Why a former Air Jordan design director left his job to lead the charge for Black representation across the sneaker industry

Why a former Air Jordan design director left his job to lead the charge for Black representation across the sneaker industry

Pensole











D'Wayne Edwards is one of a handful of Black designers who built a successful career in the sneaker industry.He worked as Nike's footwear design director between 2001 and 2011, where he made sneakers for the Air Jordan brand.Now, Edwards is leading the charge for more Black representation in the sneaker industry, via his work as the founder of design academy Pensole and as a leader for The African American Footwear Forum (AAFF), which addresses and solves diversity issues in the field."It's our job to tear the damn door down," Edwards said of the industry's barriers to entry for Black people. "And make sure it never closes again."Because