In the wake of the non-guilty verdict on George Zimmerman's trial for the death of Trayvon Martin, hoodies have become a way of honoring the 17-year-old victim, who was wearing a gray hoodie when he was shot dead in February 2012.
During the trial, the garment was used as evidence and a bullet hole could be seen in the front of the hooded top Trayvon was wearing on the night he died.
On June 14, the day after the verdict was read out, many churches across the nation declared the day "Hoodie Sunday" in honor of the victim.
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A pastor of one of the churches, the Community of Hope A.M. E. Church in Temple Hills, Maryland, preached to his congregation wearing a hoodie.
Reverend Tony Lee said, "I don't want this kind of stuff to happen to another one of our children."
He told the Huffington Post: "I knew I would be wearing my hoodie while preaching and I wrote to all the pastoral staff that hoodies are welcome."
Pastor Raphael Warnock of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta also took to the pulpit wearing a hoodie, encouraging his congregation to do the same.
He preached: "We're standing as the church of nonviolence to say that a hoodie is not a weapon. We stand in solidarity with the family of Trayvon Martin. We stand in support of our children who deserve better than to be stigmatized and stereotyped."
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The iconic clothing item has also been spotted in many of the protests that have taken place all across America against the acquittal of George Zimmerman, but it was a tweet that sparked the most controversy regarding the hoodie.
Former Obama advisor, Van Jones, tweeted a photo illustration by artist Nikkolas Smith, showing Martin Luther King Jr., the American black civil rights leader, wearing a grey sweatshirt, similar to the one Treyvon Martin was wearing on the night of his murder.
He posted the image with the words, "April 4th, 1968 #RipTrayvonMartin." The date is the when the black civil rights leader was assassinated in Tennessee.
As for the artist, he posted the image on his website next to the statement: "The Dream will never die. It is more powerful than fear or violence. It can never be swindled away or destroyed. It is one of Love, and therefore timeless."
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However, not all people are happy with the image. King's niece said her uncle would never have worn a hooded-sweatshirt in that manner.
"Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would very likely not wear a hoodie," said Alveda King on the Andrea Tantaros radio show Tuesday when asked about the image. Alveda King is now a right-wing anti-abortion activist and former state representative in Georgia. "I can assure you he would not wear sagging pants. I don't even think I've ever even seen his sons with sagging pants."
King said the verdict has been reached and Americans must now respect that.
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