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Black History Month
How the Spirit is honoring Black history
this and every month.
BHM Collection: Spirit x Rose Room Collective
This Black History Month, the Washington Spirit is proud to launch a Black History Month Capsule created in collaboration with Rose Room Collective, an independent supporter group founded by and for non‑white supporters of color across the Washington Spirit and D.C. United communities. Rose Room Collective was formed to ensure that DC’s soccer culture reflects the full diversity of the city, with its name and identity inspired in part by Duke Ellington’s revival of “Rose Room” in 1932, symbolizing an elegant, intentional space for voices of color in the game.
This is a tribute to our storytellers, our artists, our people, Our City. Our Spirit.
Capsule Design
Designed by Rose Room Collective co-founder Aaron Bland, the capsule draws from the heritage and visual language of “Chocolate City” and pays homage to the legendary DC graffiti artist “Cool” Disco Dan, whose iconic tags and murals remain woven into the cityscape across multiple wards. His work is emblematic of DC’s street‑level creativity, raw, grassroots, and a staple point of the beauty and voice of the city.
The cultural experience of Black DC can’t be captured in a single image, sound, or person. It is an experience birthed from the tension between the desire for self-actualization and governance and the federal overreach into everyday life in the city. It is an amalgamation of cultures that pulls from the American South all the way to the Caribbean. It’s a collage of experiences that continues to actively form today. This capsule looks to reflect that understanding of where Black DC has been and where it’s going.
Beyond the Shield: Honoring the Black Women Who Power the Spirit
At the Washington Spirit, Black women don’t just contribute to our culture; they drive it, shape it, and elevate it every single day. They lead departments, solve the hard problems, craft the creative, edit the content, plan the merchandise drops, and execute the big moments that keep this club moving. They set the standard for excellence here and for what’s possible in the future of the game.
Beyond the Shield is our way of honoring that truth.
In support of the Black History Month capsule presented by Round21 x Cross Colours x Black Women’s Players Collective (BWPC) x National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), we didn’t search outside our club for models; we looked internally to the women who already embody the Spirit. This campaign features Black women from across our organization, from Legal to Marketing to Game Operations and Community, all standing boldly in the collection and in their own power. From C-Suite to Managers and beyond, these are just a few of the many women who are vital to the Spirit’s success.
Our women‑of‑color creative team brought the vision to life with intention, artistry, and care. Creating a space where our employees were safe, seen, centered, and celebrated. Their leadership wasn’t behind the scenes; it was part of the story.The impact of these women reaches far beyond a single month. Their work, their brilliance, and their presence shape the Spirit every day, on and off the pitch, in the office, in the stands, and throughout the community we serve.
This is Beyond the Shield. This is the Spirit.
Community Spotlight
Nadeen Rollins, Spirit Crew Director
Nadeen is a full-time pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist, serving children ages 1-12 in the D.C. area with varying communication needs. She is a four-time NBA Dancer for the Washington Wizards. During her time on the Wizards Dancers, she served as Assistant Coach for The Wizdom, their senior dance team, for a season. Nadeen attended the University of Virginia, receiving her Bachelor’s degree in Speech Communication Disorders. There, she was a member of The Virginia Dance Team for four years and a captain her senior year. She then received her Master’s in Speech-Language Pathology from the George Washington University while dancing for the Wizards. During her time in D.C., Nadeen has performed live with numerous artists such as Ludacris, T.I., Cameo, Ying Yang Twins, and appeared in GoldLink’s most recent music video. Nadeen currently teaches street jazz, hip hop, and contemporary style classes for all levels across the DMV and judges local dance competitions and collegiate auditions. Most recently, Nadeen was named the Director of the Washington Spirit’s brand new dance and entertainment team, the Spirit Crew!
Community Partners: Shop Our Spirit
Shop Our Spirit is an initiative where the club partners with local small businesses to highlight their unique offerings in the community. Of our partners that we work with year-round, we wanted to highlight those that are Black-owned:
🛥️ Mahogany Yacht Charter, founded by a group of Black women, provides guests with five-star accommodations and best-in-class service while aboard their charter. Guests get to take in the breathtaking views of DC along the Potomac River.
