Growing up as a Black hockey player in Washington, D.C., Duante’ Abercrombie never thought he would see the kente cloth pattern on a hockey jersey, let alone one worn by an NHL team.
The Tennessee State University head ice hockey coach has long been an advocate of representation within hockey and felt honored to be a part of the small group of Black hockey professionals that unveiled the Washington Capitals’ “Celebrating Black History” specialty jerseys on Feb. 5 at MedStar Capitals Iceplex in conjunction with the Celebrating Black History – Pathways to Hockey panel.
Designed by The Museum DC, a premium retail boutique and event space in northeast Washington, D.C., the “Celebrating Black History” specialty jersey honors Black heritage, culture and community with distinct ties to the D.C.
The front of the jersey features the Capitals primary logo transformed to incorporate a colorful kente pattern within the hockey stick letter “t,” as well as the numbers on the back of the jersey. Kente cloth traditionally represents royalty, however, the pattern’s use on the jersey is twofold – it also incorporates the designers’ ties to the D.C. region and historically Black colleges and universities, which typically give graduates kente-patterned stoles to wear with their cap and gown.
“We were inspired, of course, by the late Big John Thompson, who was an extraordinary coach at Georgetown University. He made kente print to us like a fashionable thing when we were coming up, and so we infused the kente print with The Museum DC logo colors,” Nyrik Lee Sr., The Museum DC’s Chief Branding Officer said.
Additionally, the colors of the three stars are red, yellow and green to represent the unity of the pan-African flag. The right shoulder patch includes The Museum DC logo with its coloring representing the original WMATA train system lines, while the left shoulder patch is the Capitals 50th Anniversary secondary logo.
Having designed the specialty jersey entirely on a computer, the jersey’s debut during the Celebrating Black History – Pathways to Hockey panel was the first time Lee and his The Museum DC colleagues saw their work come to life
“This has just been a dream come true,” said Le’Greg Harrison, The Museum DC’s co-founder. “Being native Washingtonians, it seems like we’ve been here forever, and our families have been entrenched into the community, and so when we talk about diversity, this is it.”
