Wilmeth Sidat-Singh, a former star athlete at Syracuse, spectacular pro hoops player with the New York Rens and Washington Bears, and former Tuskegee Airman, died in a plane crash while on an Army training mission in 1941.
More On Forgotten Black Fives Era Phenom Sidat-Singh
Next week is the 36th annual Black Invitational Basketball Tournament in Halifax, Nova Scotia, starting May 14. By far, this is the most amazing basketball tournament you’ve ever never heard of. Yet. It’s run by the Provincial Black Basketball Association — the most amazing basketball organization you’ve never heard of … yet. How do I… Read more »
My niece in D.C. gave me this idea for displaying the Converse Black Fives Century Pack: That’s an actual antique wooden Converse shoe crate at the bottom, and a vintage laced leather basketball nestled cozy in between. How have you put yours up?
In the headlines of the Sports Business Journal (SBJ) yesterday was this piece about how sluggish the U.S. athletic footwear industry is right now: Nike bucks trend of ‘uninspired’ U.S. market Here’s a quote from the article: “Nike still captures the high ground as far as authenticity and brand integrity,” said Claude Johnson, a former… Read more »
Black Fives gets some burn on FOX Business News, as part of a clip about Converse’s 100th anniversary that aired yesterday. The Rens 1933 All Star, part of the Converse Century Pack. Check this out: That’s my man Scott Patt, my friend and former colleague from our way back days at Nike, who’s now Global… Read more »
So you think you want more burn? In the early days of basketball, that meant literally more burn! Games were played in cages. Mostly to protect the players from the spectators. But not from each other. And not from the pot belly stoves on all 4 sides of the court. Or the cigars of opposing… Read more »
News of the Black Fives Collection by Converse continues to spread, partly through the help of a syndicated story that first ran in the Washington Post. Kudos to the Converse media relations team. Here are some more recent press clippings. The New Jersey Star-Ledger: … “Included will be shoes inspired by the high-top Chuck Taylor… Read more »
Introducing the new Converse All Star “Original” Laser-Detailed Leather Hi, in black!
Black Fives (the brand) is featured nicely in the Style section of today’s Washington Post. The lengthy tribute to Converse, by Post staff writer Hank Stuever, celebrates the company’s 100th anniversary this year. The online version of this article somehow manages to cram Black Fives, Nirvana, Rob Lowe, and Tom Cruise onto the same short… Read more »
These are some new pre-Chuck Taylors with an upper made of laser-detailed leather.
4,300
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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#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