College Company Honors New Orleans’ Past to Help its Future

TheRealRetro.com, a student-startup from the University of Michigan, has come up with an innovative way to raise money for the New Orleans’ relief effort - by honoring its past.
The academic apparel company that makes sports-themed jersey t-shirts for great historical and literary figures has rush released a jersey honoring one of New Orleans’ and America’s greatest musicians of all time, Louis Armstrong. Playing for team “New Orleans”, Armstrong’s jersey depicts his signature-style bow-tie and the number 5, which pays homage to his 'Hot Five,' one of his most famous bands.

The popular item is selling for $25 from their website, www.therealretro.com, and all proceeds are being donated to the Red Cross’ relief effort.

The student-start up usually releases teams of “Heroes” in groups of five, but the group felt compelled to act immediately in the wake of Katrina. Content developer, Paul Feinstein, a senior at the University of Michigan, said “we were just tired of sitting on our couches watching the terrible events unfold. It was a nightmare. There is too much apathy on college campuses and we wanted to do something. We figured this would be our best shot at making a real difference and a unique way to raise some money, and at the same time honor and memorialize New Orleans’ culture, people, and history.”

Louis Armstrong will be the 16th member of what TheRealRetro dubs “History’s Starting Lineup”. Armstrong joins Abraham Lincoln, Amelia Earhart, and Isaac Newton among many others, and is the first American musician to join “History’s Starting Lineup.” The company promises it won’t be the last, as it’s goal is to promote history and learning and believes the more heroes they add the more successful they are.