Havas Chicago's Shoe Store Highlights the 'Dream Gap' for Black History Month

Since 2017, Havas Chicago’s diversity and inclusion platform, #BLACKATWORK, has become a pathway to a deeper discussion on diversity and equality. This year for Black History Month, Havas Chicago has created a 'shoe store' installation in their downtown lobby that highlights an issue known as the Dream Gap – a lack of black professional representation that limits dreams to stereotypes and the same old role models.

The black employee-led activation, 'Shoes for Black People', aims to expand what is represented in culture, in order to change the culture of what’s possible. What appears to be a shoe store on the outside transforms into a celebration of the all-stars off the court; the black leaders who break boundaries and lead the way in their industries. Through shoes, portraits and editorials, remarkable black people who are thriving in a multitude of spaces in present day America are highlighted.

Entertainers and athletes shouldn’t be the only representations of successful Black people for the world to celebrate. From a video game entrepreneur and an international opera singer to a sommelier and a cellist, their stories help others imagine not only what they can do, but how they can do it. This is how to bridge the Dream Gap – celebrating black professionals on an all-star level.