This is the final Nike video put together to pay tribute to Black History Month, a particular athlete—in this case Julius Erving—and a Black History Month-inspired shoe created by Nike (or Converse, as it happens). Also check out the Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant videos.

There’s a good chance you saw half the NBA wearing Black History Month-inspired footwear yesterday, due to everyone in Nike’s stable wearing a pair in honor of MLK Day, and now we’ve got some good news in the form of a handful of the shoes nabbing official drop dates. The Zoom Kobe VI–Black History Month release date and Air Jordan 3–Black History Month release date is set for February 26th at NikeTowns and select retailers nationwide, while the Converse Star Player will hit Converse.com and Converse retailers that same day; finally, the NSW Destroyer Jacket and Nike Air Force 1–Black History Month release date is slated for February 12th at 21 Mercer and other select retailers. Check out looks at each below the cut to help you make your decision.

The pictures of the Nike Black History Month Collection (2011) are finally hitting the web, and they’re looking even better than initially anticipated. Each shoe included in the back—Air Jordan 3, Air Force 1, Zoom Kobe VI, Converse Star Player—features an eye-catching colorway of black and gold, the former hue a nod to classic basketball shoes that were almost always predominantly black. Check out looks at each model under the cut, and look for players to begin wearing some Black History Month colorways on Monday, January 17th, with a release a week or two later. And check out the Zoom KD III–Black History Month edition, which features the same colorway but is not included in the above photo.

Nike is always looking for new ways to innovate, and what’s the point of having subordinate companies if you can’t draw from their technology and product line? At the recent World Basketball Festival, Nike debuted the first ever collaboration between Nike, Jordan Brand and Converse, an Air Max basketball shoe with some similarities to the Air Hypermax. Check out the video for the whole story.

The thing with Converse, as it pertains to new basketball shoes, is that, being owned by Nike, they must have access to all the technology in the Innovation Kitchen, but they don’t always take advantage of it. Perhaps they’re starting to go a different direction however, because the upcoming Converse Star Player appears to mix the classic good looks of vintage Cons with the tech of a new hoops shoe, including a lightweight, Torch-like upper over a sparse base. Check out a couple more looks after the jump.

Converse Star Player

Converse Star Player

Converse Star Player

This topic was briefly touched upon a couple of weeks ago, but now it seems that a release date is imminent for the HUF x Nike Blazer Mid Canvas SB, the hybrid of the classic Blazer and the iconic Chuck Taylor with a dash of that HUF flair. The Nike SB Blazer “Chuck Taylor” will come in two colors, a black and a white, and matching jackets, t-shirts and trucker hats have been designed as well. The HUF x Nike Blazer Mid Canvas SB release date is set for November 7th at the HUF stores in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

I suppose this seemed inevitable when Nike bought Converse a few years back, but we’re finally going to see a crossover between one of the Nike’s iconic silhouettes and THE sneaker icon. The Nike Blazer SB Chuck Taylor All-Star sports an all canvas upper—as you’d expect from a Chuck-inspired shoe—a vulcanized rubber midsole that is slightly more similar to the Blazer than the All-Star, the standard Chuck Taylor metal eylets, an outsole that is a happy medium between the two shoes and finally a very subtle stitched, same-color Swoosh on the upper. While this is at the moment just a sample, it’s rumored that these could quickstrike as early as Holiday 2009. These things are really nice and I have to imagine if they do hit in December, they’ll fly off the shelves. I’ll keep you posted. Via MentalKicks.com, who happens to have a couple of pairs of size 9′s.

Lupe Fiasco Converse All-Stars

… you know, Chuck Taylors. As part of the (PRODUCT) RED campaign to eliminate AIDS in Africa, Lupe Fiasco and Dr. Romanelli go together to create a very unique Converse All-Star. The shoe looks like the traditional Chuck Taylor, except rather than canvas the upper is completely patent leather, and the usually-black line is red, as is the outsole. Even the iconic “Converse All-Star” badge on the ankle is just impressioned into the patent leather.

David Z stores and DavidZ.com have the Lupe Fiasco Converse All-Star now for $100. A bit steep for All-Stars, but the patent leather and good cause give you a nice excuse to splurge. And these things will break necks. I was at Urban Outfitter the other day debating the wearability of leather All-Stars. These patent leather joints put them to shame.