While it sounds tone deaf at first, Adidas had only one pair of white sneakers in a collection of new sports footwear celebrating Black History month. But for some, that was one too many.
The sneaker, an all-white Ultraboost, was part of the collection featuring designs inspired by the Harlem Renaissance, an important cultural period primarily during the 1920s that began to recognize African American contributions to the creative arts.
The majority of the shoes, which are black with bold orange and purple designs that “echo the colors of the jazz ballrooms so important to the era,” seem to be well-received on social media. But the white sneaker, released as part of the “Uncaged” line, drew harsh criticism for missing the mark.
Adidas Dropped the design after the outrage meter pinged on Social Media. But which is more racist — having one white contribution among a manifold of black choices or none?
Yes, there were plenty of white (mostly Democrats) who have much for which to account, but no less than Blacks in Africa who took and sold slaves, and still do. (You can make some striking modern parallels to Democrats both Black and White.)
But, to ban the white sneakers suggests to me that white people had nothing at all to do with improving the lives of Black Americans throughout our history. That’s simply not true. Americans of all races and religions have added to the greatness of America, and we should celebrate that every month.
As for Adidas and Black History Month, I’m not sure about calling the ‘line’ Uncaged. I’m also sorry we even have to have this conversation. It would be nice just to say yeah, those are sneakers. They don’t mean more than that. But we don’t live in that world right now. So I have to ask again. Does convincing Adidas to drop the white shoe seem just a little bit racist?
