Think Before You Plank

Planking photos is a world wide trend among youths that started in Australia, moved over to Europe, and is now a fad in the United States. Those "plankers" who participate in this trend find difficult places to lie face down, with palms to the side and feet pointed downwards. I had initially stumbled across the planking trend while surfing the web as the media (social networks in particular) made it seem as though it was a cool and innocent thing to do. However, after reading the article Worldwide 'Planking' Craze Reminds Some of Slavery, it is needless to say that it has been brought to my attention that planks were what slaves in the "Middle Passage" used as beds to sleep on. The young people of our generation may be naive to the fact that planking relates back to slavery but African Americans of the early 1900s are most certainly well aware. “This 'game' is another way to remind us that no matter how far we've come, we will always be a slave to our past,” Robinson said. “Not that deep to you? Just a game? Well ask your grandparents how they feel about laying face down with their hands to their sides while you take a picture to laugh with your friends and post on Twitter for views” (Afro Staff). With this in mind, it is apparent that it can be detrimental to your culture or race to express yourself in the media through acts which you are unaware of the background. I'm sure kids participating in the planking trend are unaware of its negative connotation with slavery, however, it is up to parents, and African Americans within the media to better educate our children about this gesture as well as others to prevent further mistakes as such.