Dashiki - The Dashiki in The West

The Dashiki in The West

The dashiki found a market in America during the Black cultural and political struggles in the 1960s. The dashiki was featured in the movies Uptight (1968), Putney Swope (1969), and the weekly television series Soul Train (1971). Jim Brown, Wilt Chamberlain, Sammy Davis Jr., and Bill Russell were among the well-known Black athletes and entertainers who wore the dashiki on talk shows.

The term dashiki began appearing in print at least as early as mid-1968: an article by Faith Berry in the New York Times Magazine includes it on July 7, 1968. Reporting on the 1967 Newark riots in the Amsterdam News on July 22, 1967, George Barner refers to a new African garment called a "danshiki." "Dashiki" first appeared in the Webster’s New World Dictionary, 1st College Edition 1970/72.

Former District of Columbia mayor and current councilmember Marion Barry is famous for wearing the dashiki at various times, particularly in the time period leading up to elections.

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