Dwayne Fields (pictured above) is the first Black Britain to make it to the magnetic North Pole. How about that for a bit of trivia? (I’m about to deviate.)
Dwayne’s story is what I expect from major brands who chase after Black and Brown dollars, but these aren’t the stories being told by Nike, adidas and Under Armour. More interesting is that Merrell has an employee base that is primarily White, yet they have taken the time over the last few years to tell stories of mental health issues, women’s rights and fitness with representatives in the Black community. Last year, while I taught a course at UT Austin, I took on Merrell as a case study as a response to a request on outdoor brands at the previous AAFF Forum. I had never worn the brand, never resold the brand, never written an article on the brand. For me a case study on Merrell would be the best research I could possibly do because it wouldn’t be influenced by media or prior interactions with the company. The first post I wrote was the one below:
In the last two years I’ve been interviewed by the Portland Business Journal and I’ve participated on panel discussions on racism in the sneaker industry. In the last two months brands have been called to task to speak on behalf of Black people in regard to social justice issues. The reality of brands lacking diversity can be seen in their responses being torn apart on social media. The lack of hiring in C-Suite, VP positions and throughout the companies left many brands ill-prepared to take on this time which isn’t familiar to the employees, founders and managerial staff at sneaker companies. We’ve all seen Black people fighting for equality, but in today’s atmosphere White allies are more active than they’ve been since the Civil Rights movement.
I looked at Merrell last year because, like I said, I had been asked by employees at different outdoor sporting brands about how they could approach problems in their companies when they were the only ones there. As an educator, veteran, athlete and an outsider in the sneaker industry my life experience allows me to tackle a question like that, but not as effectively as a social worker or psychologist. Instead of answering directly, I placed my research skills into action and took on an analysis of outdoor brands.
What I realized is that outdoor brands were making a push to find new demographics for growth, but because they had overlooked Black employees internally there wasn’t enough representation to effectively launch into a diverse demographic:
As I’ve begun to look at race in the industry a bit more and speak to White peers at these brands, because only speaking to Black peers doesn’t inform or educate deep enough, I landed on a different discussion. Speaking with a friend who works at an outdoor brand, I was told that designers for a brand I’ve covered here on the site were interns at this particular outdoor company (I’m being intentionally vague). He said, “They loved their time with the company, but their hearts were in a different place. They didn’t want to work for us.” His comment led to a realization that Black people looking to advance in this industry have problems they have to work through which aren’t being discussed:
- The Black potential employee has to integrate companies like Merrell, Columbia, Patagonia, North Face and Cat. Yes, I said integrate.
- The Black potential employee has to forgo their love for Nike and adidas because wanting to work for the big companies means the big companies don’t have to adjust their diversity practices. They know you want them.
- The Black potential employee will feel isolated and alone when accepting jobs with smaller brands and outdoor brands. Especially when the sports served by the brands are not commonly associated with Black people.
Merrell and Dwayne Fields
In the video below as Dwayne (pictured at the lead of this story) explains his near death experience and lifestyle change, he makes the statement, “Black people don’t like the cold. Jamaicans don’t like snow.” These jokes make the seriousness of his discussion easier to have, but they hint at a truth that shapes the outdoor industry. Black people are not the target for these brands. Yet, Merrell has decided to endorse and support two Black men in completely different parts of the world. Dwayne does what Tyrhee Moore does in Washington D.C. Look again at the first link I posted above. That article is about Moore. The work both Moore and Fields are doing, here and in the UK, are the experiences that change the lives of people.
These are not famous athletes selling you a shoe because they run and jump fast. Merrell endorsed two Black men, and as I found out while researching, the company endorses a host of Black people.
Black people don’t know Merrell exists. Merrell doesn’t have to do this, but they are doing it. White people at Merrell, before all of the current protests, were giving a voice to Black people at a company that doesn’t get hardly any of the Black dollar. To be fair and blunt, Merrell doesn’t need the Black dollar and they don’t need to cater to Black folks during this current wave of social injustice. Merrell saying “Black Lives Matter” is pandering. They’ve already shown they have an interest in Black Lives with their work. Trying to get the Black consumer by hiring Black people, if I’m boldly honest, would be very problematic because this isn’t something they’ve worked on. I repeat Merrell doesn’t have to say Black Lives Matter because from the outside looking in, they know this. Now on the inside it could be a different story altogether, but when brands feel pressured to make statements on a demographic that they honestly aren’t serving in a big way, it’s kind of disingenuous.
This is not a celebration of Merrell.
This is my look at Merrell and smaller brands as a gateway to leveling the playing field in the sneaker industry. I know it’s hard to get a job where White people are the primary people in positions of influence, but if the VP of Marketing, or the VP of Retail or other high level jobs opened and Merrell took on the task of building out a more diverse roster of employees, and people wanted to move to Michigan the new ideas that flow into a company like Merrell or Columbia (IF ACTED UPON AND GIVEN AN EAR) could disrupt the momentum of companies like Nike and adidas.
Real change is an uncomfortable process.
This video of Dwayne below is from last year. I missed this when I was researching. Merrell doesn’t advertise the same way that a company like Nike does. Their videos don’t go viral. Black people don’t care about this brand, but maybe they could.
This is something to think about.
