NBA’s Russell Westbrook, Propagate, Black Fives Foundation Partner For Black Fives Era Documentary
January 4, 2022 – Greenwich, CT – The Black Fives Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit public charity whose mission is to research, preserve, showcase, teach, and honor the pre-NBA history of African Americans in basketball, has teamed up with NBA great Russell Westbrook’s Zero World Media and Ben Silverman and Howard T. Owens’ Propagate Content, the premiere independent content studio and distributor to develop a documentary project about the Black Fives Era, the period from 1904, when basketball was first introduced to African Americans on a wide-scale organized basis, to 1950, when the NBA signed its first Black players.
Dozens of African American basketball “fives,” a reference to the five starting players on a squad, emerged and thrived during this period, helping to popularize the sport around the country with high caliber talent and innovative styles of play on the courts of big cities and remote towns alike.
Barred from whites-only gymnasiums and athletic clubs, Black Fives Era teams played in church basements, armories, meeting halls, and dance ballrooms while featuring ragtime, blues, and jazz before and after games with dancing well past midnight to create meaningful social events and a marriage of sports with music that remains today. The project illuminates the stories of once-forgotten African American pioneers who shaped the game that’s known and loved around the world today.
In covering this fascinating history, the parallel cultural evolution of Black America itself also unfolds, in all its aspects.
“I’m excited to work with Propagate and The Black Five Foundation on this project. This subject is obviously very personal to me for a number of reasons. These teams helped break racial and societal barriers and paved the way for the game and the NBA as a whole. These stories deserve to be told and I’m proud of Zero World Media’s involvement,” said Westbrook.
“Propagate is dedicated to telling culturally impactful stories that both entertain and educate,” said Ben Silverman, Chairman and Co-CEO, and Howard T. Owens, Co-CEO of Propagate. “The Black Fives laid the foundation for the modern game of basketball that we know and love today. We are proud to partner on this meaningful project with Claude Johnson, Russell Westbrook, and Zero World Media.”
“This important part of American history was buried in an unmarked grave, until now,” said Claude Johnson of the Black Fives Foundation. “I’m thrilled by this alliance because the passion, insight, and perspective of Russell Westbrook, an iconic member of the NBA Family, combined with the visionary and groundbreaking storytelling talents of Propagate, create a powerful formula that unearths and shines a deserving light on its once-forgotten teams, players, and contributors as never before.”
Johnson added that there may be numerous current and former NBA and WNBA players with ancestral ties to Black Fives Era pioneers, and anyone wishing to find out more can inquire with the Black Fives Foundation, which is set up to research those connections. This also extends to any other descendants of this period who may have stories to share.
Emmy®-nominated filmmaker Marco Williams, who collaborated with Zero World Media on their “Tulsa Burning: The 1921 Race Massacre” Documentary for the History Channel, is attached to direct and produce. “It is an honor to co-develop and direct a documentary about The Black Fives. I have had the privilege to create with Claude, a short video for The New York Historical Society on the topic. I knew then what Claude has always known, there is a more expansive story to be told. Now is that time. I am also excited to reunite with Russell on a new film. Our effort to bring the story of the 1921 Tulsa Race massacre to a wider audience was a bonafide success. Having the documentary produced by Propagate Content, with Ben, Howard, and Val makes them ideal collaborators. I have been dedicated to telling untold, hidden, and buried American stories my entire career. This project aligns with our collective mission and is a slam dunk for us,” said Williams.
Ben Silverman, Howard T. Owens, and Valerie Idehen Executive Produce the Black Fives documentary project for Propagate. Russell Westbrook, Donnell Beverly Jr., and Raynard Westbrook are Executive Producers for Zero World Media. Marco Williams is Director and Executive Producer. Claude Johnson serves as Co-Executive Producer.
About Russell Westbrook and Zero World Media
Russell Westbrook and Zero World Media found success earlier this year with their Emmy nominated documentary project, “Tulsa Burning: The 1921 Race Massacre.” The film which aired in two hours this past May was produced with the intention of raising awareness around critical moments in American history – particularly the plight of Black America — that were forbidden from being told.
The History Channel joined the Russell Westbrook Why Not? Foundation, Endeavor, RedFlight Innovation, and Values Partnerships to create an educational and experiential campaign focused on the legacy of Tulsa’s Black Wall Street. The campaign provided historical context while encouraging young people nationwide to pursue avenues of innovation and entrepreneurship.
About Propagate
Founded in 2015 by Ben Silverman and Howard T. Owens, who pioneered the global format business in the late 1990s, Propagate has offices in Los Angeles, New York, and Paris. Its recent credits “Rebelde Way” for Netflix, “UNTOLD” for Netflix, the FOX drama “Our Kind of People,” starring Yaya DaCosta and Morris Chestnut, “Animals on the Loose: A You vs. the Wild Interactive Movie,” starring Bear Grylls for Netflix, “Escape the Undertaker,” an interactive movie starring WWE superstars for Netflix, “Notre Dame: Our Lady of Paris” for ABC and “Go-Big Show” on TBS, and the upcoming American adaptation of The Eurovision Song Contest, as well as the unscripted “November 13: Attack on Paris” “Haunted” and “Prank Encounters” for Netflix, and “In Search Of” and “Kings of Pain” for the History Channel. In scripted, “Blood and Treasure” and “Broke” for CBS, “Charmed” for The CW, the recently aired election-themed puppet special on Fox, “Let’s Be Real” and the upcoming “Zorro” television series for NBC. Propagate also created and produced the podcast, “An Oral History of The Office” for Spotify. Propagate’s expanding portfolio of companies includes Electus (“You vs. Wild”, “Running Wild With Bear Grylls,” “Jane the Virgin,” “Fashion Star”), Big Breakfast (“Adam Ruins Everything”, “Hot Date”), Notional (“Chopped” franchise), and talent management firms Artists First, Authentic Talent & Literary Management and Select Management.
About the Black Fives Foundation
The Black Fives Foundation is a 501-c-3 public charity whose mission is to research, preserve, showcase, teach, and honor the pre-NBA history of African Americans in basketball. The organization was founded by author and historian Claude Johnson, whose forthcoming book, “The Black Fives: The Epic Story of Basketball’s Forgotten Era,” will be published in May 2022 by Abrams Press, bringing more than twenty years of exclusive research to the project. The Black Fives Foundation Archives contains the world’s leading collection of historical artifacts from that period. The foundation also has a long-term corporate partnership with the global sports company PUMA, which produces Black Fives® and team-branded merchandise with worldwide distribution under license and is the presenting sponsor of the Black Fives Online Museum.
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