The giant known as Nike continues to profit off the people who are infatuated with Michael Jordan and his iconic shoe, the Air Jordan. More evidence of this comes from their recent, limited release of the Air Jordan 11 “Legend Blue” this past Saturday.

Nike boasted sales of $80 million dollars, according to SportScaninfo. In just three short hours of online and in-store sales, approximately 480,000 shoes were sold for over $200 each earning the company the record pay day. This was an incredible accomplishment for such a short period of time or a gym shoe.

Many companies don’t raise $80 million dollars in sales for a year or even a decade and Nike did it in about three hours. Naturally, the hype, interest and success only builds for next years limited release which is almost guaranteed to match or exceed these numbers.

Many in the black community are outraged over these figures and the near obsession with the Air Jordan shoe in the community because of a factors.

Many in the black community are outraged over these figures and the near obsession with the Air Jordan shoe in the community because of a factors.

Chief among the reasons are the lack of financial resources owned by the people wearing the shoes.

Two, the fact that the black youth are killing one another over these shoes.

Three, many of these patrons refuse to shop or spend their money in black owned businesses, which Nike isn’t. And four, the fact that Michael Jordan is so heavily invested in the prison industry and profiting off the backs of the misery in the black community.

Read more here: Michael Jordan: The Nike Prison Industrial Complex Connection

However, the black community are not the only ones spending this kind of money on these shoes. When you look at those lines outside of the Nike stores for the release of the new Jordans, it is littered with people of all ethnicity, financial backgrounds and geographical distances, so we can’t rest this entirely on the black community.

However, how does it make you feel knowing they are making millions in a few hours on the materialism and lack of unity we have fostered in our community?