The daughters of activists Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. walked the runway during New York Fashion Week, along with other civil rights icons.
Over the weekend, Actively Black, an athleisure brand founded by Lanny Smith, highlighted key figures of the Civil Rights Movement during its New York Fashion Week show.
Dr. Bernice King and Dr. Ilyasah Shabazz modeled sweatshirts honoring their fathers, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, respectively, as they strutted down the catwalk side-by-side. Smith also recognized their mothers, Coretta Scott King and Betty Shabazz, during the show.
“I’ve cried 3 times since last night. Thank you for trusting me with this vision,” Smith wrote on Instagram, alongside runway photos of his models.
Ruby Bridges, 71, who became the first African American child to integrate an all-white school at age 6, also walked the Actively Black show. Ahead of her runway walk, Smith featured footage of reactions to Bridges’ activism in the 1960s. A young model then took to the catwalk, accompanied by two men, who represented the federal agents sent to protect Bridges and escort her to and from school.
Photographer Cecil Williams, who was photographed drinking from a whites-only fountain in 1956, walked the show, wearing a sweatshirt with a colorized version of the iconic civil rights moment on it. During the Actively Black event, Ben Haith, who designed the Juneteenth flag in 1997, also strutted down the runway, garnering roaring cheers and applause.
In a post highlighting his collaboration with Williams, Smith pointed out how the Civil Rights Movement wasn’t as long ago as people think.
“People think the heinous and evil of Jim Crow was ancient times. Nah, people are STILL here who grew up in it,” Smith wrote on Instagram.
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