Inherited Garments: Dara Swan

Photographed by Charlotte Shelton.

Item: A Gray’s baseball jersey from the Negro Leagues

Charlotte Shelton: Can you tell me about your garment? What is it and how did you get it?

Dara Swan: This is a Gray’s baseball jersey for the Negro Leagues. It's from a time when black people weren't allowed to play baseball, so they had to have their own league. It’s so weird to think that there was a time where you couldn’t play baseball. Why are you gatekeeping baseball?

C: Where did you get it from?

D: I got it from my dad. He was gifted it after he left his job at an investment banking firm. He went to work at the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone in Harlem, a more uplifting job. Even though he was making less money, he was doing what felt right. His friend gifted it to him because he saw my dad making a difference. It was symbolic of his decision to help restore and preserve an important black legacy. The friend, John Lomax, passed away in 2022. It’s awesome that he had the jersey in the first place, and I wish I could speak with him about it. 

C: Is it an original jersey that they wore on the team?

D: I'm guessing so, because it feels like it. But I don’t know. 

C: The only reason I ask if it’s real is because it's clean and it doesn’t smell.

D: I’ve looked it up a bunch of times, and I haven’t seen a jersey exactly like this one. 

C: So maybe it is real. The jerseys probably weren’t mass produced. 

D: The letters kind of look like the Yankees, but the team was in Pittsburgh and Washington DC. Your question makes me think of the fact that I don't even know where I'm from. My dad's grandfather was enslaved. It’s already that close. My mom’s dad—we have no history of and no idea what happened in her family before him. I did 23andMe and all I know is I came from Africa, primarily Nigeria. My family still has so many curiosities about where we are from and our origins. It’s weird to not know. 

C: Do you ever ask your grandparents about it? 

D: I want to ask my grandparents what they know about our history. The only grandparent of mine that has passed is my dad's mom. Her father was close to 80 when she was born, and passed away when she was two. He was enslaved, and that means he was alive before 1863. 

C: You should talk to them. I’m doing family research and it’s hard.

D: A lot of my family were cowboys and rode horses. A lot of people don't know how many black people ride horses. It’s a part of my family history.

C: In Oakland, there’s the Black Cowboys.

D: Even in Detroit, there’s black people who ride horses. It's a big part of black culture. People just associate all country music and cowboy culture with white people, but we're totally cowboys. 

C: Country music comes from blues.

D: Which comes from slave music, which comes from Africa. Denim comes from black people too, and people do not know that when you bring it up. If you ask them, “what are the originals of denim,” they’ll either say white people or Japan. 

C: In a similar way, wearing jerseys as fashion was popularized in the 80s through hip-hop culture. 

D: Yeah, and sportswear too.

C: Do you wear your Gray’s jersey out? 

D: I've worn it maybe once, but I do keep it more as an artifact. It's such an interesting piece that has so much history, I don’t even think about wearing it. I’m just happy to have it in my possession. 

C: My dad would get so mad at me for having clothes I don’t wear. But for me, there are some clothes I don’t wear, but I need them. 

D: You need the clothes. Especially when most of the clothing we see is online. It’s a piece of physical history.