Five BIKETOWN BHM bikes will be available in Portland, Oregon, beginning first february. The wrap design, inspired by Nike’s 2019 Black History Month collection, features an original collage of traditional African designs and images, including a West African kente cloth pattern on the bike basket.
“The Black History Month bike wrap design is a wonderful opportunity for us to reflect our city’s creativity and rich African-American culture, and to highlight our commitment to celebrating a diverse and inclusive Portland,” said Karol Collymore, Senior Manager, Global Community Impact, Oregon at Nike.
This small fleet kicks off BIKETOWN’s year-long Culture Collection, a series of wraps rolling out throughout the year that highlight the communities and cultures of Portland.
In 2017, 50 BIKETOWN sneaker BETRUE bikes were wrapped in two limited-edition rainbow colorways. The colorful bikes (half have a white background, half have a gray background) represent Portlanders’ individuality, diversity and creativity.
When the City of Portland Bike Share Program, BIKETOWN, launched in 2016, 10% percent of the program’s bikes featured a limited-edition wrap design inspired by one of three beloved Nike sneakers: the Nike Air Max 95, Nike Air Trainer 1 and Nike Air Safari.
Source: Nike
Black History Month, also known as African-American History Month in the U.S., is an annual observance in Canada, Ireland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It began as a way for remembering important people and events in the history of the African diaspora. It is celebrated annually in the United States and Canada in February, as well as in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Republic of Ireland in October.
The precursor to Black History Month was created in 1926 in the United States, when historian Carter G. Woodson and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History announced the second week of February to be “Negro History Week”. This week was chosen because it coincided with the birthday of Abraham Lincoln on February 12 and of Frederick Douglass on February 14, both of which dates black communities had celebrated together since the late 19th century.
