Today is the anniversary (1939) of the all-black New York Renaissance (a.k.a. “Harlem Rens”) winning the first World Championship of Pro Basketball.
New York Rens Won First World Pro Basketball Tournament On Today’s Date
Former New York Rens basketball star John Isaacs was featured in a big New York Daily News article last week by Bobby Ciafardini.
The historic 14th Regiment Armory in Brooklyn: photographs of the interior of the drill hall.
The Smart Set Athletic Club used the old 14th Regiment Armory in Brooklyn, now breathtakingly renovated, as its home court for basketball during the 1910s.
The roots of the black basketball trace back to the Hemenway Gymnasium on the campus of Harvard University.
Here’s a shout out to the courageous men of Company E, 372nd Colored Infantry Regiment, 93rd Division.
In April, 1912 the Twelfth Street Colored Y.M.C.A. of Washington, D.C. opened. Here’s some more about this landmark building in Part II of a series.
I was reminded that the elder Lloyd was the first black player to wear Converse All Stars in an NBA game.
Recognition for Black Fives organization at the 3rd Annual Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation’s Black History Month Celebration in Falls Church, Virginia.
Top of the list among all possible pre-NBA players for enshrinement in the Basketball Hall of Fame, is Black Fives Era superstar Clarence ‘Fats’ Jenkins.
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