Women's History Month: Examining Black Feminism, Nike's Yard Runners, and more
Hero Collective
Hero Collective is a 100% black-owned, creative and social marketing company focused on turning brands in to heroes.
Welcome back to Culture Hack, our newsletter authored by our very own Heroes: students of culture, creators, and boundary-pushing, shape shifters hell-bent on changing the world. Our work is rooted in deep cultural understanding, based on our lived experiences, expertise, and relentless learning that we use to help brands find and leverage their “Cultural Superpower. In honor of Women’s history month, we’re taking a look at Black Feminism, and highlighting Nike’s Yardrunners campaign and the women featured in the iconic HBCU series. We also look at the latest cultural conversations online and how brands are joining in on the discourse.
Black Feminism and Intersectionality
From the rise of the #MeToo movement to the first elected woman as the Vice President of the United States, there is no doubt strides have been made in the feminist movement over the past 5 years. But one of the biggest criticisms of the way feminism is discussed in the media has been the absence of voices from women of color, while that of white women is amplified. Often, negating the intersectionality that race and other identities bring to the feminist movement.
Thinking about the unique lived experiences within each of these identities led to the rise of Black Feminism: a social movement with roots in the early 20th century that understands the core values of each identity, but allows black women to navigate racist, sexist and other socio-political parts of society.
We’ve already seen the transformation of Black women in entertainment, often centered around their experiences and different identities. Some examples include ‘Run the World’, ‘Insecure’, ‘Harlem’, Chewing Gum’, and many more. Black Feminism has brought so many culturally relevant conversations regarding feminism and its history to light, ones we are still having to this day.
Many racial or gender related topics often neglect to mention women who have led and significantly contributed to the fight for both racial and gender equality. When supporting women in their fight for equality, it is important to not forget the diversity and intersectionality of identities, especially in today’s day and age where Gen Zs refuse to be placed in a box. Their unique experiences and other parts of their identity provide insight into ways brands can increase visibility and become more inclusive of marginalized groups.
For brands, Black Feminism is evidence of the importance of thinking beyond race, or gender and considering different aspects of their identity. Instead of telling women things they’ve heard before, create a culture where exploring their diverse experiences and empowering them to express themselves is the norm.
Who Runs The World? Yardrunners
There is no better time to highlight trailblazers at the intersection of change, innovation, and forward mobility than Women’s History Month. The National Women's History Alliance announced 2023’s Women’s History Month theme as "Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories." Many brands have elevated women in a transformative way, but one of our favorites is the “Nike Yardrunners” which underscores the importance of elevating the intersectionality of Black women.
The collection, which launched in 2020, celebrates the storied history of HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) by featuring apparel from 19 of these prestigious schools. Nike “is on a mission to preserve and support the integrity that is rooted in these foundational colleges and universities.” Each year, Nike Yardrunners releases a unique cohort that upholds that year's lane of success:
Last year, Nike collaborated with four Black Yardrunner women on the design of the new Nike Dunk Lows. The shoes were specifically designed to highlight four HBCUs and leveraged the women’s experiences as inspirationThe experience of attending an HBCU as a Black woman is one that deserves the spotlight. As this year's theme is “Celebrating Women who tell our stories,” these four Black women embody the epitome of Black success, determination, duality, and the reality of our ancestor's wildest dreams.
Representing Nike Dunk Lows for Tennessee State University (TSU)
Kalynn Terrell
Nike Alumni Year: Yardrunners 1.0
Craft: Fashion Designer and Business owner
Kalynn has turned her craft into a business where she is able to be the reality of her own dream. She is now the owner of her fashion brand Nose In The Air, which enables tall women to style baggy fashion with ease.
Representing Nike Low Dunks for Florida A&M University (FAMU)
Caitlyn Davis
Nike Alumni Year: Yardrunners 1.0
Craft: Business Owner
While at FAMU, Caitlyn was able to understand the ins and outs of what it takes to be a business owner. Now as an alumna, Caitlyn is the business owner of her apparel Be Great. After designing the Nike Dunk Lows, Caitlyn expressed to an interviewer, “We were able to talk to big Nike leaders and show them that HBCUs are the culture, and we are the ones driving the dollars to their shoes.”
Recommended by LinkedIn
Representing Nike Dunk Low for Clark Atlanta University (CAU)
Heather Haynes
Craft: Global Marketer and Producer
Member of CAU’s 40 under 40 Young Alumni Achievement award, Haynes was able to leave a lasting legacy at her alma mater. Her love for fashion grew at CAU and was able to fuel her creative mind when designing the shoe.
Representing Nike Low Dunks for North Carolina A&T University (NCAT)
Arial Robinson
Nike Alumni Year: Yardrunners 2.0
Craft: Multimedia Journalism
During Arial’s time at NCAT, she was named 2021 HBCU Creative of the Year, 2019 Forbes 30 Under 30 Scholar, and the author of the books: The Modern-Day Black Alphabet and Black Hair Care in Color. She recalled to an interviewer, “I was really excited but also really blessed that someone would trust my vision, especially being so young, a Black woman at an HBCU. A lot of times we don’t get those opportunities, so to have that opportunity and tell a greater story that gets people physically moving on campus, it’s amazing and super monumental”.
Activating on Cultural Conversations
Great power comes from listening to what consumers are talking about on social media outside of the brand conversation. Knowing what is going on in pop culture and being up to date on the latest trends can be a vital engagement push for any brand’s social media strategy, and has been a mainstay of brand social for the past few years. By doing this, the brand can also increase its chances of tapping into new audiences and getting your current audience to engage in those conversations that you tied your brand into.
The show The Last of Us, based on a popular video game, has been trending weekly as new episodes come out every Sunday. Arby’s saw this as an opportunity to create a post that would tap into that show’s audience without directly calling it out. The brand showed a great way of jumping on the trend while being subtle enough to avoid copyright issues.
Take also Beyonce’s Renaissance Tour announcement: The internet went into a frenzy with conversations of excitement and how they were going to start saving to purchase the tickets. Multiple brands jumped on the conversation and joined the Beyhive on the topic of saving money for the concert. Some brands that also posted were Ritz Crackers, Footlocker, & even Teletubbies.
Currently, the hot conversation is the supposed unspoken feud between Selena Gomez & Haley Bieber. Fans of the singer have rallied to uncover all of the “shady” actions that Haley Bieber has taken against Selena. People and even brands on the internet are taking sides and most seem to be #TeamSelena, like Whataburger. Others like Little Caesars are using the opportunity to reach new audiences but remain neutral.
These are just a few examples in the past few weeks. Clearly, there are many ways that brands can stay on top of cultural conversations and use them to their advantage. So question is, how will you engage?
Tiktok while driving? Yeah, you heard that right.
Meta has announced that they are running tests to bring back Messenger to the Facebook app.
Your Spotify experience is getting an UPGRADE. With hopes of being much more than a regular music streaming service, the app is now integrating things that are in part similar to other popular apps (TikTok, Instagram, & YouTube).
Want to learn more about what's going on at Hero Collective? Reach out to us info@herocollective.co