By CHRISTOPHER BARILLA
With Black History Month in full swing, the number one footwear company in the world, Nike, has once again this year released a commemorative pack of sneakers to honor people of African descent.
The footwear giant also associates its Black History Month releases with nonprofit organizations such as Peaceplayers, which uses basketball programs to bridge divides between young people, and MENTOR, another nonprofit with the goal of linking at-risk youth to mentorship opportunities.
Basketball aficionado and sneaker collector Josh Weintraub, 20, of Manalapan, N.J. feels that the yearly releases are a “Positive movement for equality.”
“I enjoy seeing such prominent names in the African-American community and basketball being given the special treatment on their signature shoes, ” Weintraub said.
Nike has notably been associated with Black History Month for almost two decades, which, according to Hypebeast, “in 2014 alone raised $1 million USD, assisting organizations that leverage sports to maximize the potential of underserved youth.”
The footwear giant also associates its Black History Month releases with nonprofit organizations such as Peaceplayers, which uses basketball programs to bridge divides between young people, and MENTOR, another nonprofit with the goal of linking at-risk youth to mentorship opportunities.
The brand’s initial foray into afro-centered cultural footwear began with the first release of a Black History Month commemorative sneaker back in 2005, which took on the label’s iconic Air Force 1 silhouette and reworked it.
This particular model came in a White/White-University Red color-way that coupled a predominately white leather upper with contrasting red accents, while the Pan-African flag came embroidered along the lateral side of the upper near the heel. However, for its 2019 iteration, Nike has chosen a new line of silhouettes to fully canvas with Black History Month-affiliated designs and colors.
This year’s designs
Beginning with the Lebron 16 “Equality,” the pair boasts one colorway of two entirely black shoes, and one colorway of two entirely white shoes, symbolically coming together to showcase this particular model’s dubbed name, equality, alluding to equality between races.
The PG 3 “BHM” employs a grey mesh upper with a contrasting traditional Afro-inspired patterned upper and hits of red and gold throughout.
The Kyrie 5 “BHM” also employs a mesh upper, which comes in stark white for this shoe, contrasted once again by traditional patterns on the tongue and heel, as well as the same color hits on the swoosh and outsole.
The KD 11 “BHM” offers a fully knit upper with a sock-like top covered in tonal green and blue traditional patterns.
The Converse Chuck 70 High Top “BHM” takes the traditional high top Converse Chuck Taylor silhouette and splashes its entire canvas upper in traditional patterns.
The Air Jordan Why Not Zer0.2 “BHM” takes color blocking to a whole new level, covering half of the upper in a teal pattern, with contrasting yellow and orange hits as well.
The Air Jordan 2 “BHM” stacks blue, yellow, red, and black traditional patterns throughout its textured upper.
The Air Jordan 1 “EQUALITY” bears a simple black and white color scheme offset by a black and white traditional patterned “swoosh” and the word “EQUALITY” stitched across both heels.
The Air Force 1 Utility “BHM” offers a new take on the original “BHM” Air Force 1 colorway, this time boasting an all-black upper with gold hits throughout, contrasted by more traditional patterns on the heel, heel tab, over-top utility strap, and muted patterns on the toe box and medial side of the shoe.
Finally, the Flare 2 “BHM” takes on the most understated color-blocking of the pack, showcasing a plainer white and black mesh upper, gold writing on the tongue and toe box, and a slightly teal traditional pattern on the brand’s iconic swoosh.
Marketing major Connor Farrell,22, of Manalapan, N.J. agreed that the move Nike makes towards equality is positive as well, and added that from a marketing standpoint, it was a genius initiative to tap into that particular demographic more so.
Efforts in context
Nike has been known to be an adamant supporter of the African-American community, not only working with a countless array of athletes. Most recently (and notoriously) Nike supported Colin Kaepernick, former NFL quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, who is now an advocate for Black Lives Matter. He is famous for taking a knee in protest of police brutality during the national anthem at a professional football game.
https://twitter.com/Nike/status/1037387167331364869
The sportswear label produced a highly talked-about commercial starring the athlete-turned-activist that spoke to the ideas of inclusion, equality, and persevering in the face of seemingly insurmountable adversity. Due to Kaepernick’s controversial actions while in the NFL, the advertisement was met with a similar controversy for Nike as well, with critics attempting a boycott of the brand’s products.
Regardless, the home of the iconic ‘swoosh’ seems to be taking the controversy in stride and continuing to support progressive and grassroots movements where they can.
This article dives into Nike and how they are trying to spread equality through sneakers. By Nike using their influence to support social issues such as this, makes it huge and insightful that they are designing shoes to bring awareness, which not many companies even do.