Michael Jordan's Exploitation Of Black Role Models

I was born on December 20th, 1996, in Vienna, Virginia. My incredible parents, Kevin and Melissa, are black and white respectively. They grew up without a lot but worked tirelessly to ensure that my brother and I had everything that we needed, and most of what we wanted. Therefore, I would humbly say that we are in the upper-middle class. However, many of the kids' parents at my predominantly white high school were multi-millionaires. That didn’t bother me until I noticed that all the “cool” black kids wore basketball shoes. Seeing as I wanted to fit in, as a naïve adolescent, I wanted to have as many pairs as them. But, my parents saw through the superficial nature of my dilemma and only bought me what I needed. I, then, had more basketball

Black youth, especially in inner cities, were clamoring for role models. Although not a provable fact, it’s a widely-held opinion that there is, and has been, a stark lack of black role models. This has led black youth to look up to, and want to emulate, professional athletes. So, when Michael Jordan began to dominate the sport, many young blacks began to idolize him. Furthermore, by ignoring the uniform code, Jordan was rebelling against the white establishment. Black youth saw Jordan as one of their own; a young black man living by his own rules. Nike took note of black youths' reverence for Jordan and crafted a marketing strategy to appeal to them. Specifically, Nike "marketed its Air Jordans… with a series of ads linking the shoes directly to the basketball great's athletic prowess and to black youth culture” (Chertoff). They began to produce the shoes for the public. The results were impressive, but nevertheless astounding; everyone wanted them. In doing this, black youth could further associate themselves with Jordan. Simply linking the shoes to black culture wasn’t bad, though. In fact, it was actually a good thing. Jordan's style was a reflection of black culture in the same way that Jazz and Blues used to reflect black culture (George xvii). Jazz and Blues musicians didn't necessarily appeal to the youth, though. They were often much older and therefore less relatable. However, with the innovation and

Sometimes, they will make hundreds of thousands of pairs, other times, they’ll produce only a few thousand. As Economics would dictate, the more limited the release, the higher the resale value will be. For those who may be unfamiliar, some of these shoes can resell for upwards of $1000. With such high value, there is often violence and or riots at the stores that sell the shoes. Here’s a depressing fact: black people get robbed for shoes that they are subconsciously wearing to maintain their identity. However, here’s a far more depressing fact: people have been killed for their shoes. Although somewhat dramatized, these victims are both literally and metaphorically being robbed both of their identity and in some cases, of their possessions/life. Re-read that and think about it before you keep reading. Black youth have been taught that shoes are so valuable that they are, in certain cases, more valuable than human life. As the Reverend Jesse Jackson pointed out, “this is exactly the kind of mindless commercialism our children need less of - especially in young urban America where 55 percent unemployment, 50 percent graduation rates, drugs and violence have them chained to uncertain futures already” (Chertoff). Said in a different voice, “when all these factors converge in the experience of black youth, youth grab on to anything that can provide even fleeting self-esteem and momentary