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"Equality" basketball shoes game-worn by LeBron James

African American Museum

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    Object Details

    Manufactured by

    Nike Inc., American, founded 1971

    Worn by

    LeBron James, American, born 1984

    Caption

    LeBron James wore this pair of Equality shoes for the Cleveland Cavaliers' game against the Washington Wizards on December 18, 2017. After the game, James told reporters,“Obviously, we know where we are right now. We know who’s at the helm. Us as Americans, no matter the skin color, no matter the race, no matter who you are, we all have to understand having equal rights and being able to stand for something, speak for something and keeping the conversation going…Obviously, I’ve been outspoken and well-spoken about what’s going on at the helm here. We’re never going to let one person dictate us Americans — how beautiful and how powerful we are as a people. Equality is all about understanding our rights, understanding what we stand for and how powerful we are as men, as women, black or white, or Hispanic. It don’t matter your race, whatever the case may be. This is a beautiful country.”

    Description

    A pair of Nike ZOOM + MAX "Equality" basketball shoes game-worn by LeBron James. The shoes are made from synthetic fabric upper and other manmade materials. The left shoe is all white, and the right is entirely black. Shoes are tongue-less high-tops with elasticated ankles and pull loops for pulling the shoes on. Both front loops have an impression of Roman numerals XV. The fabric of the shoes is stitched into a diamond pattern except at the heel, where gold embroidery spells out the word [EQUALITY]. Below the embroidery, the plastic sole extends up the back of the heel. Plastic sole extended up the back of the heel is decorated with a gold Nike-brand "swoosh" symbol and has [12/17 1st half] written in black marker on both shoes. Number on sole of left shoe reads [330503216] and number on sole of right shoe reads [LRJSFG23].

    Credit Line

    Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of LeBron James

    Date

    2017

    Object number

    2018.58ab

    Restrictions & Rights

    © Nike
    Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.

    Type

    sneakers

    Medium

    synthetic fiber , plastic , rubber

    Dimensions

    H x W x D (together): 8 9/16 × 7 5/8 × 19 7/8 in. (21.7 × 19.3 × 50.5 cm)
    H x W x D (Left [a]): 8 9/16 × 3 15/16 × 19 7/8 in. (21.7 × 10 × 50.5 cm)
    H x W x D (Right [b]): 8 1/16 × 3 15/16 × 19 7/8 in. (20.5 × 10 × 50.5 cm)

    Place used

    Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America

    See more items in

    National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection

    Classification

    Clothing - Sports Uniforms

    Exhibition

    Sports: Leveling the Playing Field

    On View

    NMAAHC (1400 Constitution Ave NW), National Mall Location, Community/Third Floor, 3 052

    Data Source

    National Museum of African American History and Culture

    Topic

    African American
    Activism
    Basketball
    Clothing and dress
    Sports

    Metadata Usage

    CC0

    Link to Original Record

    http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5a6760e64-9259-41b4-91bd-7d94dcfc21c1

    Record ID

    nmaahc_2018.58ab

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