Artwork by Sebastien Samson

ALL LIVES CANNOT MATTER
UNTIL BLACK LIVES MATTER

 
Converse stands against the racism, police brutality and senseless violent acts
that are killing Black people.

 
 
This is our commitment:

 
We know it needs to start with us. This means working on our company culture. More opportunity, inclusion, belonging, representation and equity for current and future Black teammates at all levels.

 
We work with Black creatives, designers, athletes and businesses. Their stories have played and will play a vital role in creating the Converse story. We will bring additional support to causes that affect their communities.

 
We will use our platforms to amplify the voices of Black youth around the world and will fund a dedicated community of emerging global leaders creating progress together.

 
We will work with Nike and Jordan to commit $40 million over the next four years to support Black communities. This investment focuses on organizations advocating for social justice, driving education and combating racial inequality. Converse has immediately made the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and the Equal Justice Initiative part of this effort.

 
We believe in the power of the vote to create change and will support U.S. voter education and registration at the national and local level.

 
We know this is not a new problem. Black people have fought against injustice for over four hundred years. To those using their voices in the fight for justice, we will no longer be a witness.

 
We stand with you in action.

ARTIST’S STATEMENT

 
"So in making this, I was thinking about for starters, what medium to use? Should I repurpose a photo I’ve taken, should I go very very basic and super minimalist to the point? Then I was just thinking about all the opposition to the BLM movement and how it's just essentially rooted in ignorance. Like it’s really simple to understand what Black Lives Matter means, all lives cannot matter until Black Lives Matter. So I just wrote it over and over and over and over, I want it to be like driven into the viewers head, I like the grit and the scan texture, it’s kinda frustrating to the eye, but it’s like yeah, this should make you uncomfortable. This should hurt a bit to look at because Black lives need to matter, and it’s a hard truth sometimes for white people/non black people to understand cause it pops that bubble that they believe everything is great and perfect, but it isn’t and work needs to be done.

 
I like this design cause it’s bold, it’s gritty (because the road ahead is tough), and it’s straight to the point. And the process of making it was very analog, writing it out, scanning the paper and stuff. I made it with my hands in a way."

 
– Sebastien Samson