One of the most beautiful vintage gymnasiums on the planet is at the old Twelfth Street Colored Y.M.C.A. in Washington, D.C.
Twelfth Street Colored Y.M.C.A. Of Washington, D.C., Part I
My niece in D.C. gave me this idea for displaying the Converse Black Fives Century Pack: That’s an actual antique wooden Converse shoe crate at the bottom, and a vintage laced leather basketball nestled cozy in between. How have you put yours up?
A ticket stub from a historically important 1937 game between the New York Rens and the Oshkosh All Stars.
In the headlines of the Sports Business Journal (SBJ) yesterday was this piece about how sluggish the U.S. athletic footwear industry is right now: Nike bucks trend of ‘uninspired’ U.S. market Here’s a quote from the article: “Nike still captures the high ground as far as authenticity and brand integrity,” said Claude Johnson, a former… Read more »
Beside their football team popularized by Jim Thorpe, the Carlisle Indian School of the 1910s also had a talented Native American basketball team.
Black Fives gets some burn on FOX Business News, as part of a clip about Converse’s 100th anniversary that aired yesterday. The Rens 1933 All Star, part of the Converse Century Pack. Check this out: That’s my man Scott Patt, my friend and former colleague from our way back days at Nike, who’s now Global… Read more »
So you think you want more burn? In the early days of basketball, that meant literally more burn! Games were played in cages. Mostly to protect the players from the spectators. But not from each other. And not from the pot belly stoves on all 4 sides of the court. Or the cigars of opposing… Read more »
News of the Black Fives Collection by Converse continues to spread, partly through the help of a syndicated story that first ran in the Washington Post. Kudos to the Converse media relations team. Here are some more recent press clippings. The New Jersey Star-Ledger: … “Included will be shoes inspired by the high-top Chuck Taylor… Read more »
I forgot to mention these important birthdays of famous and in some cases forgotten pioneering African American basketball stars: George Crowe. March 22, 1921: George Crowe, a native of Whiteland, Indiana, is a member of the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame. Crowe played for the New York Rens, the Los Angeles Red Devils (alongside Jackie… Read more »
Introducing the new Converse All Star “Original” Laser-Detailed Leather Hi, in black!
4,301
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.![]()
![]()
Something deeper than what’s visible on the surface.![]()
![]()
This piece, created by the Gee’s Bend Quilters Collective from remnants of our Black Fives throwback jerseys, carries that idea.![]()
![]()
On the front, you see something beautiful.![]()
On the back, you see the work.![]()
![]()
Tens of thousands of stitches.![]()
Each one holding the whole together.![]()
![]()
Like the earlier African American basketball pioneers whose names were forgotten, but whose work helped shape the game.![]()
![]()
Like the countless people, often unseen, who did and are doing the work that holds our country together.![]()
![]()
The surface only exists because of what’s behind it.![]()
![]()
And it’s only as strong as the weakest stitch.![]()
![]()
Do we really want to remove certain stitches?![]()
Are we OK with pieces falling apart?![]()
![]()
Do we value the work we don’t see?![]()
Do we recognize it?![]()
Do we protect it?![]()
![]()
That’s the real story.![]()
![]()
A cultural archive. A sports heritage platform.![]()
Build with us.![]()
![]()
Make History Now.![]()
![]()
#culturalheritage ![]()
#intellectualproperty ![]()
#archives ![]()
#sportsbusiness ![]()
#blackhistory
For years, we have been building something truly remarkable.![]()
![]()
A deep archive of early African American basketball.![]()
![]()
The stories, the images, the history that shaped the game.![]()
![]()
But this is more than an archive.![]()
![]()
It’s a cultural IP and sports heritage platform.![]()
![]()
Infrastructure of history, identity, and assets ready to build with.![]()
![]()
For partners, institutions, and brands who want real cultural authenticity, not just performative optics.![]()
![]()
Build with us.![]()
![]()
blackfives.org/build![]()
![]()
#blackhistory #culturalheritage #brandpartnerships #archives #intellectualproperty