On January 22, 2006 the National Liberty Museum in Philadelphia, PA invited Black Fives founder Claude Johnson to deliver a lecture on early African American participation in basketball. Johnson teamed up with long time sportswriter Ron Thomas, author of They Cleared the Lane, a highly acclaimed book about the integration of the National Basketball Association.

Johnson discussed the early history of blacks in basketball, from the early 1900s through the late 1940s.

Thomas' lecture began with events in the late 1940s that led up to the breaking of the color barrier in the National Basketball League and the NBA, and, in the years that followed, how it went for the handful of African American players who were involved. He also discussed the careers of several black players from the Philadelphia area, including Temple University graduates Guy Rogers and Hal Lear.

In addition to a good local turnout of both young and old, several members of the Association of Professional Basketball Researchers (APBR) attended the lecture, as did former Eastern Professional Basketball League stars Wally Choice, Jay Norman, and Sonny Hill.

Amanda Hall, Public Relations Manager for the National Liberty Museum, organized the event and was pleased with the results, saying that she "came away with an even deeper appreciation for the history of the sport."

The lectures were in connection the museum's "Quest for Equality" exhibit, a traveling exhibit about African American basketball pioneers that is sponsored by the National Basketball Association and Southwest Airlines. The exhibit appeared at the Liberty Museum from January 2 through February 6.

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