The first Colored YWCA was formed in 1918 in Germantown, a diverse section of Philadelphia. The Germantown Hornets were its all-black female basketball team.
Female Black Fives Invade Philly
Our list of the most deserving Black Fives Era players and contributors who are not yet enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame.
In 1930, a 6-ft. 7-in. black female basketball player was a rare sight. That is, everywhere but on the South Side of Chicago, where the Club Store Coeds, a.k.a. Chocolate Coeds played.
In 1948, the New York Rens made history by replacing the Detroit Vagabond Kings of the National Basketball League as the Dayton Rens. But, was it a raw deal?
December 18 is the anniversary (1908) of the first inter-city game between two African American basketball teams.
They were pretty. They were magnificent. They were the Chicago Roamers, a.k.a. the Roamer Girls, a great African American womens basketball team you probably never heard of until now.
There’s only one professional basketball team in the New York area that was always great, every year.
Everyone wants to make history. But few realize that to make history you have to start by making history right now, every day, one moment at a time. The best way to do that is to think about it. All the time. By asking yourself, how I’m making the most out of this moment? What… Read more »
There were dozens of African American female basketball teams that played during the pre-NBA racially segregated Black Fives Era.
December is reserved for honoring the history of female Black Fives Era basketball teams like the New York Girls and many others.
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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 ![]()
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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