In 1969 James Brown had a number one hit single with "Say it Loud - - I'm Black and I'm Proud."

Exultant, direct, and powerful.

University student Stephen Mitchell walked down South Allen Street and -- without speaking a word -- said the same thing. His message swung at the end of a rope around his neck ... one large black medallion with Africa carved into its leather face.

"Wearing medallions or wearing Koffis (an African hat) is a way of expressing African pride and a way of living in the present," Mitchell (senior- economics) said. "(My medallion) lets people know I'm black and I'm proud."

Mitchell bought his medallion about one and one half years ago in New York City, almost at the same time when medallions, along with other Afrocentric clothing and jewelry, began appearing more frequently in larger cities and college campuses across the country.

The popularity of gold jewelry -- which Mitchell said supports the South African government -- waned in comparison to jewelry that expressed black cultural heritage, he said.

"We're finally listening to the teachings of Malcolm X, (the Rev.) Jesse Jackson and Minister (Louis) Farrakhan," Mitchell said in explaining his current perspectives.

Larry Young, director of the Paul Robeson Cultural Center, said the medallions' popularity represents a "cultural reawakening" for the predominantly young blacks who wear them.

But, Young said, while the medallions are relatively new, clothing or jewelry associated with an African heritage has existed for more than 20 years and gone through periods of greater popularity and visibility.

Young said pouches bearing African designs and Koffi hats began appearing as early as 1968. The Koffi hat, which resembles a small, brimless top hat, is usually made of leather or Kinte cloth, a colorful material from Ghana.

"In the 60s, people were wearing dashikis (African oversized shirts), and I had a number of those. They were quite elegant," Young said, adding that he still wears his Koffis and dashikis every now and then.

Young said he does not consider the medallions a fad because the term conveys an image of something unsubstantial. A return to African cultural heritage "has been a recurring theme, it has substance, though it may not gain universal acceptance," he said.

The designs gracing the leather and wood medallions today range from images of Africa to figures of black cultural advocates such as Marcus Garvey and Malcolm X. Color combinations vary, but each hue represents something to the medallion's owner.

Red signifies the blood shed during the African people's struggle, black symbolizes unity and consciousness among the people, green represents the nature of the African motherland, and yellow is a color present in many African countries' flags.

Adoption of the ideals behind these graphics indicates a period of black youth culture when the significance of being "def" or "ill" has fallen in the wake increased social consciousness -- a time when what a person wears on his or her head or neck suggests connotative meaning rather than wealth, cultural heritage as opposed to glamour.

Black Caucus President Walter Mosley said increased self-respect and a refined self-image can arise from cultural reawakening.

"The medallions serve as an indicator to a lot of people that there's more to life than just America. There's a Motherland where we all came from," Mosley said.

Akilah Kamaria (freshman-Russian) has had her wooden medallion since July. Painted on its creme colored face is an African continent containing a man and woman's profiles inside. The woman is wearing a crown, and "Akilah" is painted in ornate lettering along Africa's Atlantic coast.

But Kamaria is critical of those people who buy into the Afrocentric image without buying its accompanying ideals.

"I have an African perspective in the way I think. It's more than just an outside look," Kamaria said.

Her criticism comes from a recent trip to Atlanta where she said she saw drug dealers wearing medallions.

"It has become fashionable to have that Afrocentric look. People buy (the medallions) because everyone is wearing them. They don't really know what they mean," she said.

Mosley joins in Kamaria's criticism, saying "an act of consciousness has become an act of plagiarism." But he tempers his opinion with a belief the fashionable medallions might trigger an interest in people who otherwise would not have known about their heritage.

"A person might be wearing it for a fad now, but a month or a week from now he or she might wear it because he or she knows what it's about," Mosley said.

Kamaria's medallion was made by Ody Maduka, an engineering graduate student at the University. Maduka said he paints the medallions as a hobby and typically only if a person requests one. He produced about 10 of the personalized medallions this summer.

Maduka, who does not wear a medallion himself, would not ascribe any significance to what he paints.

"(The medallions) all mean different things to different people. Nobody but the person who is wearing them knows what they mean," Maduka said.