Concerned Citizen Over Nike Symbolism.pdf - Concerned Citizen

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‘Concerned Citizen Over Nike Symbolism’ Before I begin griping too much, I must give a humble disclaimer: no one should give a hell what I have to say – and why should they? I’m nothing more than a concerned citizen minding his own business. I mean, I didn’t throw a stink over the whole Kaepernick-kneeling thing when it happened. I’m all about 1st Amendment rights! I’m all about respecting someone for putting their career on the line to give the finger to ‘The Man.’ I simply marked-up Colin’s flag-disrespectin’ as collateral damage on behalf of a noble cause. Then my mood began to shift when Nike came out with their Kaepernick-commercial. One-hundred- million-dollar-whopper of free media that commercial earned Nike! The Kaepernick-Nike partnership couldn’t resist the urge to bank on Colin’s new 1st Amendment fame. Good for Colin, I thought. Getting his pay-day after the NFL gave him a shitty hand. And when he sued the NFL and won a ‘heresay’ of 60- 80 million dollars (in addition to the 35 million dollars he earned during his tenure as 49ers quarterback), I thought, man, Colin must be a happy go-lucky guy now! As for Nike, I thought, they must’ve decided divisive times demanded drastic measures. Good for Nike, I thought, standing up for Colin’s 1st Amendment rights. Then Nike had to take it two steps too far.. Two things crossed my mind when I first heard Nike decided to burn their flag-shoes. First, I couldn’t understand what Betsy Ross ever did to offend Colin? Secondly, what kind of message was Nike sending to the general public? For whatever reason, I felt, personally, demoralized. I felt Colin was taking his anger out over being ousted from the NFL on the same public he was trying to rally behind him only a year earlier. I felt personally affronted that Colin felt lesser of me if I chose to wear the flag of my country. But Nike, to my astonishment, agreed with Colin’s astute assessment that the shoes were offensive. What pushovers Nike must be, I thought. I forgot about the whole ordeal thinking it was over, and then this happened… ‘The Statue, created by the artist who painted Barack Obama’s official portrait, feature a Black man with dreads, wearing a hoodie and Nikes on horseback.’ – Huffington Post, by David Moye Fine artist Kehinde Wiley’s ‘Rumors of War’ statue had a momentous debut in Times Square. The statue immediately became iconic nationwide possessing a powerful cultural resonance. The statue now calls Richmond, Virginia, home. It sits alongside Arthur Ashe Blvd which runs perpendicular to Monument Avenue where Confederates Civil War leaders are sculpted on horseback. I liked it when Kehinde testified, during a CBS interview, that he is not an advocate of the removal of the Confederate statues, but a proponent for more statues that are culturally inclusive and more expansive on America’s complex historical narrative. After a quick google search you can see the Media simply ate it up. But there was one thing I couldn’t get over. It was the brand Kehinde had put on the shoes. Nike. Was he really just throwing one of the biggest corporations a bone? Or was Kehinde unknowingly rewarding Nike for its’ successful marketing campaigns that primarily focus on urban youth? There was one thing I knew for a fact: no one was talking about how much free media Nike had earned from Kehinde’s statues like they did after the Kaepernick- commercial. Yet, it was clear to me, Nike was getting a lot of free media, not to mention being forever iconized on a Museum’s front doorstep. Some billboard, I thought. But things didn’t add up for me. How did Nike evolve from a brand that simply supported super athletes into a brand that stood up for black injustices? But then it hit me: did Kehinde, like Colin, have a predetermined commercial relationship with Nike? I didn’t have to look far to discover enough evidence to raise a few eyebrows. On news.artnet.com it clearly states that Kehinde, through his representation at the Creative Exchange Agency, accepts commercial patronage from companies like Nike. Although, in the article, nowhere does it say, explicitly, that Nike and Kehinde have worked together; but, still, the inference can be made after Nike is mentioned - in the same article that Kehinde is in - 11 times. Is Kehinde not telling us about a kick-back from Nike for his ‘Rumors of War’ statue. Or is this just one big coincidence? So what – right? Who cares if Nike pays handsomely pays to wedge itself within America’s most divisive debates? None of my business, right? But - you know what - I do care. And here’s why. I don’t care when Nike profits from athlete endorsements; I actually encourage it, because successful athlete role- models is an exemplary example of freedom in a free nation. We’ve come a long from Gladiators – ya know? But it doesn’t sit well with me, or should it with you - in my humble opinion – that Nike is profiting in a subversive and systematic scheme that exploits divisive public debates. Truthfully, I wouldn’t care so much if Nike wasn’t two-faced. A quick search shows that Nike’s labor issues are still not behind them. As an objective observer, it seems, to me, that Nike wants to live in two realities. In the rosier and profitable first-world reality they fight for the little guy, while, simultaneously, they take advantage of that same little guy in second world economies where they manufacture. Does anyone feel the same way that I do? That Nike’s newfound glory as an American civil rights defender is nothing more than a bad PR-smokescreen to obscure the not-so-rosy facts abroad? Regardless of the intentions of the Athletes and the Artists that Nike endorses/patrons, free citizens must reserve the right to ask serious questions before accepting any marketing campaign, or iconic piece of art, simply on face value alone. Free citizens reserve the right to inquire whether there is an embedded corporate agenda involved. Especially when that agenda is offensive to many American’s values. Yours Truly, A Concerned Citizen