COON SHOES: Flyy like a Slave.

When I first seen the pictures of the new “Slave Adidas” last week, all I could do is shake my head and sigh….. Sooooo…… Adidas somehow got the idea that putting some flavored shackles on your ankles is a hot fashion commodity. After never having lived as a real slave, I guess they thought that people wanted to know what it felt like to be a slave with fashion sense. Nothing says, “fly” like tacky ass sneakers with shackles on your ankles. You can’t tell the streets that isn’t “innovative”… That’s more flyy than walking down the street with a house arrest anklet on… WHAT’S HOTT IN THE STREETS THIS SUMMER?? YOU GUESSED IT, PLASTIC SHACKLES ON YOUR ANKLES….
People got really upset over this forreal. I Am glad that society isn’t that far gone. After outrage, the sneakers have been banned. However, the fact that Adidas knowingly decided to mass produce a sneaker like this and attempt to sell it is like spitting in Black America’s face.
4real???????????????

Adidas sneakers kinda go hand in hand with hip hop. Classic acts like  RUN DMC  made the brand cool.  Many hip hop artist have paid homage either to a shoutout to the “shell toe” or “shell top” adidas in their rhymes. The Adidas track suits were also very popular in the 80’s and even now.  Missy Elliot  rocked customized track suits during a great portion of her career. So…. How you go from that to this? I’ll be real and say I was never a huge fan of Adidas (even after they got fresh endorsers like B.O.B) I am definitely not a fan in the least bit now. I will probably associate their name with the company that put out the “Coon shoes”. Adidas tried THE HELL out of Black America, PERIOD. There’s no way around it.

Granted, the style of the shoe is clearly geared towards a younger demographic. Mind you, a demographic that has probably never seen Alex Haley’s “Roots” or doesn’t value the history. There is a difference between knowing who you are and where you come from and celebrating that, and sarcastically pacifying it like, “OH, IT WASN’T THAT BAD…” That’s exactly what they did. They slapped some shackles on some shoes and printed their named “ADIDAS” in big bold letters… What does that really say?
I’ve never been shackled a day in my life physically but like many other black people, I was born psychologically and spiritually shackled in ways that I had to learn to understand. The fact that Adidas basically poked fun at a piece of my ancestor’s story pissed me off. Trust, I WILL, and I mean WILL NOT let this one ride.