Claude Johnson is the founder and C.E.O. of Black Fives, Inc., a vintage sports licensing company which strives to be the world’s leading resource and steward for the research, preservation, education, and promotion of the pre-1950 history of African-American basketball teams, as well as a leading advocate for the proper recognition of its pioneers and their contributions.

Johnson was born in Vienna, Austria — his father is African American, from the South Side of Chicago, and his mother was German, from the Römerstadt section of Frankfurt am Main. He also lived in Leopoldville in the Republic of the Congo (now Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo) before moving to the United States with his parents at the age of six.

Johnson has held management and executive positions various disciplines during a 20-year career in corporate America that included IBM, American Express, NBA Properties, Nike, Phat Farm, and Benetton Sportsystem. He has B.S. Civil Engineering and M.S. Mechanical Engineering degrees from Carnegie Mellon University and Stanford University, respectively.

Johnson’s insightful, evocative articles and commentaries have been published in SLAM Magazine, Bounce Magazine, and on his own blog at BlackFives.com. He has appeared on television and radio programs as well as in print, in a variety of venues that include NPR, Sirius Radio, Sports Illustrated, The Wall Street Journal, and ESPN. Johnson is a lecturer and motivational speaker, a trustee of the Greenwich Public Library, an accomplished hobby photographer, and a volunteer youth football coach. The former candidate for the Connecticut State House of Representatives is a concerned parent-citizen when it comes to education and kids’ health.

Johnson, his wife, and their three boys live in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Readers who are interested in following the author on Twitter may do so by using his personal handle @claudejohnson (http://www.Twitter.com/ClaudeJohnson).