Many black men dress up to avoid being seen negatively. Every day, we are dressing for survival.

by Pedro FequiereBuzzFeed Junior Staff Writer

Every day, we are essentially dressing for survival.

Throughout my life, I've experienced a collection of microaggressions — from employees following me in stores to women gripping their purses at the sight of me. At 13 years old, I was detained by the cops on suspicion of something I didn't do.

Just the other day, a woman grabbed her child and hurried into a store to get away from me when I was walking around the block. I don't want to be another statistic and have my appearance be the blame for it. But I won't conform and change my appearance just to make people feel more comfortable around me.

I dress myself exclusively to fit my mood, which is often "laid-back/something I can skate in" chic, or whatever. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I'm curious to see how much of an effect my wardrobe choices have on my life as a young black man in Los Angeles.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/pedrofequiere/i-dressed-up-and-dressed-down-for-a-week-and-this-is-what-ha?utm_term=.erxJpo7V9#.egy5bYvy4

Don't Miss the Interview!!!

For those who missed it, I did an interview with Ann Van Wey (Arizona State University) for her series "Being a Man / Being Black in America."

It was very interesting working with Ann Van Wey. Follow the link below to view/read the interview in it's entirety.

https://www.carlalanpublishing.com/interviews

New Title Design!!!

Just keeping everyone up-to-date on the followup to TWISTED. The title of the next book in the Encounter Series will be No Mercy. The book is still being written along with new excerpts and amazing character art.

We will comment more on the excerpts, character art and release date in the the May Newsletter.

If you haven't got a copy of TWISTED, now's the time to get your copy. After all, you do want to know the rest of the story before reading No Mercy. Here's a sample the ARTWORK of the title for Book #2 - I am currently working with Erskine Leonard on. (THIS ONLY AN EXAMPLE OF THE SAMPLE AND NOT MY ORIGINAL DESIGN).

Meanwhile, Arizona isn't on mandatory stay-at-home, but it seems a lot of people are either out running around or choosing to stay home. Stay safe everyone.