Duquesne University Athletics

 

WEBINAR DETAILS
Duquesne University and the A-10 Commission on Racial Equity, Diversity & Inclusion will host "The Black Fives: The Epic Story of Basketball's Forgotten Era" featuring Claude Johnson, author of The Black Fives: The Epic Story of Basketball's Forgotten Era. The interactive webinar, paying tribute to Black History Month, will be broadcast live and available to watch in real-time or via replay.

The event will be moderated by the commission's co-chairs Duquesne University President Ken Gormley and La Salle University Athletic Director Brian Baptiste. 
 

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BOOK INFORMATION AND SUMMARY

"The Black Fives: The Epic Story of Basketball's Forgotten Era"
By: Claude Johnson

From the introduction of the game of basketball to Black communities on a wide scale in 1904 to the racial integration of the NBA in 1950, dozens of African American teams were founded and flourished. This period, known as the Black Fives Era (teams at the time were often called “fives”), was a time of pioneering players and managers. They battled discrimination and marginalization and created culturally rich, socially meaningful events. But despite headline-making rivalries between big-city clubs, the savvy moves of innovative businessmen, and the undeniable talent of star players, this period is almost entirely unknown to basketball fans.

Claude Johnson has made it his mission to change that. An advocate fiercely committed to our history, for more than two decades Johnson has conducted interviews, mined archives, collected artifacts, and helped to preserve this historically important African American experience that otherwise would have been lost. The Black Fives is the result of his work, a landmark narrative history that braids together the stories of these forgotten pioneers and rewrites our understanding of the story of basketball.
 

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER

CLAUDE JOHNSON

CLAUDE JOHNSON, who is an author, historian and founder of the Black Fives Foundation, has gained widespread national attention for chronicling this inspirational story. The idea for Johnson’s book began while he was working for the NBA in the late 1990s. During that time, he discovered an 800-page NBA Encyclopedia 50th Anniversary book dedicated just three pages to African American basketball teams who had played before the league’s formation in 1950. That set Johnson on a path to uncover and spotlight the deep history of African Americans playing basketball across the U.S. – both men’s and women’s teams – and ultimately led him to create the Black Fives Foundation.