Why did the New York Rens often play against white basketball teams?

The New York Rens, an all-Black professional basketball team, frequently played against white teams primarily because these "race games" were highly effective at attracting large crowds to their home venue, the Renaissance Casino and Ballroom, thereby ensuring the team's financial success.1

During the era of segregated sports, such contests were often organized to stimulate ticket sales by titillating audiences with the spectacle of Black versus white competition. While the broader social climate of the time, defined by Jim Crow laws, generally prohibited Black and white teams from competing for national championships, these exhibition games allowed the Rens to showcase their exceptional talent and maintain their status as one of the most accomplished teams in the country.1