Adidas has released a new shoe design set to hit stores in August. Their design is causing a chain of racial reactions. The shoe, JS Roundhouse Mids, features gray, purple and black coloring with orange “handcuffs” (which some have argued resemble shackles) to wrap around the ankles. An article on Indiewire.com suggested that the imagery of the shoes is disconcerting and potentially racist.
“I doubt this is what Run DMC envisioned when they rapped about their 50 pairs of Adidas way back when,” a blogger from the site wrote.
Adidas, on their Facebook Page, has over 14 million likes and over 1,000 comments about the shoes ranging from people saying, “I need this,” to “[whoever] wears this is openly saying they are a slave. Like come on shackles on [your] ankles and the actual sneaker design is obviously [made] for people of color to like…I [refuse] to be made a fool of…” The caption underneath of shoe reads: “Tighten up your style with JS Roundhouse Mids, dropping in August. Got a sneaker game so hot you lock your kicks to your ankles.”
Now that you have seen the shoes for yourself, do you think they are racially insensitive?