Local artist created Charlotte FC jersey celebrating Juneteenth and ‘Black excellence’

Charlotte artist Mike Jones looked up at the Carolina sky as a child and dreamed of greatness.

On June 24, Charlotte FC players will wear that same colored sky on their backs as special edition jerseys designed by Jones, to celebrate Juneteenth, a holiday celebrating the end of slavery in the U.S.

Charlotte FC’s marketing team asked him to design the Juneteenth jerseys around the theme of “Black Excellence.”

The collection also includes a scarf featuring the same painted sky, with the words, “Excellence Was Once a Dream,” written in Jones’s handwriting. It means every instance of success began as a dream, he said.

Taylor Banner, Charlotte FC’s senior creative manager and team photographer, knew Jones from the photography scene in Raleigh.

The team approached Jones about two months ago with the jersey idea. There can only be one special edition jersey per season, according to Major League Soccer rules, so the team chose Juneteenth as the event they wanted to honor before the season started, Banner said.

The design is a painted pastel sky, inspired by the visual of a kid with a space helmet, looking up at the sky and dreaming of becoming an astronaut, Jones said. He, too, was once that kid, dreaming about his future.

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The colors in the design also have their own meaning, purple representing dreams and Black royalty, and red representing power, Jones said.

What Black excellence is all about

Although the theme of the night is Black Excellence, Jones wanted his message to be more nuanced.

“On the design, it doesn’t automatically say, ‘Black Excellence,’ ‘Juneteenth,’ ‘Black people,’ ” Jones said. He added later that people will learn about its message through the representation on the design.

Banner said she doesn’t have a person of color on her design team. To highlight the ‘Black Excellence’ theme for the project, It was a priority for Banner to give the opportunity to a person of color. Jones said this project shows what kind of organization Charlotte FC is, by investing in creatives and Black art.

Jones doesn’t have a singular definition of Black Excellence. “As long as you are doing what you love, embracing it and using it to reach new heights for yourself, that to me is what it’s all about,” he said in CLT FC’s announcement for the project.

Jones said he already has gotten waves from Charlotte FC fans on the street, recognizing him from the project.

The whole experience won’t feel real to him until his family is at the stadium with him, watching his design in action on the field he said.

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Charlotte FC’s match against Montreal on June 24 will be the only time to see the special edition jerseys on the field. But the scarf of the month, hats and shirts all featuring Jones’s design will be available for purchase from the Bank of America Stadium’s team store.

About the artist

Jones, who doesn’t like to confine himself to a particular art medium, was born in Ash and raised in Raleigh before moving to Charlotte.

He grew up in the quintessentially divided household of the Carolinas — his dad being a Duke fan and his mom rooting for UNC.

Sports played a large role in his life, studying sports management in Virginia. But his heart is in music and art more than sports.

His family shares his love of music. His is dad played piano in the church and taught Jones to play piano by ear. He thinks of his life in terms of music.

“I wake up, it’s the intro. It’s time to go to sleep, it’s the outro. I’m on my lunch break, it’s like my interlude,” Jones said.

As a photographer, Jones sticks to sharing his photos with the world but not himself. He didn’t post photos of himself on Instagram until recently. All the attention is new to him. “I’m used to being the person to cover things, I’m not used to being covered.”

Jones said he hides behind his company, named Violet, because he wants his art to stand on its own.

The photoshoot with Charlotte FC to promote his design was at BLKMRKTCLT, an art studio in Camp North End that Jones frequents.

Jones still doesn’t know if he is going to put more of his paintings out after this project, although his mentors tell him to.

“I feel like I’ve shared probably like 4% of what I’ve done, my work, with the world,” Jones said. “And I share a lot.”

Correction: A prior version of this story incorrectly said where Mike Jones was born. He was born in Ash.