Here’s a new $1,000 scholarship contest! It’s by our friends at the New York Historical Society Museum & Library, to celebrate the upcoming first-ever exhibition of historical items from the Black Fives Era of basketball.
Basketball History Scholarship Contest
Jay-Z’s co-ownership of the Brooklyn Nets reminds us of the Smart Set Athletic Club — America’s first all-black basketball team — whose players lived in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section where he grew up.
If a community initiative passes final City Council approval, New York City will rename a Bronx street after former Harlem Rens star John Isaacs.
Zack Clayton, one of the greatest basketball players of the Black Fives Era as a star for the New York Renaissance and other teams, was born on May 4, 1910 in Philadelphia.
Introducing the official new Facebook fan page for the New York Renaissance a.k.a. Harlem Rens vintage all-black professional basketball team of the 1920s, 30s, and 40s.
Breaking down the century-long connection between basketball and music.
Monticello Athletic Association’s black national basketball championship in 1912 paved the way for other African American teams, by showing that determined teams from any city could win.
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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