Brittanie 
As Black History Month comes to an end, Nike has decided to honor this month by launching a shoe release to honor young Black leaders.
The collection is called “Watch Us Rise” and made it’s debut on February 19th. Nike collaborated with 12 young leaders and sports industry leaders, including True Star alum McKinley Nelson, to create this shoe line and the results were absolutely EPIC! The line features three unique shoes and one design has already sold out. The sold out shoe is an updated version of the Converse Pro Leather that launched in the 1970’s. This shoe was made famous by NBA star Julius “Dr. J” Erving.
Not a lot of companies take the time out to pay homage to BHM. Nike has done this over the last few years and with each year it only gets better. I am in awe of the fact that Nike sought after these leaders. The young Black women and men they chose have made a difference in the sports industry or their own communities.
Two of those leaders are from the city of Chicago. Nelson, of Project sWish, and Shani Crowe of the famous exhibition “Braids”.
“Sport is a language that people all over the
world speak. Communicating through sport
has broken down some barriers for me.”
“We might look different. Our blackness
might show itself both phenotypically
and culturally in a wide myriad of ways,
but there’s a certain commonality in
what we’re willing to fight for.”
“I want to see my people win. I want us
to feel good about ourselves and our
ambitions. I want us to identify the things
that we want to accomplish and then
take the necessary actions needed to
reach those goals. The most important
part is the “we”: being together, being a
team, and being a squad that’s always
here for one another.”
In addition to this wonderful line, Nike will recognize 20 nonprofits that offer play and sport programs, and support education and career development, with a total of $500,000 in grants. I don’t know about you, but Nike has showed us more than one reason why we should give them our coins!
You can purchase this exclusive line Here.
*Chicago Leaders: McKinley Nelson,
*LA Leaders: Alrick “Butta” Augustine, Amanda Gorman
*NYC Leaders: Nigel Sylvester, Ingrid Silva, Scottie Beam & Jasmine Nesi
By Brittanie Sturdivant, Sophomore, Open Campus Parsons School of Design
Instagram: B_Slay_S
