Africville stood on the northern edge of Halifax, a community built in the early 1800s by freed and formerly enslaved Africans. Denied basic services, targeted by industry meant to push them out, the townspeople endured through what they made: homes, churches, schools, and a culture of self-determination.

From this came the Colored Hockey League of the Maritimes, founded decades before the NHL. Fast, inventive, and fearless, they pioneered the slapshot and reimagined the game. Among its teams, the Sea Siders shone—champions whose very name spoke of geography and resilience. Their victories mattered because they proved that brilliance ignored is still brilliance achieved.

I came to hockey late, played briefly, but loved the sharp aesthetic of ice, the discipline, the beauty of movement. Africville’s story magnifies that love—an insistence on playing our game, on our terms, and winning in the face of dismissal. This BOBBYJOSEPH crewneck carries this name as both garment and reminder. Immaculate chainstitch embroidery, refined weight, a silhouette that endures. It is a piece of history stitched into present form—worn as statement, as memory, as vision.