ESPN’s feature about the Black Fives Era was great for viewers, the network, descendants, historians, NBA players, and league execs; it raised awareness while increasing the audience for this topic.

One hundred years ago this October, in 1910, the first all-black play-for-pay team, the New York All Stars, were formed in New York City.

The Black Fives Community Fund benefits social, educational, cultural, and civic improvement in neighborhoods where teams of the Black Fives Era once played.

According to Ralph Waldo Emerson, anyone can be a genius if they believe that what is true for them in their own private hearts is true for all men.

A new (free!) series of brief daily inspirational messages, motivational tips, and consciousness reminders by Claude Johnson, founder and president of Black Fives, Inc.

Black Fives, Inc. now has an affiliate program! It’s the Black Fives Affiliate Program! It’s free, commissions are very generous, and signing up is easy!

In 1961, during a summer job in Vienna, Austria, my father took pivotal advice from Father Theodore Hesburgh, now President Emeritus of the University of Notre Dame.

Just behold these vintage African American women’s basketball photographs, and the stories they tell.

Certainly, the re-birth of America has begun. President Obama has asked each of us to do our part, knowing it won’t be easy, saying, “the challenges we face are real, they are serious and they are many.” Surely, as we are re-born, the world “out there” will begin to look new to us. But, what about our inner world? Will each of us make the necessary changes on the inside to help enable this transformation? How?

Once the pain and suffering of Americans has become severe enough, then most people will begin seeking out optimism wherever it can be found. Cable news political shows will follow suit.