NEW JERSEY DEVILS x BLACK HISTORY MONTH CAMPAIGN

BACKGROUND

This is a very special moment with the Devils doing this jersey for Black History Month for a consecutive year and I’m beyond honored that the organization and NHL have once again given out an opportunity to put this together.

The New Jersey Devils hosted an artist call to find local artists to design themed warmup jerseys. I was chosen to design the warmups for Black History Month. The final warmups would be worn during an honorary Black History Night, autographed and sold online via a public auction with the proceeds benefitting The Newark Community Museum!

INSIGHT

To be completely transparent, I had no idea where to start when I first received this project. I just knew I wanted to hit a home-run! I decided to take my time and hit the history books to see what possible angle I could approach this project with. Shoutout to a couple of my team members down at Akin for helping me find some direction!

After WEEKS of research, I decided to theme my warm-up jerseys to honor the Colored Hockey League. There was little released information about the league and everything I initially found didn’t go too deeply into detail about the league. This was perfect as I could shine some light on a league that was almost lost in the history books.

Formed more than two decades before the NHL, the Coloured Hockey League of the Maritimes (CHL) was launched in 1895 by a group of Black Baptist Church leaders and academics who aimed to attract young Black men to the Church. The arrangement was simple: come to Sunday service, then play games against rival churches and communities.

EXECUTION

As stated, there was little released information about the league online & in media but thanks to the dedicated team at the Devils, I was able to connect with some historians of The Maritimes to get some deeper insight from actual descendants of league players!

The 2nd Edition Black History Month-themed warmup jersey was unveiled prior to their game against the Montreal Canadians at Prudential Center on Tuesday. See below for insight into my process & its execution.

*In addition to the jerseys, the Devils team got such positive feedback about the design, that there were also t-shirts made which were sold exclusively in their giftshop which also benefitted the Community Museum. It’s wonderful knowing that my art is going towards a great impactful cause.

CHL PROJECT MOODBOARD

First things first. I organized my thoughts & inspiration into a mood board. This really helped me visualize and dictate the project direction!

“COLORED HOCKEY LEAGUE” PATCH EXPLORATION

SHOULDER PATCH #1: “COLORED HOCKEY LEAGUE”

This patch was inspired by the “1993 NHL Stanley Cup Final 100th Anniversary” patch. (As seen in my mood board)

The patch depicts a player from the CHL with an adjusted pose carrying my reimagined CHL championship trophy. The symbolism behind the pose represents the weight & value of gold we carry every day as people of color.

The shoulder patch also honors the length of the CHL (1895-1930) and the four men who began the league: Pastor James Borden of Dartmouth Church; James A.R. Kinney, a Cornwallis Street Church layman and later the first black graduate of the Maritime Business College of Canada; James Robinson Johnston, first black graduate of the Dartmouth University law program; and Henry Sylvester Williams, a Trinidadian law student at Dalhousie University and later the founder of the first Pan-African Conference (1900).

“IMPACT THROUGH INNOVATION” PATCH EXPLORATION

SHOULDER PATCH #2: “IMPACT THROUGH INNOVATION”

This patch interestingly enough acts as a double entendre.

It is believed that early variations of the butterfly style of goaltending and even the slapshot can be traced back to the league which is the initial piece of inspiration behind this patch. At a time when it was prohibited in the game that white teams were playing, diminutive goaltender Henry “Braces” Franklyn was dropping to his knees to stop pucks while the Halifax Eurekas’ Eddie Martin was raising his stick to his waist and slapping pucks at opposition nets. That was almost 50-years before Bernie “Boom Boom” Geoffrion popularized the shot with the Montreal Canadiens.

A latter part of the inspiration is the exclusion that my community still experiences to this day. Black men, at the time, were still fighting for the right just to be accepted in their own country as equals. Being excluded out of the predominantly white leagues, players were forced to play hockey on the lakes and ponds which eventually inspired them to form their own league.

Through our exclusion, we are then forced to be innovative… Through our innovation, our impact is always felt in spaces where we eventually change the landscape of how things traditionally operate.

BHM PATTERN INSPIRATION/EXPLORATION

CHEST PATCH & JERSEY FONT

The chest crest patch was inspired by Adamma Style Co, which is a black-owned, woman-owned New Jersey-based business selling satin-lined head wraps handmade in Nigeria by local artisans. (If you get a chance, you should check out their work!)

The patterns designed on the few wraps I purchased (also available in my mood board), truly resonated with the direction I wanted to take the crest into. I ended up making a custom pattern based on the wrap’s pattern since I couldn’t cut and sew the wrap directly onto the jersey’s themselves. The authentic African cloth was meant to pay homage to the men and women, who were enslaved when they were brought over. These individuals are the ones who helped established the Colored Hockey League. It just so happens that the colors of the Pan-African flag also coincided with the vintage version of the New Jersey Devils’ colors. I ended up keeping the same traditional font that the Devils already had in use, just with stylized lettering to match my new pattern.

At this point in the process, I’m feeling amazing as these project assets are coming together. This was a match made in heaven.