Jordan came to us for their first-ever Black History campaign outside the US to authentically reflect the Black experience beyond specifically American cultural concerns. The goal was to focus on the hyper-local, remain rooted in basketball and streetwear culture and amplify the female contribution to Black British history. We created a film, talks series, stills, design and out-of-home campaign across 63 sites in London. Our film explored the Black British experience through the lens of Brixton’s basketball players, activists and musicians, past, present and future.

Our jumping-off point was Michael Jordan’s visit to train with the Brixton Top Cats in 1985 at the invitation of legendary youth coach Jimmy Rogers. Dubbed ‘The Bishop of Brixton’ by locals, Jimmy’s tireless commitment to his community mirrors Brixton’s wider radical history of protest and uprisings against racism, police intervention and political exclusion, and the DIY spirit in Black British culture.

We sourced archive footage of this little-known moment and based the film’s narrative around a series of intergenerational audio conversations which we cast and hosted. This provided an authentic narrative about the Black British experience and the power of sport to change lives, placing the role of women in the community at the heart of the story. Contributors included the ‘Brixton bard’, award-winning writer Alex Wheatle imprisoned for his involvement in the 1981 Brixton riots and Stella Dadzie who was at the heart of the development of the Black Women’s Movement in Brixton, alongside the next generation of young basketball stars and musicians.

We remained rooted in Brixton throughout: from working with local cultural leaders and curators to help cast and script the content, to commissioning visionary musician Gaika Tavares to produce an original score and music supervise. The result is a soundscape that places you in the heart of Brixton to celebrate 50 years of Black cultural influence and excellence.