White Sox Player Turned Artist Collaborates With Young Athletes to Create Special Juneteenth Shirt

Angel Idowu | June 19, 2024, 6:27 pm

A former Chicago White Sox second baseman turned artist is partnering with White Sox Charities for a one-of-a-kind Juneteenth collaboration.

Micah Johnson worked with student athletes who are part of the Amateur City Elite program to design custom Juneteenth artwork that the boys will wear on their jerseys this weekend.

The T-shirts feature a patch in the middle surrounded by designs created by the students.

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With Black baseball players making up only 6% of Major League Baseball rosters, Johnson and the students see significance in the collaboration.

“Black baseball do matter for us, that’s why I put it on there,” said Marcus Jackson, a participant in the program. “It’s really important because for our generation, we need more Black younger people playing the game of baseball.”

The collaboration wasn’t just one sided, Johnson said he got something out of his work with the boys as well.

“I learned a lot from them, actually,” Johnson said of the students. “I left inspired because they were outputting creatively from their own perspectives. These kids didn’t have a frame of reference on other artists or what they should draw. It was very pure.”