Written By: Donovyn Bookman
Photographer: Evin Armstrong
Slabs have been a part of the Houston culture for as long as I can remember seeing those jolly rancher rides with wet sparkling paint glistening in the sunlight with the elbows poking out while swanging down the street bumping DJ screw, big moe, and Z-ro just to name a few is truly a sight to see. Giving my fellow brothers and sisters a feeling like no other. It's a culture that united my people and set trends worldwide that people till this very day idolize and respect. Swanging and banging allow us to show our true Houston pride. So the question I ask today is, "Why are they being targeted?". A slab meaning slow, loud, and banging, brings uniqueness to the city peanut butter seats; with the trunk popped and a speaker system so loud that you can hear it beating down your block is what swanging and banging is all about. Popularized by the rap scene and icons in the city today, slabs were soon taken as a token by the working-class people to show their true colors in the early 1980s and continues to make a statement till this day. It still impacts the community of people young and old who respect what it represents and means to our people, so why would you want to take that away? On special holidays such as MLK day, you can see the enthusiasm around as young kids and adults stare and admire the sleek features of what the cars offer. Sadly police are cracking down and trying to belittle our people's pride in showcasing their whips but is it all really worth it? As a fellow Houstonian, I feel the iconic legacy that slabs have in the city deserves more respect than what people give, but until we get that. We will continue to "Swang in the rain" as the H-Town legend Paul Wall would say.