Claude Johnson (author)

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Claude Johnson is an American author, founder, and historian.

In 1998, he incorporated Black Fives, Inc. in the State of Connecticut as a for-profit business entity through which to apply for trademark rights to the names and logos connected with African American basketball teams that played in the United States prior to the formation of the National Basketball Association. Johnson placed these team names under a brand heading that he called Black Fives. In 2013, Johnson established the Black Fives Foundation, a non-profit public charity whose mission is to preserve, teach, and honor the pre-NBA history of African Americans in basketball. In 2022, he formed Black Fives Properties, Inc., a Delaware C-corporation that commercializes Black Fives intellectual property. Johnson is also the author of The Black Fives: The Epic Story of Basketball’s Forgotten Era (Abrams, 2022). His work focuses on preserving and sharing the history of early African American basketball teams from 1904 through 1950, known collectively as the "Black Fives." Johnson's book was a finalist for the 2023 MAAH Stone Book Award for excellence in African American history writing.

Early Life & Education

Johnson was born in Vienna, Austria, to Charles E. Memusi Johnson and Marianne Johnson. He spent part of his childhood in Vienna and in the Belgian Congo (now Democratic Republic of the Congo before moving to the United States at age six. Johnson earned a bachelor's degree in civil engineering and economics from Carnegie Mellon University and a master's degree in mechanical engineering from Stanford University.

His father served as Massachusetts Secretary of Education from 1978 to 1980 — the first African American to hold the post — after roles as a professor at Lovanium University (Léopoldville, Belgian Congo) and Boston College, and as a lecturer at Harvard Business School. He had earned his Ph.D. from the University of Vienna, where he was also a multilingual television and theatrical actor.

Career

Corporate & Entrepreneurial

Johnson began his professional career as an engineer at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory followed by marketing positions at IBM and American Express. He later held brand, licensing, and apparel roles at the National Basketball Association, Nike, Phat Farm, and Benetton Sportsystem.

In 1999, Johnson created the Black Fives brand and founded the now-dissolved Black Fives, Inc., an early venture dedicated to bringing the forgotten history of African American basketball to light.

Beginning in 2000, he launched apparel and storytelling projects under the Black Fives name. In 2003, Johnson partnered with NIKE on the footwear company’s "Legacy of Inspiration" sneaker series — the first athletic shoe partnership to feature the Black Fives story. That collaboration comprised of 22 styles of NIKE footwear across nine different limited edition retro sneaker silhouettes. Subsequent footwear partnerships with Converse and PUMA included additional retro sneaker styles of those brands.

In 2022, he established Black Fives Properties, Inc., a Delaware C-corporation (Delaware File No. 6768118) focused on direct-to-consumer (DTC) e-commerce, where he serves as chief executive officer and manages licensing and partnerships tied to the Black Fives archives and intellectual property.

Public Service

From 2008 to 2012, Johnson served as a two-term trustee of the Greenwich Public Library in Greenwich, Connecticut, working on its Planning Committee and Community Relations Committee. During his tenure, the library completed a $5.6 million renovation and expansion of the Byram Shubert Branch Library (finished in March 2009).

Black Fives Foundation

In 2013, Johnson founded the Black Fives Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to preserving, teaching, and honoring the history of African American basketball teams that played before the racial integration of the National Basketball Association in 1950.

Through research, exhibitions, and education, he has built the Black Fives Archives, a private collection of early African American basketball artifacts.

That same year, Johnson and the Foundation partnered with the Brooklyn Nets and the Barclays Center to install six mural-sized photographic images of early Brooklyn-related African American basketball teams in the arena’s concourse. The permanent installation was unveiled during a Nets home game in February 2013. During that celebration, New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg issued a proclamation declaring February 10 as Black Fives Day for the City of New York to honor Johnson's work, the impact of his foundation, and the Black Fives Era basketball pioneers from Brooklyn who helped shape the game.

In 2014, the Foundation’s archival artifacts were central to the exhibition The Black Fives at the New-York Historical Society, where Johnson served as guest curator. In connection with that exhibition, the New York Times wrote, "Mr. Johnson’s mission is akin to the work that has been done to preserve the history of baseball’s Negro Leagues. But his task might be harder."

In 2018, the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library included historical Black Fives Era basketball artifacts from Johnson’s archive in its exhibition Get in the Game: The Fight for Equality in American Sports, which explored athletics as a platform for civil rights.

In 2020–21, the Museum of the City of New York featured numerous Black Fives archival artifacts in City/Game: Basketball in New York, its exhibition about the history of basketball in New York City.

In 2025, the Metropolitan Museum of Art included an artifact from the Black Fives Archives in its exhibition on the history of Black dandyism, Superfine: Tailoring Black Style. The item, a 1915 placard promoting a an all-Black basketball game in Harlem, features pioneering African American sports impresario Will Anthony Madden, who had been buried in an unmarked grave until Johnson brought him into prominence with his book, which features Madden. His foundation subsequently provided the forgotten pioneer with a gravestone.

Collaborations & Partnerships

Johnson has led an ongoing partnership between the Black Fives Foundation and the BIG EAST Conference, which has honored the Black Fives Era and hosted tribute games across its member schools each year since 2022.

In 2025, Johnson was featured in a Poster House event titled Legacy of Inspiration: The Black Fives & NIKE, highlighting his 2003 Nike sneaker collaboration.

Publications

• The Black Fives: The Epic Story of Basketball’s Forgotten Era (Abrams, 2022) — finalist, 2023 MAAH Stone Book Award

• Black Fives: The Alpha Physical Culture Club — monograph on a pioneering early-20th-century all-Black basketball team

• Contributor to Upon Further Review: The Greatest What-Ifs in Sports History (Twelve, 2018, ed. Mike Pesca)

• Contributor to Basketball in New York (Museum of the City of New York / Skira Rizzoli, 2020), published in connection with the City/Game exhibition

• Numerous articles for ESPN’s Andscape (formerly The Undefeated) on sports history and race

Johnson is a member of the Authors Guild.

Awards & Recognition

• Finalist, MAAH Stone Book Award (2023) for The Black Fives: The Epic Story of Basketball’s Forgotten Era

• Received the Sweetwater Clifton "City Spirit" Award in 2018 from the New York Knicks (2018) for outstanding community service through the Black Fives Foundation

• Honored with the Harlem Week Rucker Pro Legends "Each One Teach One" Community Service Award (2013)

• Presented with the "Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things" Award by the Brooklyn Nets (2013)

Major Media Coverage

Johnson’s work to research, preserve, and promote the pre-NBA history of African American basketball through the Black Fives Foundation has been profiled by major national outlets, including The New York Times, SLAM, Sports Illustrated, The Wall Street Journal, ESPN's Andscape, NPR, and CBS News.

Personal Life

Johnson has three sons, all of whom are or have been NCAA Division I student-athletes:

• Cassius Johnson played cornerback for the University of San Diego from 2017 to 2021, winning four Pioneer Football League championships during his career.

• Cornelius Johnson played wide receiver for the University of Michigan from 2019 to 2023, won the 2023 College Football Playoff National Championship, and was selected in the NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Chargers; he later played for the Green Bay Packers and joined the Baltimore Ravens in 2025.

• Carnegie Johnson played point guard for the U.S. Naval Academy in 2023 and 2024 before transferring to New York University in 2025.

References

This article "Claude Johnson (author)" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Claude Johnson (author). Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

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