💐 BLK FLWR MRKT is a creative agency in service of floral design and content strategy founded in 2018. As a full-service agency, they collaborate with visionaries to build grassroots brands and invent new worlds, offering culturally-forward creative direction, human-centered strategy, multi-media design and production, and rabbit-hole-worthy storytelling.
⚱️ Sio Ceramics is a pottery studio centered on teaching ceramics, offering beginner-friendly to expert workshops, and private + corporate events that bring people together to create, learn, and connect through the transformative power of clay.
👄 Femme Fatale is a resource-rich system where womxn and non-binary creatives, entrepreneurs, and organizers gather to support one another in business and in life.
☕️ Others Coffee is a DC-based specialty coffee roasting company that launched on National Coffee Day in 2020. They create everything in-house, from the roast profiles of their coffees to the packaging that holds them to the mugs their customers sip from.
Explore the full list of Shop Our Spirit partners and the small business initiative.
Resources
Read: Chocolate City: A History of Race and Democracy in the Nation's Capital
Chocolate City focuses on the intertwined stories of race, power, and struggle for democracy from slavery to present day in a comprehensive history of DC. Written by Christ Myers Asch and George Derek Musgrove.
Learn: How the Word is Passed
Written by DC SCORES board member, Clint Smith, How the Word is Passed is a non-fiction narrative focusing on the history of slavery in the US and how memory and history are passed down through time.
Feel: Passing The Mic: Building a Poet-Athlete City
For its 30th anniversary of poet-athletes, DC SCORES compiled an anthology of poetry from the Young Poets. Passing the Mic was released in 2025 to celebrate how “these young people have made their marks on history, claimed their power, and brought to bear their visions for improving this city’s future”.
Experience: The Dap Project
The Dap Project is a DC-based non-profit focused on celebrating narratives that shape black culture through exhibits, oral histories, and community programming.
BHM History Highlight
Shared weekly on Spirit social channels to celebrate Black History Month.
2.13: Mary McLeod Bethune
Continuing our Friday features, we honor a woman whose influence is etched into the very soil of Washington, D.C.: Mary McLeod Bethune. A visionary educator, civil rights leader, and advisor to presidents, Bethune dedicated her life to the belief that “the progress of the world will be in the hands of the women.”
Bethune’s work was centered on the idea that Black women deserved an equal seat at every table. In 1935, she founded the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) right here in the District, creating a powerhouse for advocacy that fought for equal rights and economic opportunity. Her legacy is literally memorialized in D.C!’s Lincoln Park, where she became the first African American woman to be honored with a statue on public land in the nation’s capital.
Her life’s work for the equality of women serves as the foundation for the spaces we occupy today. In the world of sports, Bethune’s advocacy for women’s leadership and physical education paved the way for the professional platforms now held by the women of the Washington Spirit. She understood that for women to truly lead, they needed to be empowered in both mind and body. At the Washington Spirit, we carry her torch by championing the next generation of female leaders, honoring her belief that when women rise, they change the world!
2.6: Carter G. Woodson
2026 marks the 100th year of celebrating African American history! Every Friday in February, we will be honoring the trailblazers who set us on this path and amplifying Black voices who will inspire the future. This week, we start with none other than the “Father of Black History,” Carter G. Woodson.
Carter G. Woodson was an African American historian, author, and journalist who pioneered the study of African American history by founding the Association for the Study of African American Life History (ASALH), and established what we know today as Black History Month.
In 1926, Woodson introduced the concept of “Negro History Week,” choosing February to pay homage to Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. On the 50th anniversary of that first week, the ASALH officially made the shift to a month-long celebration. Making this year the 100th anniversary of Negro History Week and the 50th year of celebrating Black History Month.
Woodson dedicated his life to ensuring that Black heritage was researched, celebrated, and taught in schools. He believed that black people needed to know their history to be proud and empowered. Woodson’s work fundamentally changed how African American history is understood and taught, ensuring the contributions and experiences of black people are recognized. Woodson High School in Fairfax, Virginia, is named in his honor.
