Before each home game this season, Chicago Bulls guard Coby White has arrived at the United Center wearing a custom hoodie with a different message across his chest.

Sometimes the hoodies have statements such as “Honor Black Women” or “Mental Health Matters,” sometimes they include White’s favorite quotes or Bible verses and he made sure to shout out his hometown of Goldsboro, N.C., with one of his outfits. Since the start of Black History Month, White has featured several icons from throughout Black history, including Matthew Henson, Claudette Colvin, Shirley Chisholm and a young Vice President Kamala Harris.

Coby continues with the #BHM hoodies. pic.twitter.com/tmr6K2ij1q

For a young player such as White, who turned 21 on Tuesday, the hoodies have become a way to express himself. In the middle of his second NBA season and following the tumultuous summer of 2020 — with the NBA’s pandemic-induced hiatus and the largest wave of racial protests in American history — White is getting more comfortable diving into issues off the court that interest him.

He joined the Tribune for a phone interview to discuss why he decided to express himself through the hoodies, learning more about civil rights heroes and why he felt disappointed in himself for not doing more last summer.

Questions and answers have been edited for length and clarity.

I’m surprised the pregame tunnel fit has lived on even though nobody is in the arenas. Is there any difference trying to get a fit off during a pandemic?

Kind of. I’ve always been a chill guy. I always wear sweats and hoodies, so it’s been easy for me.

So it all makes sense then. Tell me about the idea for the custom hoodies. Where did that come from?

Me and my sister, Tia, came up with the idea. She confronted me with the idea and we started coming up with people. My sister’s best friend from college (Adria Davis), she makes hoodies, so me and my sister presented her with the idea.

(Tia’s) the creative one out of the family. She’s — I don’t want to say smart (laughs), but she’s the real smart one out of the family, so she comes up with a lot of ideas. And I knew I wanted to expand my image. Especially with the pandemic and everything that happened in 2020, I felt like when people were protesting and everything that happened with police brutality, I felt like I really didn’t do my job. I didn’t go to any protests.

So this upcoming season, I told my sister I want to do something to raise awareness. She knows I’m not the type of guy that just goes on Twitter and starts ranting to express my words, so she came up with the idea to express through my clothing. It was a dope idea. I loved it.

Yeah, I know what you mean, having that feeling of wishing you could have done more or been out there more. How did you process those feelings? The Bulls weren’t involved in the bubble this summer. Was that part of it too, feeling like you were left out of even what the league was doing?

It was just disappointment. Just being disappointed in myself. Not necessarily being in the bubble, but in my hometown (Goldsboro) and North Carolina, there were a lot of protests I definitely could have been at. Peaceful, calm protests I could’ve been at. Or just showing my support on social media. I was more disappointed in myself. This was a way I feel like, not really to make up for it, but to be more active.

What has that process been like of trying to get more comfortable finding your voice and getting active?

It’s been good. I’ve been getting a lot of support. Obviously you’ll have those (comments) that want to tell you to leave politics to the politicians and all that stuff, but it’s been good. I’ve gotten a lot of support. I’m giving Adria, which is my sister’s best friend, her business, a Black-owned business out there, support. Right now just trying to keep it simple and then come up with more stuff and run with that.

Tell me about some of the hoodies. What have been some of your favorites and what are some of the stories that have stood out to you?

That’s been another part of this: I’ve also been learning. Like, they didn’t teach me Claudette Colvin. They didn’t teach me that in school. A lot of these people I’ve been wearing, they didn’t teach in school. They just teach you the Martin Luther Kings and the baseline for like a week.

My favorite one has been the national championship team from “Glory Road,” Texas Western. Obviously that relates to basketball, but also that’s one of my favorite movies and it stood out to me.

Coby reppin the Glory Road squad.#BlackHistoryMonth pic.twitter.com/PJB8CnhxCd

“Honor Black Women” was my first one. I know I definitely wanted to do something for Black women, so that was one of my favorites too. Just because I feel like they don’t get enough publicity. My mom and my sister, they did a hell of a job of molding me into the man I am today. And they’re super strong Black women and I feel like they don’t get enough credit for everything that they do.

Man, same. They yada yada’ed so much of Black history in school that I’m still finding myself going back and filling in the gaps.

Especially it being Black History Month and learning about people they didn’t teach us during school. I’ve been growing and learning too, so it’s also been good for me. I’m not just raising awareness to teach other people, I’m also teaching myself. It’s been pretty dope, man. Things that I never — like I said, I’d never heard of Claudette Colvin. Never in my life.

Any other ways you’re looking to get involved?

Right now, I was just trying to keep it simple. Just trying to use my hoodies as a message. But me and my sister, we talk a lot. If another idea comes, we’re definitely going to act on it, but right now I’m trying to keep it simple. Maybe something comes after the season’s over, but right now my main focus is on the basketball court.

You’ve been in the NBA for a little more than a year now. I’m sure adjusting to life in the league is enough on its own, but there was also that large wave of protests against racial injustice this summer and you’re living through a once-in-a-century pandemic. How would you describe how you’ve been processing this past year and change?

Tiring, bro. Frustrating, stressful, but also through the pandemic, you start realizing how blessed you are. It’s just realizing that God put me in a position to take care of my family. I’m still in the league, so there’s a lot of people that had it a lot worse than me. It’s just staying focused on his image and trying to continue to spread positive vibes.

At first, I was complaining and making excuses and this, that and a third. But during the pandemic, you realize how blessed you are once you sit back and you realize where you’re at in life. Not many people can be where I just turned 21 and living the lifestyle that I live. I’m extremely blessed to be doing what I’m doing. I can’t ever lose sight of that.

Bulls guard Coby White drives on Nets guard Landry Shamet during the first quarter May 11, 2021, at the United Center. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)