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| Photo Source: Unknown |
Here we go again...
Anti-Black racism is alive and well and must be damn profitable.
How many people sat around a marketing table and thought long and hard that an image requiring little imagination to visualize a white klan hood and dangling feet of a lynch victim was an appropriate image to use for advertisement or sale of anything, especially a product widely marketed to and consumed by Black folks?
How many Black voices were seated at that table or have they all been fired because diversity no longer matters?
Who thought it an appropriate ad at any time, but especially at a time when Black folks are turning up as strange fruit hanging from trees across the nation? All who, by the way, are deemed suicides requiring no further investigation. Case closed.
For the record, Black folks don't engage in the klan's favorite activity. Black folks are not lynching ourselves. Lynching, call it by its name...
Who thought this an appropriate ad?
The company has since pulled this Converse ad but why was it ever released?
In case you didn't know, Nike owns Converse.
I don't know the numbers, but I'm going to very comfortably guess that very large segments of the consumer group for both brands are Black people globally.
When I first saw the ad, my immediate thought was, this can't be real. I had to Google it to be sure. By that time Nike/Converse had cleansed the internet of all visual proof of the ad. Fortunately, social media had already captured and shared it. It will not just go away.
Kamala Harris, a Black female candidate for president of the United States, organized an entire political campaign strategy centering Converse sneakers; 'Chucks and Pearls' was her slogan, undoubtedly boosting sales. Has she released a statement about this?
Let us not forget just a few years back when Black people rewarded Nike with our loyalty spending our dollars on their products over other brands because of their very public business decision to support Colin Kaepernick who, at the time, was being blackballed for taking a knee in the interest of the Black community and protection of hard-won civil rights.
While other folks were burning or discarding their Nikes, Black folks were buying Nikes in significant numbers. Giving the appearance of standing with Colin, therefore the Black community, proved quite lucrative for the company. They made billions playing Black folks then, and they're 'Just Doing It' again now. Of course, they're "sorry"...
The Congressional Black Caucus is meeting this weekend. Will this matter be discussed? Will they release a statement?
There is no wonder about what would or will be the response of this present administration whose rhetoric and policies have served to incite heightened anti-Black racism. We can expect that any statement from them would be a celebratory high five.
I remember as a kid, my first pair of name brand sneakers was Converse. My mother had five children, all who wanted a pair of Converse sneaks. Of course, she couldn't afford them. I remember going to the knock-off section in sporting goods stores to buy "slightly irregular" sneaks at deeply discounted prices. That's how more than a few of us got our Chucks in the 70s. They were the hot sneak that all the kids just had to have.
This is not the first time Nike has swam in the dirty pond of racially charged water. They swim not alone, however. Numerous retailers can be cited that have blatantly insulted the Black community, pulled the ad, offered an apology along with a scholarship, or gave some Black person a prominent and highly visible job with no real power to appease the community, only to turn around and do it all over again (i.e. H&M, Dove, Prada, Gucci, and more recently despite an ongoing and highly effective boycott, Target).
It is estimated that between 70 and 72% of the National Basketball Association (NBA) players are Black. These highly influential players drive huge sales margins for whatever products they simply mention or wear, much less endorse or brand.
Nike is a main supplier of apparel for the NBA. Prominent players such as Michael Jordan and LeBron James have shoe lines with Nike. Have they released a statement?
Nike is a major supplier of apparel throughout the NBA and likely other sports. Has NBA leadership released a statement?
How about the Black players? Have they released a statement, threatened a boycott, or are they being obediently quiet as they just dribble?
It must be profitable to insult the Black community, offer the obligatory oops', realize profits, extend a "heartfelt" apology, until they 'just do it' again.
Obviously, there is no accountability or real consequence for offending Black consumers, who like Black lives, just don't matter...
Again, who thought this an appropriate print ad, now or even during the infamous postcard days of jim crow?
Anti-Black racism is alive and well and seemingly remains pretty damn profitable.
Corporate Response:
On September 18, 2026, Converse issued a formal statement apologizing for the material, telling media outlets:
"We're sorry. We understand why this image is deeply upsetting and recognize that we got this wrong. We removed it from our channels and are working to remove it everywhere it appeared. This should not have happened, and we will do better."
(Source Google AI)
~ Miss Higgi Says,
#apologynotaccepted
