In defense of the triple-black Nike Air Force 1, a shoe whose reputation could use some upliftment

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Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more opinions on theGrio.

I have no statistics to back up this statement I’m about to make but I feel like the streets would prove me right: The triple-white (basically all-white) Nike Air Force 1s are some of the most popular shoes ever made. No matter where you look or where you go, you see the same silhouette on the feet of folks from age 8 to 80. It’s a Swiss Army knife kind of shoe: You can dress it up or down, wear it with shorts or pants, and because it’s white as the freshly fallen snow, it kind of goes with everything — much like its derided and much-maligned sibling, the triple black Air Force 1.

You know this shoe. You may have seen it on the feet of the person robbing you at an ATM in broad daylight as you looked down — praying for a quick theft of personal property — and wondered why every time you’ve personally been the victim of a petty crime, the same shoes are always present. Is the same person robbing you? (Probably not.) Or do all the robbers wear the same shoes? (It’s possible.) You see, the black Air Force 1 has a reputation (kinda, sorta jokingly, kinda, sorta earned honestly) in the shoe community as the go-to shoe for a sect of the criminal underworld. Maybe it’s the comfort. Maybe it’s the look. Whatever it is, there’s this myth that a person robbing you may or may not be wearing a black 1s, but a person wearing black 1s is definitely robbing you. 

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Here’s the thing: While the reputation for the black 1s may be well earned — I don’t think I’ve ever been robbed by a person in black 1s, but I also can’t say that I’ve ever truly paid attention to the footwear of my personal criminals — the shoe itself also is as useful as its white counterpart. Not only is as useful in a haberdashery sense (more on this in a few), but I’d argue that black shoes, as a whole, are a better option 90% of the time than an all-white shoe, making the black 1s actually a BETTER shoe than the white!

Controversial, I know.  But here’s the thing. There’s almost never a good time to wear an all-white ensemble outside of one of  Diddy’s white parties (or whoever is throwing them now; I feel like the Roc Nation Brunch is heading that way), a 40-and-up cruise or when you’re just trying to be seen. But an all-black ensemble? That works 60% of the time, every time. You can wear all-black to funerals or work, and they say that wearing all-black has a slimming effect. Has anybody ever said wearing all-white has a slimming effect? Probably not. And what kind of shoes can you wear with an all-black outfit? All-black 1s. You can wear them with a tuxedo (kind of like how everybody was wearing Air Jordan 11 Concords for prom in the ’90s, and probably every year since they dropped). You see, all-black 1s are the true Swiss Army knife of Air Force 1s because they also don’t get as dirty as quickly. If you put on a pair of all-white shoes of any brand, the minute they get dirty, you need a new pair. But a little bit of dirt on black shoes doesn’t ruin the shoe; you can just wipe them off and keep it pushing. 

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Also, while it’s possible that all-black 1s are good for committing crimes — I’m not a criminal; I can neither confirm nor deny this assertion — they are also good for grocery shopping, picking up kids from school and axe-throwing. And here’s the real gotcha gotcha: All-black EVERYTHING innately looks cooler than all-white anything. Sure, all-white shoes look more pristine. But if we’re talking about something being cool, the black route is the way to go. Look at black baseball hats with white stitching. Sure there’s white, but it isn’t driving the train. If you wanted to put on a super cool-looking outfit, you’d probably go for something that has black in it. Stylish? Interesting? Unique? You’d experiment with colors and shapes and patterns but if cool was your ministry? All-black. 

Just ask the NFL’s Oakland, I mean, Los Angeles … I mean, Las Vegas Raiders, who used to put out shirts that said “Real men wear black.” They didn’t say “Real men wear black and then white 1s.” Nope, I think you can assume they would also want you to wear black 1s, too. 

Here is my point: All-black 1s have a reputation as being the shoe for criminals, and while that may or may not be true, the shoe is as versatile and even MORE useful than its more popular, more appreciated, more celebrated sibling, the all-white Air Force 1. I think we should all go out today (or someday) and buy a pair of triple-black Air Force 1s and wear them with pride and joy to whatever function we deem appropriate. Sure, folks might be concerned, but just let them know that you’re here to change the narrative. 

Anything else is uncivilized.

Panama Jackson is a columnist at theGrio. He writes very Black things and drinks very brown liquors, and is pretty fly for a light guy. His biggest accomplishment to date coincides with his Blackest accomplishment to date in that he received a phone call from Oprah Winfrey after she read one of his pieces (biggest), but he didn’t answer the phone because the caller ID said: “Unknown” (Blackest).

Make sure you check out the Dear Culture podcast every Thursday on theGrio’s Black Podcast Network, where I’ll be hosting some of the Blackest conversations known to humankind. You might not leave the convo with an afro, but you’ll definitely be looking for your Afro Sheen! Listen to Dear Culture on TheGrio’s app; download it here.