Black Fives

Black Fives Announces Women’s Version Of Its Brand Logo

Posted on March 8, 2025

Announcement on International Women’s Day During Women’s History Month

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WASHINGTON, DC – March 8, 2025 – In honor of International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, Black Fives, the Washington, D.C.-based sports merchandise brand dedicated to honoring the history of African Americans in basketball prior 1950 when the NBA signed its first Black players, is proud to announce that it will introduce a women’s version of its iconic original “five-man” logo.

Founded as a throwback jersey brand in 2001 by author and historian Claude Johnson, Black Fives now includes Black Fives Properties, Inc. (a Delaware C-corporation) and the Black Fives Foundation, a Washington, DC-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose mission is to inspire excellence in youth by preserving, teaching, and honoring the history of African American basketball players, teams, and contributors before the formation of modern leagues and associations such as the NBA, WNBA, and NCAA.

“Though we have always celebrated early African American women’s basketball teams, the original all-male version has been our logo since creating the brand in 2001,” says Johnson. “So, this new all-female version is long overdue.”

The company unveiled its final prototype ink sketch to illustrate the new logo’s graphical direction. The move will create a dual-logo identity that visually recognizes and celebrates the historic roles and vital contributions of female Black basketball pioneers.

A finalized version of the all-female logo will be publicly revealed later this month. The new logo will feature five female players inspired by historical African American women’s basketball imagery from the Black Fives Historical Archives, such as those posted recently on the brand’s Instagram account, below.

“We’ve been working on this logo behind the scenes for a while, and what better day to unveil it than on International Women’s Day, when we honor women’s achievements,” Johnson said. “It’s a proud moment as we take another important step toward giving voice to their untold stories.”

The logo’s creation was guided by visionary design industry veteran and former NIKE executive Ken Black, a strategic advisor to the Black Fives organization. Renowned for his transformative sports design work, Black was at NIKE as Global Creative Director, Olympics, as GM of NIKE SPARQ Training, and as co-founder of its early Organized Team Sports Division, where he and Johnson were co-workers, among many other roles. “Ken is not only a brilliant and visionary talent with regard to branding, graphics, and visual storytelling, among other things, but we are also long time friends,” said Johnson.

“The intent was to capture a look that is legendary yet culturally ‘now’,” said Black. “And to match the timeframe and style of the original male athletes, so that if all ten were together they would look like a family from the same brand.”

Additional assistance on the project came from another of Johnson’s long time friends, Michael Hobbs, Visiting Professor of Drawing at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn.

Historically, early African American men’s basketball teams often had “sister teams” with whom they collaborated for events, and vice versa. For example, Alpha Physical Culture Club player and co-founder Conrad Norman coached the New York Girls, their sister team, while Alpha players helped stage their games.

“Our goal was to capture the vintage athletic style of those early women’s teams and players, while giving expression to their competitiveness and individualism,” said Johnson.

The new logo also holds personal significance for University of Connecticut Women’s Basketball point guard Kamorea “KK” Arnold, who is Education & Leadership Ambassador for the Black Fives Foundation. “It’s incredible to see and honor the legacy and foundation set by African American women in basketball,” said Arnold. “The logo blends the past and present into something powerful.”

The debut of the organization’s all-female logo is part of its ongoing effort to inspire future generations by making the stories of early African American basketball players more accessible. To amplify this announcement, Black Fives will launch a limited-edition merchandise collection featuring the new logo once it is finalized.

The new women’s version of the Black Fives logo marks a milestone in the organization’s mission to reshape the narrative around early African American basketball history with inclusive recognition of basketball’s rich and diverse history.

For media inquiries, please contact:
Naimah Abdullah, naimah @ blackfives.org

About Black Fives:
The Black Fives brand includes Black Fives Properties, Inc., a Delaware C-corporation, and the Black Fives Foundation, a Washington, DC-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose mission is to inspire excellence in youth by preserving, teaching, and honoring the history of African American basketball players, teams, and contributors before the formation of modern leagues and associations such as the NBA, WNBA, and NCAA. Its licensees and partners include the BIG EAST Conference, Homage, LIDS, and PUMA. For more information, please visit www.blackfives.org.