Whereas Hoops

This image documents one of ten occasions a basketball hoop was brought into Forest Park between 2021-2022 as part of the interdisciplinary activist project, “Whereas Hoops”. Forest Park is one of the largest urban parks in the country yet had never had basketball courts until very recently. Combining research, writing, podcasting, and creative practice, the “Whereas Hoops” project raised awareness about the lack of basketball in Forest Park, highlighted the racism and classism underlying its absence, and publicly called for basketball courts to be built in the park. The basketball hoop pictured here is a custom-built, mobile sculpture that attached to the back of Early’s minivan. In part due to the efforts of “Whereas Hoops”, outdoor basketball courts opened in Forest Park for the first time in the park’s history in July 2024.