The Afro-American Community in the
USA
Diversity of Pro Basketball
 77% of NBA PLAYERS: African-American in 2009
 23% (7) of GENERAL MANAGERS: African-American
 23% (7) of TOP EXECUTIVES
in 2008, highest in history
of all major pro sports
 39% of REFEREES and 1 woman,
Violet Palmer (1 of 2
women as 1st ever
in NBA in 1997)
Billy Knight, Grizzlies GM 2001-02
Diversity of Pro Basketball
 40% (11 of 30) HEAD COACHES: African-American,
at start of ‘08-09 NBA season,
highest ever in pro sports
 OVER 60 Head Coaches
in history of NBA, all-time
high total in any pro sports
league
(clockwise) Grizzlies’ Lionel Hollins,
Cavs’ Byron Scott, Suns’ Alvin Gentry,
and Blazers’ Nate McMillan
Black History of Basketball
 1904: ED HENDERSON, “father of Black basketball,”
(PE coach) brought game to Howard University (the
country's first black law school) and school kids
in Washington, DC area
 1910: popular at YMCAs in black neighborhoods
 Dozens of all-black teams emerged in
New York City,
12th Street YMCA (1910)
DC, Philly,
Pittsburgh,
Chicago,
Cleveland,
and other
cities
Ed Henderson
1870 An amendment to the US Constitution is ratified, giving blacks the right to
vote.
HIRAM RAVELS of Mississippi is elected the country's first African-American
senator.
1882 The AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY, founded by Presbyterian
minister Robert Finley , establishes the colony of Monrovia (which would eventually
become the country of LIBERIA) in western Africa.
The society contends that the immigration of blacks to Africa is an answer to the
problem of slavery as well as to what it feels is the incompatibility of the races. Over
the course of the next forty years, about 12,000 slaves are voluntarily relocated.
1920 The HARLEM RENAISSANCE flourishes in the 1920s and 1930s. a flowering
of African-American literature and art in the 1920s, mainly in the Harlem district of
New York City. During the mass migration of African Americans from the rural
agricultural South to the urban industrial North (1914–18), many who came to New
York settled in Harlem, as did a good number of black New Yorkers moved from
other areas of the city. Meanwhile, Southern black musicians brought jazz with them
to the North and to Harlem. The area soon became a sophisticated literary and
artistic center.
1947 JACKIE ROBINSON breaks Major League Baseball's color barrier when he is
signed to the Brooklyn Dodgers
1952 MALCOM X becomes a minister of the Nation of Islam. Over the next several
years his influence increases until he is one of the two most powerful members of
the Black Muslims. A black nationalist and separatist movement, the Nation of Islam
contends that only blacks can resolve the problems of blacks.
1955 A young black boy, Emmet Till, is brutally murdered for allegedly whistling at a
white woman in Mississippi. Two white men charged with the crime are acquitted by
an all-white jury. They later boast about committing the murder. The public outrage
generated by the case helps spur the civil rights movement.
ROSA PARKS refuses to give up her seat at the front of the "colored section" of a bus
to a white passenger (Dec.1). In response to her arrest Montgomery's black
community launch a successful year-long bus boycott. Montgomery's buses are
desegregated on Dec. 21, 1956.
Nine black students are blocked from entering the school on the orders of Governor .
(Sept. 24). Federal troops and the National Guard are called to intervene on behalf of
the students, who become known as the “Little Rock Nine" Despite a year of violent
threats, several of the “Little Rock Nine" manage to graduate from Central High.
1963 MARTIN LUTHER KING is arrested and jailed during anti-segregation protests
in Birmingham, Ala. He advocated nonviolent civil disobedience.
The MARCH ON WASHINGTON for Jobs and Freedom is attended by about
250,000 people, the largest demonstration ever seen in the nation's capital. Martin
Luther King delivers his famous “I have a Dream" speech. The march builds
momentum for civil rights legislation (Aug. 28).
1965 Assassination of Malcom X
1968 Assassination of Martin Luther King
President Johnson signs the CIVIL RIGHTS ACT, prohibiting discrimination in the
sale, rental, and financing of housing (April 11).
