Actively Black Honors Civil Rights Icons On The NYFW Runway
New York Fashion Week (NYFW) always brings fashion and flair. This year, Actively Black turned the runway into a history lesson wrapped in style. Over the weekend, the Black-owned athleisure brand founded by Lanny Smith used its platform to celebrate the leaders and legacies of the Civil Rights Movement. It was nothing short of powerful. Check out the viral clips from the moving runway show inside.
Dr. Bernice King and Dr. Ilyasah Shabazz, the daughters of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, walked side by side in sweatshirts paying homage to their legendary fathers. The moment also recognized their mothers, Coretta Scott King and Betty Shabazz, women who carried the weight of the movement long after their husbands were gone.
The tribute didn’t stop there. Ruby Bridges, who made history at just six years old as the first Black child to integrate an all-white school, hit the runway at age 71. Before she appeared, the show featured footage from her historic walk in the 1960s. To bring that moment full circle, a young model followed in her footsteps escorted by two men representing the federal agents who once protected her.
Actively Black also brought out Cecil Williams, the photographer captured drinking from a whites-only fountain in 1956. He sported a sweatshirt featuring a colorized version of his iconic protest photo. And the crowd went wild for Ben Haith, designer of the Juneteenth flag, who strutted with pride down the catwalk.
For Smith, the show represented more than a fashion show draped in a few cool sweatshirts. It was a reminder that history is not that far removed.
“People think the heinous and evil of Jim Crow was ancient times. Nah, people are STILL here who grew up in it,” he wrote on Instagram after the show.
From past to present, Actively Black used the runway to honor those who paved the way and to highlight that the fight for justice, equality, and representation continues. This was a cultural moment and the reset the world needed to show just how far the community has to grow.
Check out viral videos from the show below:
Actively Black Honors Civil Rights Icons On The NYFW Runway was originally published on globalgrind.com
