The Florida Panthers celebrated Black History Month with a Black Excellence night, and the centerpiece was an exclusive jersey designed by Miami-based visual artist and muralist Nate Dee.
Nate Dee, who is Haitian American, said the Panthers reached out to him about the collaboration, and he did not hesitate.
"I was surprised, amazed, and kind of excited about it. I always like working with local teams, local franchises, stuff that's home-centered, and South Florida-centered," Nate Dee said.
The design took two to three weeks to complete and went through several revisions before landing on a final concept rooted in Pan-African themes and Caribbean American heritage.
"It really addresses African American culture. But I also threw in some nods to my Caribbean American heritage. So if you look at it, there are the Congo drums, which are used in different ceremonies and celebrations in the Caribbean. When you're at a sports game, that's a celebration. And you'll find that in the Caribbean, at a lot of sporting events and games, they're beating drums. And since I'm specifically Haitian American, I wanted to put the hibiscus, because that's our national flower," Nate Dee said.
The jersey also features text drawn from an African proverb, which Nate Dee said is his favorite element of the design.
"That's my favorite part about it. So that's from an African proverb. It's a really long proverb, but I think the main thing is quiet power means loud impact. So it's that idea that power isn't loud and crazy, it's quiet, it's self-assured, it's confident, but its impact is seen and heard, and the impact is what's loud," Nate Dee said.
The collaboration is part of a broader body of work Nate Dee has built with South Florida sports franchises, including the Miami Open, Miami Dolphins, and Miami Heat.
"The best thing about doing stuff within the sports sector and within the franchise is that the local community has so much hype and love and support for the local franchises. It's always really cool when they see that, and they reach back and do stuff that acknowledges the fans and the people that support them," Nate Dee said.
The jerseys benefit the Florida Panthers Foundation and are currently up for auction at flapanthers.givesmart.com. Follow Nate Dee on Instagram at @MiamiNate for links to his full body of work.
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