Are collections acknowledging Black History Month, commodification or celebration? Nike and adidas have both gotten these collections wrong and smaller brands are now taking on the process of bringing attention to the rich contributions made by Blacks in America.
Delivering a collection is complex. Everyone won’t like what’s being done, and this makes the task extremely difficult… especially for those Black employees leading the projects. In the U.S. Blacks are “the last hired, the first fired,” in many instances. When you consider that laws creating equal opportunities are only as old as our grandparents, and the fact that White people act like they don’t understand the inherent racism they carry by decree of the government and family history, it becomes harder to face the challenges head on.
Under Armour and New Balance both showed considerable support for the previous administration. That administration was the most divisive government since the Reagan era in the 80s. This support by the brands is diametrically opposed to the beautiful collections they’ve created. If these brands don’t fix themselves internally, if all brands don’t figure out how to provide support for their Black employees, they will create problems long term.
Links to sites in this video:
https://www.underarmour.com/en-us/t/black-history-month/
https://about.underarmour.com/forbmore
https://about.underarmour.com/news/2021/01/curry-8-bhm-beautiful-flow
https://newbalance.newsmarket.com/latest-news/all/new-balance-unveils-2021-black-history-month-signature-program—collection—my-story-matters-/s/a352c77c-3f96-4040-9cbe-7e744ca19d46
https://www.merrell.com/US/en/home
