Nike: Doing the right thing is never a bad idea

Colin Kaepernick

Colin Kaepernick showed incredible courage and audacity to speak out against police brutality toward African-Americans when he took a knee during the national anthem two years ago while a member of the San Francisco 49ers. Others in the National Football League followed his lead. Sadly, it cost him his job as an NFL quarterback. He’s been blacklisted by league owners thanks to his silent-but-peaceful actions.

As an activist, Kaepernick’s is a respectful dialogue and one that refuses to lower himself to the low level of unrestrained invective shown by President Trump. His is an approach to dissent and public debate that is the antithesis of the president’s persistent bullying of black professional athletes, whom he is determined to punish for their outspokenness. Showing restraint and civility are not a strong suit of this sitting president.

Last week, in a simple, straightforward image of a black and white photograph of Kaepernick, with his mouth set and his eyes staring straight into the camera, the message “Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything,” spoke great volumes, as Nike’s 30th anniversary campaign for its iconic “Just Do It” slogan was revealed to much fanfare – and plenty of criticism.

In its first day, according to an MIT Sloan School of Management study, the Kaepernick Nike advertisement generated more than $43 million in media exposure.

“It’s hall-of-fame-level type advertising,” said MIT Sloan senior lecturer and research scientist Renée Gosline, whose research has focused on brand strength and social media storytelling. “Not to mention the signal it sends given the current climate.”

While some have protested the use of Kaepernick as the face of the famous American shoe and athletic apparel company, Nike’s sales have soared. Nike knew what it was doing – and its pockets are deep enough to withstand any short-term fallout.

As part of its “Just Do It” campaign, Nike also debuted a two-minute TV commercial, “Dream Crazy,” narrated by Kaepernick (who makes a cameo appearance), during the premiere of “NFL Thursday Night Football” last week. Within 24 hours, it had more than 5 million views on YouTube.

I applaud Kaepernick’s convictions. His courage will help move our world forward. I hope others will follow his lead and do the right thing.

One thing’s certain, doing the right thing – and to dream crazy – is never a bad idea.

Photo: Courtesy of Nike.com
Video: Courtesy of YouTube
Learn more about the MIT Sloan Management study: http://mitsloan.mit.edu/newsroom/articles/in-kaepernick-ads-nike-further-develops-its-brand-point-of-view/

RBG: Hero. Icon. Dissenter.

At the age of 85, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is a legal legend, a feminist hero, a notorious dissenter. She's developed a breathtaking legal legacy while becoming – unexpectedly – a pop culture icon. We know her accomplishments, but we've haven't heard her story. Until now.

"I ask no favor for my sex. All I ask of our brethren is that they take their feet off our necks."

With last week's release of the empowering RBG, a revelatory documentary biography that explores the esteemed Justice Ginsburg's truly remarkable life and career, from directors Betsy West and Julie Cohen and co-produced by Storyville Films and CNN Films, we are reminded of her tireless fight for women and equality – of how law can be used for social change.

"People ask me: 'When will there be enough women on the court?' And my answer is 'When there are nine.'"

In RBG, we see up close how Justice Ginsburg balances her personal and professional life. We learn of her energy, her focus, her drive – even her sense of humor. Her confirmation hearing before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee – she was nominated by President Bill Clinton – is an anchor and central narrative thread for the 97-minute film in which we see glimpses of both her personal and professional sides.

"I became a lawyer when women were not wanted by the legal profession."

Justice Ginsburg's professional energy is shown time and again throughout the film, of which I saw a sneak preview in a northwest Washington, D.C., theater five days before its release date in selected cities. Inside the Supreme Court Building, we see Justice Ginsburg's personal office decorated in colorful modern art. There are lots of family photographs of her and her late husband, Marty – the love of her life – as well as of her children and of her grandchildren. We see her many judicial robes and her collection of "dissent" collars. It is a wide-ranging space. We also learn about the collegiality Justice Ginsburg shares among the other eight Supreme Court Justices, regardless of their liberal or conservative leanings. For all of their differences, she was actually best of friends with the late conservative Justice Antonin Scalia.

