Hank Willis Thomas

Hank Willis Thomas
Swoosh: Looking Black at Nike, Moses, and Jordan in the ’80s
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My thesis project examines the ways that the African American male body was depicted in popular Nike basketball ads during the 1980s. The essay that follows considers the ads’ implications of black male physical prowess, and how the notion of “the cool black” was imaged and exploited in these ads. This essay also raises questions about the role of mythmaking with respect to “blackness” in the marketing of sportswear products, and the impact of marketing tactics on popular culture.