Our New On-Court Mural In Harlem Honors The Legendary New York Rens
PRESS RELEASE
BLACK FIVES FOUNDATION, SLAM, NYC PARKS, AND PUMA UNVEIL ON-COURT MURAL AT HARLEM PLAYGROUND HONORING THE LEGENDARY NEW YORK RENS BASKETBALL TEAM
Ribbon-Cutting Event At Howard Bennett Playground On West 135th Street In Harlem Reveals On-Court Mural Commemorating The First Ever Black-Owned, Fully Professional, African American Basketball Team In History
HARLEM, New York – June 26, 2024 – The Black Fives Foundation, in partnership with SLAM, NYC Parks, and PUMA staged a ribbon-cutting event today to unveil their new on-court mural painted on the basketball court at Howard Bennett Playground in Harlem.
The mural honors the legendary New York Rens, formed in Harlem in 1923 as the first Black-owned, all-Black, fully professional basketball team in history. From their debut in 1923 through 1949 when they dissolved, the Rens averaged 130 games a season and won 85%, the equivalent of an NBA team winning 70 games for 25 years in a row. Yet, there was no commemoration site in Harlem that celebrated this exceptional team, until now.
The artwork itself is based on the iconic style of their uniform jersey design, which featured a two-tone center-chest curved chevron and their “Rens” nickname, except replaced with the word “Harlem” in the same script.
The court site is at the center of an area of Harlem rich in Black sports history and culture. Historically, across the street was the country’s first all-Black athletic organization, the Alpha Physical Culture Club, formed in 1904. It is one block from the former site of Olympic Field, a Negro Leagues baseball stadium during the early 1910s; the Commonwealth Sporting Club, a boxing and basketball venue during the late 1910s and early 1920s; and the famed Harlem YMCA, home to many notable African Americans during the Harlem Renaissance and beyond. Also nearby is the former site of the Renaissance Casino, which served as the team’s home court and was nicknamed “The Aristocrat of Harlem.”
The mural is on the basketball court in Howard Bennett Playground facing West 135th Street. Lenox Terrace, Riverton Houses, and Harlem Hospital all have views of the site, which is one block from the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and the 135th Street Station on the Seventh Avenue Express subway line as well as adjacent to PS 197 John B. Russwurm Elementary School.
“I’m amazed it took so long for this rich part of Harlem’s history and the history of the New York Rens basketball team to be memorialized in this way,” said PS 197 Principal Natasha Spann. “Our students and school community are thrilled that the legacy will live in our backyard,“ she added.
The project is part of the Adopt-A-Park Art and Art In The Parks programs by NYC Parks. “It’s an honor to partner with The Black Fives Foundation and SLAM on this court refurbishment, which celebrates the players and community members who paved the way for generations of New Yorkers and aspiring basketball players,” said NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue. “Our public parks are vital places where we forge connections with nature, neighbors, and honor our shared history. Through our Adopt-A-Park and Arts In The Parks programs, the courts at Howard Bennett Playground now offer the Harlem community a chance to reflect on and learn about the first ever Black-owned and all-Black professional basketball team in history.”
“As breakers of backboards and barriers, the New York Rens were pioneers, and it’s an honor to finally commemorate their legacy in Harlem,” said Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine. “Recognizing how they forever changed basketball, it’s extremely fitting that a memorial to the Rens gives back to the community by providing the new, revitalized and Rens-inspired court that Harlem deserves so that Harlem can continue to be reminded of its rich legacy on and off the court.”
“The story of the New York Rens is an important one that every hoops fan should know. We’re incredibly excited to be a part of this project honoring an iconic team with a beautiful basketball court,” added Adam Figman, CEO of SLAM.
Michael King, Black Fives Foundation board of directors member and son of legendary Harlem icon William “Dolly” King, who played for the New York Rens during the 1940s, said, “I am proud that all these years later his athletic abilities and legacy are being honored through this commemoration.” The elder King lived in the Riverton Houses across the street from Howard Bennett Playground.
Dolly King’s nephew, former U.S. Secretary of Education John King, Jr., now Chancellor of the State University of New York, stopped by to greet attendees and make remarks.
The launch was also attended by Manhattan Parks Commissioner Tricia Shimamura, Deputy Manhattan Borough President Keisha Sutton-James, SLAM CFO Miguel Batista, PUMA ambassador and NBA assistant coach God Shammgod; UCONN Women’s Basketball star and Black Fives Foundation ambassador Kamorea “KK” Arnold; additional descendants of New York Rens players John Isaacs, Zack Clayton, and Spencer Hill, additional NYC Parks officials, PUMA representatives, and community members. Local residents, some of whom played on this court as youngsters, are already calling it the “New York Rens” court, even though it doesn’t have an official name.
Author, historian, and Black Fives Foundation founder Claude Johnson was also there. “Our goal is for this commemorative site to be educational, celebratory, and inspiring, and to become a local, national, and international destination for all fans of basketball, sports history, and the overall African American experience,” said Johnson.
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Media Contacts:
Black Fives Foundation: media @ blackfives.org
NYC Parks: pressoffice @ parks.nyc.gov
SLAM: Prodigy PR
About The Black Fives Foundation
The Greenwich, CT-based Black Fives Foundation is a 501(c)3 public charity whose mission is to inspire excellence by preserving, teaching, and honoring the pre-NBA history of African Americans in basketball, a period known as the Black Fives Era that lasted from the early 1900s to 1950, when the NBA signed its first Black players. The organization advocates expanding Black history education to amplify and include this important history, utilizing nearly 1,000 related artifacts in its historical archive as well as a portfolio of related intellectual property and other difference-making initiatives. For more information, please visit www.blackfives.org.
About SLAM
For 30 years and counting, SLAM has been the most authentic brand in basketball storytelling. What started as a magazine in 1994 has now grown into a global lifestyle brand and multimedia property, a burgeoning merchandise division, and multiple franchise events annually. With over 20 million engaged followers across the globe, SLAM and its channels reach fans of the NBA, WNBA, college and high school, and the worlds of fashion, sneakers, and more in a unique and trusted voice. The cover of SLAM remains the Holy Grail for basketball players; if you want to play in the NBA or WNBA, you want to be on the cover of SLAM.
About Adopt-a-Park
The Adopt-a-Park program allows organizations to show their commitment to local communities by renovating a beloved playground, resurfacing a basketball or tennis court, or turning unused, paved areas into green spaces with flowers and trees. Organizations interested in the Adopt-a-Park program can call (212) 360-8144 or email AdoptAPark@parks.nyc.gov for more information.
About Art In The Parks
For nearly 60 years, NYC Parks’ Art in the Parks program has brought contemporary public artworks to the city’s parks, making New York City one of the world’s largest open-air galleries. The agency has consistently fostered the creation and installation of temporary public art in parks throughout the five boroughs. Since 1967, NYC Parks has collaborated with arts organizations and artists to produce more than 3,000 public artworks by 1,500 notable and emerging artists in more than 200 parks. For more information, please visit nyc.gov/parks/art.
About PUMA
PUMA has teamed up with the nonprofit Black Fives Foundation to support the organization through difference-making initiatives, including but not limited to community development, educational initiatives, co-branded product collections and more. Through these efforts, PUMA and the Black Fives Foundation aim to amplify and share the rich heritage of early African American basketball teams and pioneers, ensuring their stories and contributions are heard, celebrated, and recognized.