My talk at the Basketball Hall of Fame last week was a thrill. I was there as part of the Champions of Character Education Series that I previously described. The auditorium was filled to capacity with 300 students and their teachers, representing middle schools and high schools from Springfield, Hartford, and Albany. The attendees were… Read more »
My Hall Of Fame Talk, Part I
One unsung black sports pioneer stands out among dozens who paved the way during the Black Fives Era, and that’s a remarkable brother named Hunter Johnson.
Do you take the time to see the beauty in all things? I learned that from the very first album I ever bought, That’s The Way Of The World, the Earth, Wind & Fire masterpiece. I bought it at a Woolworth’s in 1974 when I was a freshman in high school. On that album, there… Read more »
On May 7, 2008 at 10:00 a.m., I’ll be the featured guest speaker at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame for their MVP’s of Character Education Series. Here’s what their website says about this program: The goal of this program is to offer teachers and students an opportunity to explore the relationship between healthy… Read more »
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.
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 »
Congratulations to Hakeem Olajuwon for being named to the Class of 2008 for enshrinement into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame yesterday. This reminds me of this one time in the summer of 1995 when I escorted Hakeem around a trade show in Munich, Germany. It was the ISPO Show, the annual mega-fair for sports… Read more »
You ever notice that when little kids really want something they never focus on how hard it is?
It doesn’t work. The new Vogue Magazine cover featuring LeBron James and Gisele Bundchen is all wrong.
I started this blog 6 months and 155 blog posts ago! Thank you for your encouragement and support!
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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