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Home โ€ข Fashion

Black and Proud: The Most Woke Halloween Costumes of 2016

From paying homage to the Black Panther Movement, to recreating iconic images of African-American greats like Malcolm X and Angela Davis, Halloween was extra woke this year. See the looks that were all about being Black and proud.
Black and Proud: The Most Woke Halloween Costumes of 2016
Naturi Naughton
By Dominique Hobdy · Updated October 26, 2020

Halloween may be the ultimate game of dress up but it’s also a great opportunity to make a statement. Many people did just that with costumes that were woke, conscious and all about being Black and proud. From heartfelt homages to Malcolm X and Angela Davis to a collective choice amongst your crew to channel the Black Panther Party, Halloween was about so much more than ghouls and goblins.

The Black Panther uniform has been a go-to for years being that it’s a simple, cool and timeless look to pull together. However, with the racial climate in America and even Beyonce’s very bold homage to the movement during her Super Bowl performance, the costume seems more relevant than ever. This year there was a plenty of respect shown to the Black Panther Party and leaders in the movement like Angela Davis.

#BlackPanthers #PutYoFistUp #Halloween #Tao #WeOutHere #PowerToThePeople #SayItLoud #ImBlackAndImProud โœŠ๐ŸพโœŠ๐Ÿฟ

A photo posted by Naturi Naughton (@naturi4real) on Oct 31, 2016 at 9:12pm PDT

I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept. #angeladavis

A photo posted by Devri Velรกzquez (@devrivelazquez) on Oct 31, 2016 at 1:49pm PDT

 

"Radical simply means grasping things at the root." -Angela Davis #happyhalloween #favholiday #angeladavis #powertothepeople

A photo posted by Najah Skinner (@koolnaj) on Oct 31, 2016 at 1:01pm PDT

 

About last night we paid homage to the #blackpantherparty #hueypnewton #angeladavis did we nail it?

A photo posted by DJ QwessCoast (@adjcalledqwess) on Oct 31, 2016 at 6:19am PDT

 

WHAT GOOD IS A MAN'S WORD WITHOUT THE VOICES BEHIND HIM?. . . . . #broke but#staywoke..#aboutlastnight..#halloween #halloween2016 #inthebooks #blackpanther #colinkaepernick #funnygram #instafunny #igers #instagood #lol #funny..#politricks #solidarity..@nessnitty…#goodtimes..

A photo posted by Murad (@mukangaroo) on Nov 1, 2016 at 7:48am PDT

Colin Kaepernick’s recent actions addressing and acknowledging the injustices Black people in America face have resonated with a lot of people and it was definitely evident this Halloween.

Happy Hellurrrween! #BlackPanther #ColinKaepernick โœŠ๐Ÿพ

A photo posted by DJ Trauma NYC (@djtraumanyc) on Oct 31, 2016 at 4:17pm PDT

How cute it this little one repping for #ColinKaepernick with his #Halloween costume ๐Ÿ˜ฉ๐Ÿ˜

A photo posted by The Shade Room (@theshaderoom) on Oct 26, 2016 at 7:51am PDT

My BOOtiful Wife and I!! #whatatime #tobealive #LaLa #LennyS #CostumeCouture #Kaepernick #BeetleJuice

A photo posted by P Stew (@yaboypstew) on Nov 1, 2016 at 8:31am PDT

Long celebrated pillars of activism in the Black community like Malcolm X and Rosa Parks were also channeled.

Siblings dressed as #malcolmx and #rosaparks ….. Great Choices

A photo posted by @etanthomas36 on Nov 1, 2016 at 5:00am PDT

A man who stands for nothing falls for anything……. Something like Malcolm X. #holloween #malcolmx

A photo posted by Lorenzo (@yungskysofresh) on Oct 31, 2016 at 10:28pm PDT

We love this for so many reasons. 7-year-old Charlie, nailed it! We know Ms. Parks would be proud. #RosaParks #BlackGirlMagic #Halloween #NailedIt #iamrollingout | Via @becauseofthem

A photo posted by Rolling Out (@rollingout) on Oct 30, 2016 at 9:41am PDT

@1deliciouslife I loved it! #halloween #repost #rosaparks

A photo posted by Rasheeda (@ohrasheeda) on Oct 31, 2016 at 6:14pm PDT

My ๐Ÿ‘ถ 1st Halloween as #HarrietTubman

A photo posted by Pan-African | Hip Hop Artist (@7nubian_) on Oct 31, 2016 at 8:50pm PDT

And because Erykah Badu and Lauren Hill are arguably some of our favorite woke entertainers, there was a lot of love shown to them as well.

Dope #Halloween #LaurynHill #erykahbadu #MurdaReport #murdaawasthecasetheygaveme

A photo posted by MurdaSheWrote (@murdareport) on Oct 31, 2016 at 8:06am PDT

Erykah Badu ๐Ÿ‘‘#Halloween | ๐Ÿ’Ž "I have a master plan as an artist. I've always said I'm not going to be punching nobody's clock. I will work as an artist to survive in this world." - Badu

A photo posted by Erica Nicole Scott ๐ŸŽญ (@ericanicolescott) on Nov 1, 2016 at 6:31am PDT

Nas even made a statement of his own, portraying the late Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie, one of the most important figures in the Rastafarian belief system.

A photo posted by Nasir Jones (@nas) on Oct 31, 2016 at 8:54pm PDT

In short, this Halloween was extra Black y’all!