBA dress code defined the fifth era. Commissioner Stern's rules forced players to eschew their beloved Hip Hop gear in favor of more conservative attire restrictions that pushed them to become more experimental with their style. Before long, the world that excluded Black men for ages began offering them prime seats at fashion shows and coveted tickets to the Met Gala. Like the Black dandies of yore, players of the dress code era turned structural limitations into a showcase of their boldness and creativity. Kobe's cosmopolitan sensibilities challenge biases about the breadth of black men's cultural influences. Mary Stoudemire's fit insists that we take his style acumen seriously. Ah, here's Melo forging a place for black men at fashion's biggest night, the Met Gala. LeBron wearing the last words of Eric Garner, empowered a new generation of athletes to to broadcast their politics. Instagram Crossing 1 billion users in 2018 marked the sixth era, much thanks due to LeBron and D. Wade and Chris Bosh. Remember them? Heedles. The app helped transform the few minutes between a player's arena arrival and the locker room into an unscripted space of expression. It also helped turn several players, including some bench dudes like PJ Tucker, into cultural figures who were just as big, if not bigger in the fashion world than in the world of sports. Not to mention some players use their expanded platforms to push for social change. Westbrook has made a great case as his era's foremost iconoclast, LeBron. He dressed as calves and Tom Brown for a playoff tunnel walk, a viral moment that accrued the whole damn league fashion cachet. Hip hop is born as rebellion, and John Morant's diamond encrusted grill is a throwback to that defiance. But where are we now? Well, I don't know about you, but what I see is a government decimating civil rights, assaulting freedom of speech, erasing the history of of marginalized groups targeting immigrants. How will this broad oppression shape a league in which black players are still the largest share and foreign born players are some of its biggest stars? In every era, NBA players, the black ones in particular, have used fashion to challenge forces, casting them as less deserving of their human rights and and their dignity. And there's a model in that for all of us, right? Which is also to ask, what's our relationship to power? And not just because we like it, because we want to resist. What are we wearing tomorrow? I mean, we as in you and me as in all of us. Thank you.
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That was Mitchell S. Jackson at Ted next 2025. And just to note, in this talk, Mitchell shares a lot of imagery. So if you are able, I'd also recommend going to watch the video on Ted.com if you're curious about Ted's curation, find out more@ted.com curationguidelines and that's it for today. Ted Talks Daily is part of the TED Audio Collective. This talk was fact checked by the TED Research team and produced and edited by our team, Martha Estefanos, Oliver Friedman, Brian Greene, Lucy Little and Tansika Songmar Nivong. This episode was mixed by Lucy Little. Additional support from Emma Tobner and Daniela Ballaraizo. I'm Elise Hunter. Be back tomorrow with a fresh idea for your feed. Thanks for listening. This episode is brought to you by Bondwell Bistro Bowls. We often explore how to optimize our brains and our collective future. But we often neglect the very fuel that gets us through the hour. According to Bondwell's research, most people spend less than 25 minutes on their entire lunch, including the stress of actually deciding what to eat. And for the desk workers among us, over half rarely take a break at all, eating right over our keyboards. We want healthy options and high protein with zero prep. But finding that intersection can feel like its own full time job. That's where Bondwell Bistro Bowls come in. They are these chef crafted plant rich salad bowls designed to be a desk friendly lunch that actually tastes like a real break. They're packed with fresh ingredients, craveable dressings, and crucially, for those of us on the go, they're ready to eat with a fork included. It's a flexible, delicious way to fuel your momentum no matter what the day's big idea happens to be. Find Bondwell Bistro Bowls at your local retailer and learn more at Bistro Bowls Us. Eat well, be well, Bond well.
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