httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HTHmv1xSuQ If this is your first time seeing Black Fives and you wonder what it’s all about, then this short video clip might help. It’s a brief introduction that I pulled it off the shelf — about 30 seconds — with team photos, media coverage, celebrity shots, and product highlights flying by real fast. It’s… Read more »
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Bill Rhoden’s latest column will likely make you disappointed in David Stern and his N.B.A., or the Rev. Calvin Butts III and his Abyssinian Development Corporation (ADC).
Recently, Converse and Black Fives staged a vintage basketball cage game re-enactment — a game between the New York (Harlem) Rens and the Washington (DC) 12 Streeters played inside a wire mesh cage. These are some of the highlights presented in a slide show: httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILCKoSmOCkQ The game was played according to vintage Black Fives Era… Read more »
The “Rens” attracted the best African American talent in basketball. The team’s original lineup included future Basketball Hall of Famers Clarence “Fats” Jenkins and James “Pappy” Ricks, as well as Frank “Strangler” Forbes and Leon Monde. All four of these men also played professional baseball in the Negro Leagues.
How “logo forensics” helped me re-create the identity of the Independent Pleasure Club of New Jersey so that the story of this wonderful all-black basketball team could be brought back to life.
I got a chance to check out the new Converse 2008 Century Collection at their special sneak peak in SoHo the other day. The new collection features its own Black Fives line, which had some intriguing pieces.
Halloween is the anniversary of Earl Lloyd becoming the first African American to play in an NBA game. He debuted on Oct. 31, 1950 with the Washington Capitols.
This week I officially became a blogger. I’m blogging! Welcome to the new Black Fives Blog! It’s all about the history of the Black Fives Era, and more!
Robert “Bob” Douglas was by far the most successful basketball team owner of the Black Fives Era.
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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 ![]()
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#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