These Ties That Bind: Following the common thread with adidas
Contributor Maya Kotomori traces cultural throughlines at the sportswear brand’s 2025 capstone event for their groundbreaking initiative, Honoring Black Excellence.
Photography by Yvette Glasco
Text Maya Kotomori
2025 Honorees for adidas’s Honoring Black Excellence program along with event curators Rog & Bee Walker
Hotlanta, it’s one of the greatest. I can say this now; after my three-day stay in the Southern cultural hub courtesy of adidas and their Honoring Black Excellence (HBE) capstone event. Held in the heart of Atlanta, this culminating experience was more than a gallery or exhibition—it was a living, breathing celebration of Black creativity, resilience, and impact.
Curated by visual storytellers Rog & Bee Walker of creative studio Paper Monday, Honoring Black Excellence: An Experience marked the finale of adidas’ 2025 HBE initiative. Since its launch in 2019, HBE has become the brand’s cornerstone platform for celebrating Black leaders shaping the cultural and social fabric of today. This year’s theme, “Pathways & Pipelines,” spotlighted the enduring influence of Black voices who are not only preserving history but also laying the foundation for the future.
Through a powerful short film and a series of immersive installations, the capstone experience embodied the power of storytelling with the expansive adidas brand as a conduit. But the heart of the event? The honorees.
From the Gee’s Bend Quilters, whose hands have stitched generations of Black Southern life into vibrant works of art—“our joy, our legacy, our voice”—to Atlanta’s own Jaycina Almond, founder of Tender Foundation, whose work is rooted in radical care for Black mothers. And then there’s Sekou Thornell, the force behind Kitboys Club, reimagining soccer through a streetwear lens and “putting Atlanta’s culture on the global pitch.”
Together, these voices wove a narrative as rich and layered as the city itself. This was more than an event, it was an experience in Black excellence: celebrating the many Black faces whose cultural contributions deserve a spotlight.
Limited edition Gazelles made with dead stock fabric from Gee’s Bend Quilters
Through community grants to Sew Gee’s Bend Heritage Builders, the quilters’ non-profit organization, Tender Foundation, and Kitboys, adidas takes a bold step few multi-billion dollar companies dare to take, which is provide financial resources directly to those dedicated to community action. At the end of the day, it all comes back to the quilts, as both a symbol and a formally considered piece of artwork. “It’s about the recurring thread,” says Ephraim Johnson, adidas Communications lead at the event, referring to the exposed seam detailing on a bespoke pair of Gazelle sneakers made with quilt pieces from the ladies of Gee’s Bend. I ask where I can get a pair, and he says they’re not for sale. Apt, given that sometimes, honoring legacy means prioritizing community over commerce.
The women of Gee's Bend Quilters, based in Gee's Bend, Alabama.
“Quilting lets us tell our stories in color and fabric—our joy, our legacy, our voice. It’s not just art, it’s who we are.” — Gee's Bend Quilters
Jaycina Almond, founder of Tender Foundation, helping single mothers in Atlanta.
“We root our work in dignity—no shame, no judgment—just trust and support so Black mothers can lead their lives with agency.” — Jaycina Almond
Sekou Thornell, Creative Director and Founder of the Kitboys Club.
“Kitboys is about blending soccer and streetwear from our lens, putting Atlanta’s culture on the global pitch and showing what the game looks like when it’s truly ours.” — Sekou Thornell