"Men and women are persons of equal dignity and they should count equally. The point is that the discriminatory line almost inevitably hurts women."

In RBG, we learn about Justice Ginsburg's intellectual curiosity. Born in the 1930s, she was the first in her family to go to college, and was one of nine women among a Harvard Law School class of more than 500. We understand the important place she holds in judicial history in fighting for gender equality. As a young litigator, she took six gender discrimination cases to the Supreme Court – and won five of them.

"I did see myself as kind of a kindergarten teacher in these days because the judges didn't think sex discrimination existed."

Then, on August 10, 1993, Ruth Bader Ginsburg became the second female to sit on the nation's highest court. Talk about a legacy! She is a center of power on and off the court. Outside of the Supreme Court, we witness Justice Ginsburg's love of opera and the arts – and talking to groups of young school students – as something that rejuvenates her. We also see up close her regular gym workouts, doing planks and push-ups, that show how she's proud of keeping herself in shape to do the job of Supreme Court Justice.

One critic labeled RBG a love story, a history lesson, a comedy, a profile in courage. The Washington Post wrote: "She's created a whole new way for the public to look at a Supreme Court Justice."

"I surely wouldn't be in this room today without the determined efforts of men and women who kept dreams alive."

RBG is an excellent, inspiring and important film that – hopefully – will inspire generations of women to pursue law and justice. It's also an important historical document. We are reminded of Justice Ginsburg's commitment to creating a more equitable society for all people.

After all, you can't spell "truth" without Ruth.

Oscar de la Renta: Celebrating a global fashion icon

Oscar de la Renta / The Dominican-born
American designer celebrated the best in us.

"Beauty, optimism, confidence." Three words that define how Dominican-born American designer Oscar de la Renta celebrated the best in us through his remarkable and colorful fashion. De la Renta (1932-2014) dressed women for modern life, and he was one of the most beloved and influential fashion icons whose career spanned both the 20th and 21st centuries. 

De la Renta's knowledge of literature, art, music and social history influenced his fashion design, and "his work was admired for its contemporary sensibility, romantic artistry, and traditional workmanship." 

His fashion has been worn by distinguished women and celebrities, including First Ladies Betty Ford, Nancy Reagan, Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton, actress Sarah Jessica Parker, and singer Rihanna.

Oscar de la Renta / He was deeply
influenced by the people, history and
customs of Spain.

Last week, I had the opportunity to see a world-premiere retrospective of de la Renta's designs with my wife that opened less than two weeks ago at the de Young Fine Arts Museum in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. "This is the first major survey to celebrate the life and career of one of fashion's most influential designers, examining his craft and technique, the historical and cultural influences on his work, and the clients who wore his designs," according to Fine Arts magazine.

The colorful exhibition included more than 130 ensembles spanning de la Renta's remarkable career, beginning in Spain where he first gained his initial commissions to his formative years that were spent in some of the world's most famous and iconic European fashion houses, and finally to his role as a designer for many influential and celebrated personalities. 

Oscar de la Renta for Pierre Balmain
Evening ensemble; coat and pants,
Spring/summer, 2000.

"Today, people – clothes – are international. Frontiers are non-existent," de la Renta once said. He broke a barrier in becoming the first American designer to head a French couture house when he joined Pierre Balmain.

André Leon Talley, former American Vogue editor-at-large and the exhibition's curator, said of the iconic designer: "Oscar carried with him the warmth of paradise, surely drawn from the sheer happiness of his childhood, growing up in a tropical environment in a huge family, surrounded by love." 

Throughout the 1970s, Oscar de la Renta's
collections included his hallmark sophisticated
take on daywear.

Further, Talley said: "Throughout his life, there was always love and laughter and it infused everything he took to task, be it the designing a simple cashmere coat, a suit, or a gorgeous evening dress; preparing a lovely dinner party; or tending to his gardens. Oscar loved life, and the light from within him beamed out to his world."

It became clear to me as I walked through the exhibit rooms that de la Renta's designs were full of beauty and color, and filled with elegance. It is evident that he had a true desire to make all of his women look and feel beautiful.

