The African American flag is an artistic evolution of Marcus Garvey’s red, black and green Pan-African flag. Near Jamaica Queens, where Tremaine Emory aka Denim Tears grew up, these colors cover the Liberty Rock monument, symbolizing the civil rights, group identity, and experience of African Americans. For Emory, the flag represents a distinct moment of personal discovery and a belief that Black artists, their points of view, their experience and their creative expression should be celebrated. On this limited-edition Chuck 70, Tremaine Emory translates the African American flag to an American classic.

To execute Emory’s vision and celebrate an America that includes and champions the voices, identities and ambitions of young Black creatives, Converse and Denim Tears have enlisted For Freedoms with Hank Willis Thomas, an artist collective that models and aims to increase civic joy, discourse and direct action – to release a new campaign dubbed “The Future is Yours. Vote.”