Canes Celebrate Black Excellence Campaign With Speciality Designed Jersey

"A rose from concrete can be symbolism for not letting somebody deter you from blossoming or being successful, even if it's in an environment where it doesn't seem possible."

By Walt Ruff

@WaltRuff Hurricanes.com

February 05, 2024

RALEIGH, NC. - As the Carolina Hurricanes resume their regular season schedule on Tuesday, the organization begins its Black History Month activations.

Including a pre-game panel with the Durham Success Summit, an evidence-obsessed nonprofit providing career readiness programs to young Black men 16 through 24 years old, organizations such as Jack & Jill of America will have a presence at the contest.

The organization's Community Spotlight, presented by TEW Design Studio, will also highlight important individuals and entities throughout the month, starting with Mike Jones, the designer of the team's first Black Excellence Campaign jersey.

A North Carolina-born artist who owns and operates his brand and business VIOLET, Jones drew inspiration for the sweater from "The Rose That Grew From Concrete", a poem by Tupac Shakur.

"Tupac's one of my favorite artists and as I was looking at a rose, it kind of reminded me of seeing a hurricane on a graph," Jones described. "A rose can symbolize many different things, including love and passion, and you have to have love and passion for the game, so that's part of why I thought it fit."

Not just a reference to the physical similarities between the team's logo and a flower, Jones also believes that the deeper connections between the poem and an athlete's journey to reaching the highest level of professional sport can also be tied together.

"A rose from concrete can be symbolism for not letting somebody deter you from blossoming or being successful, even if it's in an environment where it doesn't seem possible," he continued. "No matter the circumstances or adversity faced, you don't let it become who you are and you can still become something beautiful."

As someone who was raised largely in Apex, the latest collaboration for Jones, who previously worked with Charlotte FC to release a Black Excellence kit, is a dream come true.

"It's definitely surreal to me to be able to work with the hometown team. I can't speak for everybody, but it's been my dream to work with them and to give back to our community," he said. "I'm a big believer in investing in local and being uplifting, so this was perfect."

Jones is also a frequent mentor with programs in the community and has worked on campaigns with national entities such as Champs Sports, Complex, and Foot Locker. Citing Victor Lytvinenko of Raleigh Workshop as one of his mentors, the two have worked on fashion week collaborations as well.

"The Canes want to use their platform as a professional sports team to build an inclusive and welcoming environment and celebrate different communities across the Carolinas. We felt it was important to partner with a local artist to help authentically create a visual symbol of excellence that tells a story of the struggles and achievements in the Black community – a group that is often underrepresented in hockey," Canes Vice President of Marketing & Brand Strategy Dan LaTorraca shared. "This is more than just a piece of sports apparel; we hope it represents a commitment to recognizing and celebrating Black Excellence while sending a message that diversity is valued and embraced by our organization and fans."

Although under new NHL guidelines players are prohibited from wearing the jerseys during warmups, jerseys can still be sold to benefit local charities.

Proceeds from this year's Black Excellence Campaign merchandise and jerseys will go to an organization in the Raleigh community that will be shared by Jones at Tuesday's game. The merchandise drop is expected to be live on Tuesday, February 6. To view it, visit CarolinaProShop.com.

(Post-Publishing Note: Proceeds were announced as going to

Beyond the jerseys, the Canes' Virtual Book Drive, which runs from February 5-19 will benefit Book Harvest, a non-profit organization in Durham. All books on the team's Amazon wish list are written by Black authors and/or are about diversity and inclusion. The wish list can be found here.

Additionally, The United by Hockey Mobile Tour will be in Raleigh on Thursday, Feb. 22, and Friday, Feb 23.

To learn more about the NHL's Hockey Is For Everyone campaign, click here.