On the good foot: An ode to sneaker culture

JONATHAN COOPER

Author and college professor Jemayne King is an avowed fan of sneaker culture and its impact on American culture.

Shoes are more than footwear.  

They mean different things to different people and are a part of your identity and culture.  

Jemayne King, author of a poetry collection called “Sole Food: Digestible Sneaker Culture,” says that to be immersed in shoe culture is something you feel. It is authentic. His book reached its 15th anniversary, and it didn’t seem that long ago for King when he got his inspiration.

While at a conference in New Orleans in 2007, King came across “Where’d You Get Those?” authored by Bobbito Garcia, a pioneer of sneaker culture literature and member of the hip hop group Rock Steady Crew. Garcia was one of the primary inspirations for King’s book along with Donald Major, who authored a poetry collection that also inspired King.

“I ordered (Garcia’s book) when I left the conference and by the time I got home, it arrived,” King said. “I remember this vividly. My luggage got lost on my way back to Charlotte. When I got home, it was on my doorstep. I got home around 2 in the morning, and I had an 8 a.m. class the next day. I read his book cover to cover, and it had to be 200-300 pages long.”

King believes that for an “authentic subscriber,” shoes mean much more than “what are all the cool kids wearing.” It’s a lifestyle. It comes naturally. For people who are immersed in shoe culture and what King calls authentic subscribers, it means more than looking fly.

King’s book, for a non-authentic subscriber, may not be easy to grasp. King says the concepts can be deep. But he wanted to create something that dealt with a compelling topic.

“Sneaker culture isn’t something that someone does or someone is a part of,” King said. “It is literally an extension of their existence. Sneaker culture is something you live. Within it, you have an authentic subscription, an inauthentic subscription and you have casual observers.”

One of King’s former English students at Johnson C. Smith University noticed every Friday that King would have on a different unique pair of shoes. Thad Williams, a sneakerhead like King, was naturally drawn to his style and shoes.  

“My freshman and sophomore year is where it all kind of started,” Williams said. “Then we just kind of cultivated that relationship for what has been longer than a decade now. He has been my mentor and friend. We talk pretty regularly and just soak up information from him. He has been my age before and I’ve never been his age.”

Williams’ definition of shoe culture is that it is almost like his lifestyle. It isn’t something that he consciously thinks about, but he is immersed in it regardless because of his love of shoes and style. You can get a feel for what someone is like based on the shoes they wear.

“You always see someone’s shoes before you actually meet them and talk to them,” Williams said. “So, judging by their shoes you can almost get a feel for what they are like not only as a person but what their story is like, what their style is about.”

David J. Butler, a lifelong friend of Williams and CEO of his own company, says sneaker culture was about the connections people make. Butler was a student at Winston-Salem State University while Williams was at JCSU and met King through Williams.

Butler feels that sneaker culture changes over time and never stays consistent. Like King, he feels true sneaker culture is something you have to be immersed in to be considered an authentic subscriber.  
“I wouldn’t consider myself a sneakerhead by today’s standards,” Butler said. “Even though I’ve been a part of this culture since I was seven or eight years old, it just means something different for this generation and will mean something different to the next as well.

“You want to be able to accurately identify yourself within the context of sneakers for sure.”  

King compares sneaker culture to hip-hop and feels they can be one and the same.

“Hip-hop, a lot like sneaker culture, was very inclusive at the start,” he said. “Sneaker culture for authentic subscribers has been inclusive from the get-go. Authentic subscribers recognize the literature behind sneaker culture. They know the history behind it. They know details about the manufacturing of the shoes. It is more than ‘Hey I got an expensive pair of shoes.’”

Fifteen years ago when King wrote his poetry collection, he had no idea the impact it would make. King’s Sole Food brand has taken off in ways he never dreamed of. It is even a class that he teaches asynchronously at JCSU.  

“When I wrote the book, I had no idea it would turn out to be something that is considered to be academic,” King said. “When I wrote it, I wrote it to express myself. I had no idea it would be the first and second English course that studies and celebrates authentic subscription and sneaker culture literature.”

What was intended for self-expression turned out to be a huge hit and a tool used to educate students on what it means to be an authentic subscriber. Also, it teaches people what shoe culture means and how it transcends.  

“It was just an expression,” King said. “For it to be celebrated in academia and make history, I am blessed and thankful.”  

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