The special exhibition celebrating the fashion of Oscar de la Renta continues through May 30 in the Herbst Exhibition Galleries at the de Young. 

If your travels bring you to the San Francisco Bay Area between now and the end of May, I highly recommend you treat yourself and see this enjoyable exhibition – and bring your camera along to take photographs as non-flash photography is allowed in this exhibition.

Learn more about the Oscar de la Renta exhibition:
http://deyoung.famsf.org/exhibitions/oscar-de-la-renta-retrospective

Photos: Oscar de la Renta courtesy of Fine Arts magazine and FAMSF. Exhibition photographs by Michael Dickens, © 2016.

Remembering Mabida: He was a universal symbol of tolerance and hope

"I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear." — Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela, 1918-2013.

We were all saddened by the news of the passing of Nelson Mandela, South Africa's first black president and an icon of peaceful resistance.

Mr. Mandela died at his home in the Johannesburg suburb of Houghton on Thursday night at age 95. News of his death spread quickly around the world through cable news networks like CNN, in social media such as Facebook and via the internet, and in the days since, there's been no shortage or tumult of remembrances. Mr. Mandela has been memorialized as an icon, a radical, a leader and a luminary.

Beloved by all, Mr. Mandela was a universal symbol of tolerance and hope, a man of great heart and compassion. Following his release prison after 27 years of incarceration, Mr. Mandela led South Africa through emancipation from white minority rule and he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.

"Mr. Mandela's quest for freedom took him from the court of tribal royalty to the liberation underground to a prison rock quarry to the presidential suite of Africa's richest country," wrote The New York Times. "And then, when his first term of office was up, unlike so many of the successful revolutionaries he regarded as kindred spirits, he declined a second term and cheerfully handed over power to an elected successor, the country still gnawed by crime, poverty, corruption and disease but a democracy, respected in the word and remarkably at peace."

In announcing Mr. Mandela's death to an entire nation, President Jacob Zuma of South Africa said: "Our nation has lost its greatest son. Our people have lost a father. His tireless struggle for freedom earned him the respect of the world. His humility, his compassion and his humanity earned him their love." 

Regardless of our race, nationality or country of residence, Mr. Mandela will be remembered by many as the "world's kindly white-haired grandfather." His last public appearance was in 2010, when South Africa hosted football's World Cup.

World leaders across several continents were united in their praise of Mr. Mandela and their tributes were filled with superlatives.

• "A giant among men has passed away. This is as much India's loss as South Africa's." — Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, India.

• "A great light has gone out in the world. Nelson Mandela was a hero of our time." — Prime Minister David Cameron, Britain.

• "All of Canada mourns with the family of Nelson Mandela and the citizens of South Africa. The world has lost one of its great moral leaders." — Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

• "Today we say goodbye to a man who brought hope, a true hero who will continue to inspire us." — Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo, Belgium.

Here in the U.S., President Barack Obama reflected on Mr. Mandela's life by praising him as a man of courage and compassion. "Let us pause and give thanks for the fact that Nelson Mandela lived — a man who took history in his hands and bent the arc of the moral universe toward justice."

And, former U.S. President Bill Clinton noted that history will remember Mr. Mandela as a champion for human dignity and freedom, for peace and reconciliation. "All of us are living in a better world because of the life Madiba lived. He proved that there is a freedom in forgiving, that a big heart is better than a closed mind, and that life's real victories must be shared."

To have an understanding of Mr. Mandela's religious, spiritual and humanist worldview, one need only look to his 1994 autobiography Long Walk to Freedom, which profiled his early life, coming of age, education and 27 years in prison.

"The story told by Mandela's life is not one of infallible human beings and inevitable triumph. It is the story of a man who was willing to risk his own life for what he believed in, and who worked hard to lead the kind of life that would make the world a better place," said Mr. Obama.

Mr. Mandela was also praised by leaders of the religious community, including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who like Mr. Mandela was a Nobel laureate and a towering figure in South Africa's struggle against apartheid. He said that Mr. Mandela "embodied our hopes and dreams, symbolized our enormous potential."

