adidas Honoring Black Excellence 2025

May 28

Founded in 2019, Honoring Black Excellence (HBE) is an adidas initiative that recognizes Black community leaders and their efforts to uplift and empower the next generation of Black athletes and creatives. Every year adidas selects three honorees who preserve, enrich, and embody excellence and amplifies their work through impactful storytelling, giveback programs, and community activations.

In 2025, the quiltmakers of Gee’s Bend were honored through the HBE initiative in a multifaceted partnership facilitated by Sew Gee’s Bend Heritage Builders. The recognition celebrated their artistic, historical, and economic impact, while highlighting to global audiences the ways in which Gee’s Bend’s quiltmaking tradition is thriving in the present and inspiring the future.

To honor their unparalleled contribution to culture, adidas released a short-form film that explored how their art has not only redefined the quilting tradition but also strengthened communities and preserved legacies.

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The sportswear company also launched a limited-edition NCAA basketball jersey collection inspired by the artists of Gee’s Bend that was made available for purchase on adidas’ website, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting both the quiltmakers and adidas’ HBCU partners. On February 22, 2025, adidas sponsored the HBCU Legacy Bowl in New Orleans, where athletes wore custom-made jerseys inspired by the quilts of Gee’s Bend, honoring the deep-rooted connections within the Black community. As part of the event, the company commissioned the quiltmakers of Gee’s Bend to create five handcrafted 7ft x 7ft quilts for its HBCU partners—Alabama State, Alcorn State, Grambling State, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, and Prairie View A&M—each of which were woven from repurposed school and sports apparel. These quilts were presented to school representatives and student-athletes at the HBCU Legacy Bowl to be displayed on each campus as lasting symbols of heritage and unity.

In addition, adidas supplied footwear to the Gee’s Bend community and provided a community grant to Sew Gee’s Bend Heritage Builders, helping ensure that the area’s rich tradition of storytelling, artistry, and craftsmanship continues to inspire future generations.