Detroit Puts Sneakers on the Syllabus: Kaepernick and D.M.C. Share the Stage With Students

The 2026 Black Footwear Forum convened in Detroit, and its guest list ran from the famous to the just-getting-started. Colin Kaepernick and D.M.C. were among the headliners, and they shared the rooms with students who are only beginning their own careers in the business. This year's organizing idea was "Rooted in CommUnity," and the capital U in the middle does a lot of the explaining. The program was built around talks rather than a runway, so the shoes were the subject of the day and the people who make them were the ones speaking. That mix of veterans and students, all talking about footwear in one American city, is what sets a forum like this apart from a trade show. For a desk that usually tracks who wore what on a red carpet, it's worth noting a gathering where the people who wear the shoes and the people who will one day design them sat in the same audience. Detroit was the host city, and the conversations were about the craft.

With reporting from Footwear News.