Low-slung trouser laws hit young blacks below the belt: experts

0 Comments | AFP, October, 2007

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Bans on low-hanging trousers that display parts of underwear are hitting already alienated black US teens below the belt, African-American experts say as more US cities lined up to ban "saggy pants".

"This affects a certain population that always gets picked on," said Wilhelmina Leigh, a senior researcher at the Washington-based Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a think-tank that focuses on African American issues.

"Even if they weren't wearing saggy pants, the same group of African American males standing around would be subject to more scrutiny than any other group of young people," she said.

"Tattoos, body-piercing and punk hairstyles are part of the youth culture, too, but no one is legislating against them. Singling out...