The Black Fives Era
Before basket ball became the game we all know and love today , things were a lot different in 1891 when the sport first came into exitance . Teams were referred to as “fives” due to their 5 man starting line . Unfortunately at the time racial segregation was an unpalatable theme in basketball and American culture as a whole . “Colored quints,” “Negro cagers,” or “black fives” were terms used to describe and downplay teams that consisted solely of African Americans. Thankfully this didn’t stop African American Teams from falling in love with the game . Up until the racial integration of the National Basketball League in the 1940s and the National Basketball Association in 1950, the sport remained segregated until 1904, when basketball was first made available to African Americans on a large scale and organized basis. Between those two points, a time frame called as the “Black Fives Era” was marked by the emergence, success, and dominance of several all-Black teams . Generations before the N.B.A. was founded, African Americans were making waves in basketball. Black music, such as ragtime, jazz, and blues, became so loved when the phonograph was invented in the early 1900s that a dance craze swept the nation. Dance halls and ballrooms replaced player pianos and sheet music in the parlor almost immediately The demeaning, humiliating minstrelsy of the past was replaced with positive and culturally affirming chances in the entertainment business. These Vibrant dance halls and ballrooms gave way to ready made basketball courts on off nights. featuring music by top Black musicians and dancing afterward until well past midnight. As a result, Black Fives Era basketball games went beyond the sport itself and became meaningful social events
The Black Fives Foundation and PUMA present their second collection as part of their ongoing collaboration.