At the Vatican, Pope Francis praised "the steadfast commitment shown by Nelson Mandela in promoting the human dignity of all the nation's citizens."

In San Francisco, the Very Rev. Dr. Jane Shaw, Dean of Grace Cathedral, said that "it is appropriate to take a moment to thank God for his example and the profound influence for peace he life has had. ... We celebrate his life and will continue in his example to fight against institutionalized racism, poverty and inequality."

Praise also came from the streets from fellow South African citizens like Shadrack Motau, who accompanied Mr. Mandela on a tour of his Soweto neighborhood after his release from prison. He told The New York Times: "The man had so much humility. He treated everyone with respect and dignity, from statesmen to children."

By all accounts, Mr. Mandela loved being in the company of children. He spoke often of the importance that education played with shaping the world's youth. "Young people must take it upon themselves to ensure that they receive the highest education possible so that they can represent us well in the future as future leaders."

Those old enough to remember the struggle against apartheid have flocked for days to Mr. Mandela's home to pay tribute to South Africa's departed leader through means of joyful noise. 

"We should, while mourning, also sing at the top of our voices, dance and do whatever we want to do, to celebrate the life of this outstanding revolutionary who kept the spirit of freedom alive and led us to a new society," South African president Zuma said in a statement over the weekend. "As South Africans, we sing when we are happy, and we also sing when we are sad to make ourselves feel better. 

"Let us celebrate Madiba in this way, which we know best," Mr. Zuma added, referring to Mr. Mandela by his widely used clan name. "Let us sing for Madiba."

On Tuesday, in rain-soaked Soweto township, President Obama, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and some of Mandela's grandchildren were among those who spoke during a four-hour memorial service honoring Mr. Mandela, held in the 95,000-capacity FNB Stadium (built for the 2010 World Cup) and attended by more than 100 heads of state and other dignitaries and celebrities. 

"It took a man like Madiba to free not just the prisoner, but the jailer as well; to show that you must trust others so that they may trust you; to teach that reconciliation is not a matter of ignoring a cruel past, but a means of confronting it with inclusion and generosity and truth," Mr. Obama said in a stirring eulogy. "He changed laws, but he also changed hearts."

Worth reading for its comprehensive look at the life of Mr. Mandela is the 6,500-word obit which appeared in The New York Times on Friday. It was written by the paper's former executive editor Bill Keller, who in the 1990s was its Johannesburg bureau chief. The obit was eight years in the making and it included comments from a 2007 interview Keller conducted with Mr. Mandela.

Across a wide spectrum, many have shared their thoughts about Mr. Mandela's passing. Here are a few worth sharing:

• The Rev. Al Sharpton shared the sentiment of many, not only in my country but throughout the world, when he commented on MSNBC in the first hour after the announcement of Mr. Mandela's death: "We've lost one of the world's great citizens." 

• Muhammad Ali, generally considered among the greatest heavyweight boxers in the world — a sport which Mr. Mandela participated in his youth — said in a statement: "He taught us forgiveness on a grand scale. His was a spirit born free, destined to soar above the rainbows. Today his spirit is soaring through the heavens. He is now forever free."

• The American poet Maya Angelou, who unveiled a tribute poem to Mr. Mandela, shared her thoughts about his impact on the world with CBS News, saying: "He showed us how liberating it is to forgive."

• CNN's Christiane Amanpour, who is no stranger to reporting about world leaders, put things into perspective when she said: "Nelson Mandela was the towering moral giant of the 20th and 21st centuries. We will not see the likes of Madiba again for a long, long time."

• Finally, Kofi Annan, who is the chair of The Elders and chairman of the Kofi Annan Foundation and from 1997-2006 served as the secretary-general of the United Nations, wrote in a Financial Times commentary: "Almost 20 years ago, Mandela said South Africa had come as far as it had on the path to peace and democracy only because the world had set his country 'a moral example which we had dared to follow.' As we mourn his passing and honour his memory, the task for leaders and citizens alike is to dare to follow his example — in every corner of Africa and across the world."

Photograph of Nelson Mandela courtesy of Google Images, 2013.