Origins of ‘Crack Kicks’ in Urban Folklore
For years I subscribed to the idea that a pair of tennis shoes slung over a telephone wire indicated the place to buy drugs in a neighborhood. It turns out that’s not entirely true, at least according to this post over at The Shazzamity that looks at the potential origins and meanings behind shoe flinging…
For years I subscribed to the idea that a pair of tennis shoes slung over a telephone wire indicated the place to buy drugs in a neighborhood. It turns out that’s not entirely true, at least according to this post over at The Shazzamity that looks at the potential origins and meanings behind shoe flinging or “shoefiti.” Abandoned shoes as indicators of where to buy crack and heroine are just two potential explanations among many. Still, the drug connotation resonates with my memories of growing up in a crumbling, economically depressed town outside of Pittsburgh: “A number of sinister explanations have been proposed as to why this is done. Some say that shoes hanging from the wires advertise a local crack house where crack cocaine is used and sold (in which case the shoes are sometimes referred to as “Crack Kicks”). It can also relate to a place where heroin is sold to symbolize the fact that once you take heroin you can never ‘leave’: a reference to the addictive nature of the drug.” 
