Stop The Sag - Raise Your Pants, Raise Your Image

Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada, Jr. had this to say about the "Stop the Sag"campaign:                                                                                                                      

"We are blessed to live in a country that honors freedom of speech, but, as we all know, with freedom comes responsibility. Clothing choices are a valued freedom, but they can also make powerful social statements. The "Stop the Sag" campaign is reaching out to urban youth, to help them understand that sometimes clothing is more than personal taste. Sometimes clothes make a powerful statement that can lead to positive change - or - to hatred and violence. Sometimes the social statement is very simple. An open shirt and sagging pants can simply say 'I don't care.' "

"Whether a fashion statement or a social statement, our youth are free to wear saggy pants, and allow their shorts to show to the world, but the 'Stop the Sag' campaign reminds our young people that we live in a world that is struggling with racism, profiling, and other injustices. We live in a world where clothing can make a difference in the success or failure of a job interview. Generations have fought long and hard to win respect for our various cultures and ethnicities. We fought so our youth can have more respect and dignity than what previous generations were given. But the sagging pants throws that away."

"The 'Stop the Sag' campaign is encouraging urban youth to 'Raise Your Pants, Raise Your Image.' Join us in support of this campaign, and spread the word."