Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is perhaps the NBA’s biggest social reformer over the course of the league’s 76-year history. The 19-time All-Star has always been a champion of social activism and lent his voice to causes he supports.
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The 7’2″ big man was born and raised in the Harlem projects. Harlem is among the poorest neighborhoods in New York. During his childhood, this area was quite often a hotbed for the Civil Rights protests held in the city.
Growing up around these parts, Kareem often questioned his place in the world and as an American. Till the time he became a good basketball player, Kareem felt like an outcast because of his color and his height.
It did not help his case that one of his best childhood friends, who was white, turned on him as they came to middle school. Johnny once chased Kareem to his house with 2 of his other friends, calling him n****r while doing so.
As a child, Kareem looked up to Muhammad Ali as one of his black idols. The gregarious character played by Ali for the media gave him the confidence to shine in his own skin.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ran into Muhammad Ali on Hollywood Boulevard as a freshman
By the time he finished high school, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was the highest-recruited HS basketball player of the country. His high school team – Power Memorial – had gone over 100 games unbeaten.
They’d won a national high school championship led by him, and everybody wanted a piece of him. Eventually, Abdul-Jabbar (then Lew Alcindor) decided he’d go to college at UCLA under heralded coach John Wooden.
While touring around Los Angeles, Abdul-Jabbar inadvertently ran into Muhammad Ali. According to the legendary center, Ali was performing magic tricks for a spellbound audience on the street. He wrote this about the incident in his book:
“We saw him strolling along with a small entourage, doing sleight-of-hand illusions for fans who would come up to him. Despite his legal problems with the government and his tumultuous professional career, here he was. Casually sauntering down the street without a care in the world.”
“I shyly approached him to say hello. ‘Ah, another big fan of magic,’ he responded when I greeted him. ‘And I do mean big.’ Everyone laughed, including me.”
Also Read – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar wanted $35,000 from a movie producer to buy a rug!
Kareem advocated for Ali to boycott the Vietnam War draft
NFL legend Jim Brown held the Cleveland Summit in the summer of 1967 to persuade Muhammad Ali to join the army. Joining Brown and Ali were other NFL players and Bill Russell. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the foremost college player in the country, was also invited to the event.
The party tried quite hard to convince Ali to bend to the will of the US government. However, their efforts were of no avail as the boxer refused to budge from his steadfast stance.
