“You can either sit back and let shit go downhill or you can rise up, become a leader and start the change you wish to see.” Pretty big words for a 21-year-old college student. But when LeGrand Haughton says it, he means it. His “positive clothing line,” Elephant Squad, which he runs by himself, is proof that this kid stands by his convictions.
“In November of 2011, I was sitting in a room with a group of close friends thinking, ‘I’m a college student, I’m broke and I don’t like the way society is headed morally.’” So he wanted to change what he saw, and clothing seemed like the natural starting point. “I believe if I could start with clothing and expand, I could change the way people view themselves and others.” His thinking is that since we all wear clothing, and we all walk the streets and see others wearing clothing, this can be a vehicle to provide a positive message. Haughton is currently selling tees with the company logo — a disgruntled-looking elephant — via elephantsquadclothing@gmail.com and boasts over 3,400 “likes” on the company Facebook page.
Elephant Squad is a clothing line meant to inspire people, specifically at-risk youth. By promoting brotherhood, the company represents an alternative to the gang violence and drug use Haughton says he sees on the streets and in the media. “Negative influences like that are started, fed and controlled within communities especially in inner cities,” he says. “If there was a positive force telling our young people they could be a success, imagine how much that could change someone for the better.”