Black FIVES
 Teams with ALL 5 BLACK STARTERS: 1904-1950 era
 Sponsored by churches, athletic clubs, social-clubs,
black-owned businesses, and YMCAs
 BEST TEAMS: Howard Big Five, Monticello Athletic
Association (Pittsburgh), New York Girls (women)
 1908: Smart Set Athletic
Club (Brooklyn), named
1st Colored World
Champions by NY media
 1910: 1st pro team:
New York All-Stars
Smart Set Athletic Club (Brooklyn)
New York Renaissance: RENS
All-Black pro team founded in New York City (1923)
Also named Renaissance Big Five or simply “Rens”
Can NOT join pro leagues due to race discrimination
Barnstormed across USA: 112-8 RECORD in 1932-33,
88 STRAIGHT WINS,
longest streak in
history of pro ball
 1939: Won World
Tournament over
NBL/NBA champs
 1963: Hall-of-Fame
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Harlem Globetrotters
 1926: Organized in Chicago by Abe Saperstein
 Began as serious barnstormers
in early years, clowning around
only after gaining big lead
 Won World Tournament in 1940,
beating “Rens” in semifinals
 OVER 22,000 WINS since 1920s
 Beat NBA’s Minneapolis Lakers
in 1948 and ’49, filmed by Fox
Movietone helped spark end
to color line
Lakers’ George Mikan vs. ‘Trotters
Black History of PRO Hoops
 1898-1949: All-White pro leagues for first 53 years
 1947: Jackie Robinson joins Brooklyn Dodgers
 1949: (BAA) Basketball
Association of America
and (NBL) National
Basketball League
merge to form new NBA
 1950: NBA INTEGRATED
by African-American players
at start of 1950-51 season:
3 years after Jackie/baseball
1st Black Players In NBA
 Earl Lloyd, 1st to play game, October 31, 1950
 Nate Clifton, 1st to sign NBA contract (’50)
 Chuck Cooper, 1st draft pick
Earl Lloyd “The Big Cat”
 1st African-American TO PLAY IN NBA GAME:
October 31, 1950 with Washington Capitols
 9th-round pick; 6’ 5” forward at West Virginia State
 Played 10 seasons for Capitols,
Syracuse, and Detroit Pistons
 Plus: Lloyd and Jim Tucker
were 1st African-Americans
on NBA championship team:
Syracuse Nationals in 1955
 1972-73: named Head Coach
for Pistons, and later as scout
Chuck Cooper
 1st African-American DRAFTED BY NBA TEAM:
2nd-round pick (12th overall) in 1950 NBA draft
 6’ 5” shooting guard/forward
for Duquesne University
and West Virginia State
 Picked by Boston Celtics’
Coach Red Auerbach
 Played 7 years for Celtics,
Milwaukee Hawks, and
Fort Wayne Pistons
Nate “Sweetwater” Clifton
 1st African-American to SIGN NBA CONTRACT
 Born in Little Rock, joined New York Renaissance
as 6’ 8” forward/center
after fighting in WW II
 Played 4 years: 1947-50
with Globetrotters and
Negro League baseball
 Debut for Knicks:
age 27 in 1950 season
 Played 8 years, oldest
All-Star player: age 34
Black History of Basketball
 Before World War II: Few stars at major colleges,
most played at Black colleges
 1963: Loyola’s George Ireland
broke unwritten agreement,
ONLY up to 3 Blacks may start;
4-of-5 started, won NCAA title
 1966: Texas Western, 5 Black
starters, beat Kentucky, coach
Adolph Rupp to win NCAA title
 1966: 1st African-American
head coach in NBA chosen:
Bill Russell, champion Celtics
Black History of Basketball
 1970: 1st Black head coach of NCAA Div. 1 team:
Will Robinson, at Illinois State
 1970: 1st Black player to be MVP:
NBA, Finals, and All-Star Game,
Willis Reed (New York Knicks)
 1984: 1st Black coaches to win
NCAA titles: John Thompson,
Georgetown; Nolan Richardson,
Arkansas, ’94; Tubby Smith, ‘98
 1986: Larry Finch, U-of-M Tigers
1st Black head coach: Elite 8
and 10 winning seasons
Worldwide Diversity
 1st player to break color barrier in NBA?
Wataru “Wat” Misaka (Japanese-American),
5-7 guard, Utah, played 3 games for Knicks in 1947
 NBA stars found worldwide now:
Manute Bol, Hakeem Olajuwon,
Pau Gasol, Manu Ginobili,
Dirk Nowitzki, Yao Ming…
 World Championships: Last 4
won by Serbia, Yugoslavia,
Spain, and USA (2010)