Two consecutive weeks of full-page coverage in the New York Amsterdam News is an honor for which we are grateful.
NY Amsterdam News: Black Fives Foundation Reunites Families of Long-Ago Basketball League
February 10, 2013 was a night to remember at the Barclays Center when the arena and the Brooklyn Nets honored Black Fives Era pioneers and their descendants.
The University of Indianapolis is honoring the memory and contributions of two alums, African American basketball pioneers Ray and George Crowe, by renaming one of its student residences after them.
Black Entertainment Television is featuring a selection of photographs, artifacts, and memorabilia from the Black Fives Photo Archive in a new Black History Month promo segment that is airing during February 2011.
Sacramento Bee: George Crowe, an elite athlete who broke racial barriers in basketball and baseball, died quietly in Rancho Cordova last week after living a remarkable life as a mid-20th century pioneer.
Indy Star: George Crowe’s place in history was cemented when he won the first Indianapolis Star Indiana Mr. Basketball honor while playing for Franklin High School in 1939.
Crowe, a 1943 graduate of Indiana Central, was a three-sport star for the Greyhounds in basketball, baseball and track. Known as a great scorer and rebounder on the hardwood, Crowe was an all-state player in 1941 when the cagers finished ninth in the country.
George Crowe had been the last living member of the New York Renaissance (a.k.a. “Rens”) professional all-black basketball team. He was 89 years old.
Did you know that Lena Horne was the daughter of Edwin “Teddy” Horne, who played basketball for the Smart Set Athletic Club of Brooklyn?
Perhaps the finest athlete in Johnson County history, George Crowe led Franklin High to the cusp of a state basketball championship, and was selected Indiana’s first-ever Mr. Basketball.
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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