Black Fives Foundation

THE BLACK FIVES FOUNDATION WORKS TO RESEARCH, PRESERVE, EXHIBIT, AND AND PROMOTE THE PRE-1950 HISTORY OF AFRICAN AMERICANS IN BASKETBALL TO ENGAGE, TEACH, AND INSPIRE YOUTH AND OTHERS WHILE HONORING ITS PIONEERS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS. WE WORK WITH THE PRE-1950 HISTORY OF AFRICAN AMERICAN BASKETBALL TEAMS (THE "BLACK FIVES ERA") IN ORDER TO: STIMULATE INTEREST IN HISTORY AND THE HUMANITIES, PROMOTE EDUCATIONAL ADVANCEMENT, ENRICH APPRECIATION OF CULTURE AND THE ARTS, ENCOURAGE COMMUNITY-BASED YOUTH PROGRAMMING, BUILD FITNESS AND HEALTH AWARENESS, ILLUMINATE SPORTS INDUSTRY CAREER OPPORTUNITIES, ADVOCATE FOR THE RECOGNITION OF THE ERA'S PIONEERS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS, AND, ENABLE THESE EFFORTS THROUGH INNOVATIVE USES OF TECHNOLOGY AS WELL AS VIA TRADITIONAL MEANS.

PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN 2021: 1) WE LAUNCHED A PUBLIC EDUCATION PARTNERSHIP WITH THE BIG EAST CONFERENCE TO INCLUDE THE MEN'S AND WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PROGRAMS OF ALL ELEVEN MEMBER SCHOOLS FOR IN-ARENA AND ON-AIR PROGRAMMING ABOUT THE PRE-NBA HISTORY OF AFRICAN AMERICANS IN BASKETBALL; 2) WE PROVIDED HISTORICAL ARTIFACTS FROM OUR BLACK FIVES FOUNDATION ARCHIVES ON LOAN TO THE MUSEUM OF THE CITY OF NEWYORK FOR DISPLAY IN THEIRCITY/GAME: BASKETBALL IN NEW YORK" EXHIBITION ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THE SPORT IN NEW YORK CITY; 3) WE LAUNCHED A LONG-TERM CORPORATE PARTNERSHIP WITH THE GLOBAL SPORTS COMPANY PUMA THAT INCLUDES ONGOING EDUCATIONAL COLLECTIONS OF FASHIONABLE LICENSED SPORTSWEAR; 4) WITH PUMA AS A PRESENTING SPONSOR, WE LAUNCHED OURNEW BLACK FIVES ONLINE MUSEUM,A VIRTUAL EDUCATIONAL SHOWCASE, GIVING US THE ABILITY TO SHOWCASE OUREDUCATIONAL ARTIFACTS AND RELATED HISTORY WORLDWIDE; 5) WE LAUNCHED A PARTNERSHIP WITH LIDS, INC., THE NATION'S LARGEST SPORTS HEADWEAR RETAILER,TO DISTRIBUTE EDUCATIONAL HEADWEAR FEATURING LOGOS AND STORIES ABOUT THE PRE-NBA HISTORY OF AFRICAN AMERICANS IN BASKETBALL; 6) WE ENTERED A DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT TEAMING US UP WITH ZERO WORLD MEDIA, WHICH IS RUSSELL WESTBROOK'S PRODUCTION COMPANY, AND PROPAGATE CONTENT, A RENOWNED LOS ANGELES BASED CONTENT PRODUCER, FOR THE CREATION OF A BROADCAST DOCU-SERIES ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THE BLACK FIVES ERA; 7) WE UPGRADED OUR EDUCATIONAL WEBSITE, WWW.BLACKFIVES.ORG TO ENHANCE ITS EFFICACY AND EXPAND ITS REACH, WITH SIGNIFICANT IMPACT BOTH DOMESTICALLY AND GLOBALLY, ALLOWING OUR SITE ENGAGEMENT TO INCREASE FROM 35,000 TO 68,000 PAGE VIEWS OVER THE PRIOR YEAR; 8) WE ADDED 16 HISTORICALLY IMPORTANT ARTIFACTS TO OUR BLACK FIVES FOUNDATION ARCHIVES, WHICH EXPANDED OUR STORYTELLING ABILITIES TO ADVANCE OUR EDUCATIONAL EFFORTS; 9) WE MADE PRESENTATIONS TO 300 SCHOOLCHILDREN IN CHICAGO, DETROIT, AND THE DC/MARYLAND/VIRGINIA REGION IN COLLABORATION WITH FOOTLOCKER, EACH OF WHOM PARTICIPATED IN EDUCATIONAL, INSTRUCTIONAL, AND CREATIVELY ENGAGING ACTIVITIES THAT CONTRIBUTED TO THEIR COMMUNITY AWARENESS AND PARTICIPATION; 10) OUR ADVOCACY SUCCEEDED IN GETTING BLACK FIVES ERA PIONEER CLARENCE JENKINS ENSHRINED IN THE BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME, WHICH CORRECTED A LONG OVERDUE HISTORICAL OMISSION; 11) OUR SOCIAL MEDIA REACH INCREASED FROM LESS THAN 1,000,000 TO MORE THAN 8,000,000 OVER PRIOR YEAR, WITH INTERACTIONS GROWING FROM LESS THAN 5,000 TO MORE THAN 70,000.

PATRON DEVELOPMENT