On The Shoulders of Giants (1:31) 2011

On The Shoulders of Giants is a documentary about the Harlem Rens, a great but unknown basketball team. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Jamie Foxx narrate this documentary about the Rens, an all black basketball squad in the 1930s. The Rens played in Harlem and white professional basketball teams in exhibition games before basketball became integrated in the 1950s. The documentary looks at the history of the team, the difficulties the team encountered barnstorming in the South, and their relationship with The Harlem Globetrotters. I am a big fan of the Globetrotters and saw them play in New Haven with my father and my son. I had never heard of the Rens until today. Although I'm not a big basketball fan, this is a documentary that we should all see. It is more than about the game of basketball. It is about our shameful history of racism but also about the rich culture of Harlem. The visuals and the music, mostly jazz, adds to the high quality of this film. It is my hope that many young people, sports fans or not, see this documentary.