TSU professor designs Black History Month jersey for Nashville Predators
By Carmyn Gutierrez
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NASHVILLE, Tennessee (WSMV) — A Tennessee State University professor designed jerseys for the Nashville Predators to wear at Bridgestone Arena ahead of Black History Month.
On Wednesday, Kaleena Sales’ design will be unveiled at the team’s Black History Night. Sales said the jersey offers a duality that bridges historical and contemporary Black culture.
“To be celebrated professionally in such a public way means something to me,” Sales said. “It speaks to the growth that we’ve had, and it honors what Black History Month celebration should really be about.”
Sales is an associate professor and art design department chair at TSU. This is the second consecutive year the Predators have selected a professor from the university to create a design for Black History Month.
The design will be featured on the players’ jerseys, which they will wear as they enter the arena before the game, and on t-shirts that will be available for fans to purchase.
Sales said the black and gold design will feature custom lively West African patterns symbolizing purity, wisdom, love, harmony, and more.
“The symbols were designed by the Akan people from Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana during the early 1800s and have a rich and beautiful history,” she said. “The geometric pattern used alongside the Adinkra symbols is meant to represent the vibrancy of contemporary Black culture.”
Lanyards with the design will also be passed out to the first 5,000 fans in attendance.
After they’re worn, the jerseys will be signed by players and auctioned off through the Nashville Predators’ Foundation at a later date.
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