Boycott of Shoe Company Is Burning Issue at Protest : Demonstration: Nike products are torched in support of Operation PUSH campaign. Sportswear firm has been criticized for minority hiring record.

Hunched over a two-foot-high mound of Nike athletic wear Friday, U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters did some brief sole searching.

Rifling quickly through the pile, Waters (D-Los Angeles) pulled out a long, scuffed pair of running shoes and placed them at the top. “These are my husband’s,” she said, “and I want to make sure they burn.”

Moments later, Waters and about 40 ministers and community activists who had gathered in the parking lot of Bethel Baptist Church in Watts torched the shoes in a boisterous display of support for a national boycott against Nike by Operation PUSH, a civil-rights group.

“Bo don’t know Watts!” shouted Watts resident Ronald (Kartoon) Antwine, referring to a popular advertisement featuring Raiders star Bo Jackson. “And Michael Jordan jumps right over Watts.”

As Antwine pirouetted around the bonfire and the sportswear melted in the blaze, members of the crowd criticized Nike for failing to hire more African-Americans and ignoring concerns raised by PUSH. The speakers complained that some Nike ads--which feature athletes such as Jordan and Jackson and filmmaker Spike Lee--are targeted at poor black teen-agers, encouraging some to resort to crime to buy Nike products.

“There are a number of marketing techniques to entice young people to do what is necessary to own, buy this sportswear,” Waters said. “The young people who have acquired and lusted for these products aren’t going to go for that any more.”

Nike officials declined comment on the sportswear bonfire.

The boycott by PUSH, founded by the Rev. Jesse Jackson, was announced Aug. 11 when its talks with Nike collapsed. Claiming that minorities make up 16% of Nike’s 4,500 domestic employees, the sportswear manufacturer countered that PUSH receives funds from Reebok, a rival firm. PUSH officials deny the allegations.

“We want our share of business and we want them to bring jobs into our communities,” said PUSH Executive Director Tyrone Crider. “Nike has refused to meet with the black community. Since they won’t listen, maybe they’ll see the flames and sit down with us.”

So far, PUSH has had difficulty marshaling support for the boycott in other cities. Polls show that many black Americans either know little about the action or do not support its aims. A demonstration last summer at the Nike headquarters in Beaverton, Ore., fizzled.

But on Friday, the small Watts crowd was eager to show its support. Sprinting to a church staircase, Watts resident Maxwell Henderson placed his hands on his hips and stood tall over his “home boys” milling in the parking lot just before the demonstration.

“Yo,” he called out, “from now on, nobody in the ‘hood is wearin’ Nikes. That’s out. Either wear Filas (another athletic shoe) or military boots. Nike ain’t hiring no black folks, man, so we ain’t buying ‘em, ya see?”