Nike, Jordan, and Converse celebrate Black History Month
“Rosa Parks sat so Martin Luther could walk. Martin Luther walked so Barack Obama could run. Barack Obama ran so all the children could fly…” — Jay-Z
This snippet from a verse from Jay-Z‘s remix of “My President Is Black” by Young Jeezy gives a brief list of reasons why we celebrate Black History Month. Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., are civil rights pioneers and President Obama is making history as well. These history-makers/path-pavers and their marks made on history are what we like to remember and honor in the month of January.
Nike-sponsored players had the option of wearing the BHM shoes on Monday. (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
Nike, Jordan, and Converse are taking that a step further with their Black History Month or “BHM” collection of basketball shoes. Just like Parks and King were in the Civil Rights Movement, there were African-American pioneers in the game of basketball and the folks behind the three aforementioned companies wanted to do their best to capture the legacies of civil rights and basketball pioneers alike in their limited edition sneakers.
Sole Collector, a magazine devoted to “all things sneakers,” interviewed Nike Basketball Footwear Designer Jonathan Johnsongriffin and Nike Basketball Graphic Designer Erick Goto about the BHM collection. The collection features four spotlight models: the Converse Star Player, Jordan Retro III, Nike Air Force 1, and Nike Zoom Kobe VI.
The Air Force 1 is a regular in the BHM lineup, but Nike Inc. decided to step its game up this year by adding the other three shoes to the spotlight to highlight basketball’s African-American pioneers.
Nike had an idea much like the Jay-Z lyrics I introduced at the beginning of this post. Julius “Dr. J” Erving paved the way for Michael Jordan who, in turn, paved the way for Kobe Bryant. These three serve as Nike’s pillars of excellence, if you will, in the progression of African-Americans in the game of basketball.
Dr. J brought something entirely new to the game with his silky moves around the basket and monstrous slams. I think we all know what Michael Jordan did. And, finally, Kobe Bryant is the modern-day pioneer, introducing an entirely new upbeat one-on-one style of play.
One of the coolest features of these celebratory kicks is the laser-etching done to the uppers. All of the shoes, the Star Player, Retro III, and the Kobes, feature individualized laser-etching made to look like woodcuts.
Kobe Bryant soars in his BHM "Black Mambas." (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
When I say “individualized” I mean that each shoe’s laser design is unique to the player that wore/wears
the shoe. For example, Kobe’s kicks feature a marking of “X5” to represent his five championships and also a design to honor his career-high 81-point game. Both of which look terrific on top of the standard “Black Mamba” scales on the Kobe VI.
The Star Player honors Dr. J and his legacy as does the Retro III for MJ. The Air Force 1 takes on a collective design as it doesn’t belong to a single player.
The sneakers were all unveiled on Martin Luther King Day as 26 NBA teams took to the court on the holiday.
Along with these four feature shoes, Nike cranked out more than 20 player-specific models for Nike-sponsored athletes such as Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns and Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Overall, I’d say these celebratory sneaks were all a huge success. The black, representative of the basketball pioneers, is striking and always looks sleek on the court. The gold, often a symbol of victory, is the perfect color to represent the greats of the Civil Rights Movement. Nike, Jordan, and Converse captured the identity of Black History Month spot on. This MLK Day provided a great day of basketball along with some slick sneaks. Nike’s BHM collection definitely flies high.
“…So I’ma spread my wings, you can meet me in the sky.” — Jay-Z
p.s. To check out Sole Collector‘s feature on the BHM Collection and some close-up photos of the sneakers, head over to their website.
p.p.s. For more from me, follow me on Twitter @Bradley_W_Parks.
p.p.p.s. For more from Thread go to our website at outhreadmag.com, follow us on Twitter @threadmag, and/or like us on Facebook.
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