ESPN Radio New York (98.7 FM) host Bill Daughtry interviews Claude Johnson about the upcoming Black Fives Exhibition at the New York Historical Society.
ESPN Radio New York 98.7 FM Interview With Claude Johnson, New York Historical Society (AUDIO)
A year ago today the Barclays Center and the Brooklyn Nets staged a special celebration that became the first annual “Black Fives Day” and this year we celebrate that date again!
A new exhibition opening March 14 at the New-York Historical Society celebrates a forgotten era in sports history. ‘The Black Fives’ explores the history of pioneering African American basketball teams from the early 1900s through 1950.
Jim Usry’s exclusive 1946 professional basketball player contract with the New York Rens, on display in the New York Historical Society’s upcoming Black Fives Exhibition, opening March 14, 2014.
Fox Sports Net Teams Up with NBA Players for TV Vignettes Honoring Black Fives Era Pioneers (VIDEOS)
Fox Sports Net teams up with NBA players and collaborates with Black Fives Foundation to create new series of TV vignettes honoring Black Fives Era pioneers.
Here’s a new $1,000 scholarship contest! It’s by our friends at the New York Historical Society Museum & Library, to celebrate the upcoming first-ever exhibition of historical items from the Black Fives Era of basketball.
One is a media pass to a history-making event. The other was an “errant” pass that may have changed history.
We are incredibly delighted and honored to welcome long time New York Amsterdam News sportswriter Howie Evans to our Board of Directors, as of January 1, 2014.
The Black Fives Foundation is pleased to announce it has received as a gift the entire Black Fives Era historical archive of Claude Johnson and Black Fives, Inc., as well as the company’s complete portfolio of intellectual property.
BFF founder and executive director Claude Johnson gave a history presentation to kids at the Riverside Hawks Summer Camp in Harlem, joined by Nike basketball designers and veteran NBA guard Royal Ivey.
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Black Fives
We inspire excellence in youth and communities by preserving, teaching, and honoring the pre-NBA history of African Americans in basketball.
For years, we have been building something truly remarkable.![]()
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Something deeper than what’s visible on the surface.![]()
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This piece, created by the Gee’s Bend Quilters Collective from remnants of our Black Fives throwback jerseys, carries that idea.![]()
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On the front, you see something beautiful.![]()
On the back, you see the work.![]()
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Tens of thousands of stitches.![]()
Each one holding the whole together.![]()
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Like the earlier African American basketball pioneers whose names were forgotten, but whose work helped shape the game.![]()
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Like the countless people, often unseen, who did and are doing the work that holds our country together.![]()
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The surface only exists because of what’s behind it.![]()
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And it’s only as strong as the weakest stitch.![]()
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Do we really want to remove certain stitches?![]()
Are we OK with pieces falling apart?![]()
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Do we value the work we don’t see?![]()
Do we recognize it?![]()
Do we protect it?![]()
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That’s the real story.![]()
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A cultural archive. A sports heritage platform.![]()
Build with us.![]()
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Make History Now.![]()
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#culturalheritage ![]()
#intellectualproperty ![]()
#archives ![]()
#sportsbusiness ![]()
#blackhistory
For years, we have been building something truly remarkable.![]()
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A deep archive of early African American basketball.![]()
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The stories, the images, the history that shaped the game.![]()
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But this is more than an archive.![]()
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It’s a cultural IP and sports heritage platform.![]()
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Infrastructure of history, identity, and assets ready to build with.![]()
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For partners, institutions, and brands who want real cultural authenticity, not just performative optics.![]()
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Build with us.![]()
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blackfives.org/build![]()
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#blackhistory #culturalheritage #brandpartnerships #archives #intellectualproperty