The Designer’s Note

This BAH design was designed with the intention of keeping the ones who wear it connected and woke. With the American educational system under attack, and real American history excluding BLACK presence within it, we at SME hope to educate the world about the amazing contributions that the world takes for granted. While this design can and should be worn by everyone who loves truth, it is meant to instill pride and power in the souls of our black people. to elevate the esteem in the hearts of the people, the world works hard to convince they are and will be nothing. Let’s celebrate ourselves!
Designed by the NY/LA artist, Lazymills.

Within the design are the following elements that represent BLACK American resilience and presence around the world:

1. Sports:
   Black athletes broke deep-seated racial barriers to dominate modern competitive tracks, fields, and courts worldwide. Their iconic style and unparalleled dominance fundamentally reshaped global sports culture, media commercialization, and athletic performance standards.

2. Inventions:
   Black innovators designed indispensable modern staples, including home security frameworks, traffic signaling devices, and blood plasma preservation. Their creative engineering systematically overcame severe legal hurdles to lay the structural foundations of today's industrial economy. Ex:
   Garrett Morgan: Invented the three-position traffic signal and an early prototype of the modern gas mask, saving countless civilian and firefighter lives.
   Marie Van Brittan Brown: Co-invented the first home security system in 1966, utilizing a motorized camera, two-way microphone, and remote door unlock.

3. Science:
   Black educators and activists built historic networks of community schools and universities amidst intense systematic oppression. Their fierce pursuit of literacy transformed education into a powerful vehicle for civil rights, political power, and socio-economic mobilization. Ex:
   Dr. Patricia Bath: Revolutionized ophthalmology by inventing the Laserphaco Probe in 1986, creating a precise laser method to safely remove cataracts.
   Dr. Charles Drew: Pioneered groundbreaking research in blood plasma preservation and organized America’s first large-scale blood banking networks during World War II.

4. Film/Cinema:
   Black storytellers dismantled narrow, racist mainstream caricatures to produce raw, self-directed cinematic art. Their groundbreaking directing styles and authentic cultural framing revolutionized international box offices and narrative television. Ex:
   Oscar Micheaux: Celebrated as the first major African American feature filmmaker, directing over 44 independent films that challenged institutional racism.
   Gordon Parks: Directed the influential 1971 classic film Shaft and was a legendary photojournalist who used his camera to expose deep systemic racial disparities.

5. Statue of Liberty:
   Black American soldiers and legal scholars directly inspired the original, radical concept of the monument as a celebration of slavery's abolition. The initial design models deliberately integrated broken shackles at the feet to explicitly mark the dawn of true emancipation.

6. Music/Arts:
   Black creators birthed definitive modern musical genres, including country, jazz, blues, rock, soul, funk, disco, RnB, hip-hop, and house music. Their foundational sonic expressions and vivid fine arts revolutionized global pop culture, fashion trends, and socio-political storytelling.

7. Space Travel:
   Black mathematicians and engineers computed the precise orbital trajectories that launched humanity safely into the cosmos. Their critical coding, aerospace engineering, and astronautic missions permanently expanded the technical boundaries of modern space exploration.

8. Freedom:
   Black freedom fighters led fierce, relentless resistance movements, legal battles, and civil rights crusades against systemic oppression. Their sacrifice established the legal precedents that expanded civil liberties and voting rights for all American citizens and the many who dreamed of becoming American citizens.

9. Education:
   There are currently 107 officially recognized Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the United States. They include public and private institutions spanning 19 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

   
   We would like to thank our ancestors for making America a place that so many around the world looked to in awe. From our culture to our fight for justice throughout history, Black Americans have made this world a more colorful place, and we at SME celebrate BAH! When everyone is trying to humble us, we keep moving, grooving, and sliding. We are BLACK AMERICA!!!

All orders are hand-pressed by our small team.