Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has always been different. But the activist, author and former NBA player refused to let that be a weakness.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven when I was just the tall, black guy in a nearly all-white grade school, I knew I was different. My strength comes from a lifetime of being different,\u201d Abdul-Jabbar told the audience of more than 1,000 gathered at the Milwaukee Theatre March 2.<\/p>\n
Abdul-Jabbar spoke as part of the UWM Distinguished Lecture Series, the guest of UWM\u2019s Muslim Student Association. Ubaydullah Evans, executive director of the American Learning Institute for Muslims, led the discussion.<\/p>\n
The talk brought Abdul-Jabbar back to the city where he began his professional basketball career. The Milwaukee Bucks drafted him in 1969, and in 1971 he led the team to its only championship. When he retired from the Los Angeles Lakers in 1989, he was a six-time most valuable player, 19-time all-star and six-time NBA champion.<\/p>\n
While playing for the Bucks, he changed his name from Lew Alcindor before the 1971-\u201972 season, a change that was not universally accepted in Milwaukee.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt first, people in Milwaukee had to find out what I was all about,\u201d he said. \u201cThe Muslim community in Milwaukee has grown and changed. It was nothing like this in the 1970s.\u201d<\/p>\n
In response to questions about Islam in America, Abdul-Jabbar urged Muslim Americans to stand up for their rights.<\/p>\n
\u201cAmerican values and Islamic values are totally compatible. People find that out when they get to know Muslims,\u201d he said. \u201cWe need to be bridge builders. I was so happy to see the community in St. Louis raising money to help the attacked Jewish cemetery. I believe Muslim Americans can be a shining light in the Islamic world.\u201d<\/p>\n
He expressed gratitude to the Muslims from Sudan, Pakistan and Senegal he had known at UCLA, who urged him \u201cnot to give into his anger about racial prejudice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Abdul-Jabbar urged black Americans to stay active in the political process.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to keep registering to vote, we have to keep running for office and stay informed of the agenda at all levels of government: city, state and nationally,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Abdul-Jabbar\u2019s latest book, \u201cWritings on the Wall: Searching for a New Equality Beyond Black and White,\u201d was released last summer, and has been nominated for an NAACP Image Award. He has authored a dozen books, ranging from memoirs to histories to young adult novels.<\/p>\n
After a 45-minute conversation with Evans, Abdul-Jabbar answered audience questions. He was asked about Islam, basketball and his friendship with martial arts legend Bruce Lee. Abdul-Jabbar acted in Lee\u2019s final film: \u201cGame of Death.\u201d He remembered his one-time mentor as \u201ca practical joker, who liked Latin dancing and Tito Puente.\u201d He also spoke admiringly of Lee as someone who learned from people outside his own discipline.<\/p>\n
When asked about his sources of motivation, he cited his grandmother, who \u201ccame to America from the West Indies in 1917, and she always said that if he didn\u2019t go to school, I\u2019d be an \u2018ignorant wretch.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Osama Choudhry, a member of the UWM Muslim Student Association, was thrilled with Abdul-Jabbar\u2019s visit. \u201cIt\u2019s awesome that we brought him here. I\u2019ve been a fan of his forever. It\u2019s amazing that he can come here and positively represent Islam on our campus.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar talked about being Muslim, his life as an outsider and his time in Milwaukee during a Distinguished Lecture Series event co-sponsored by the UWM Muslim Student Association. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40008,"featured_media":45624,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","uwm_wg_additional_authors":[]},"categories":[174],"tags":[249,250],"section":[122],"display_categories":[115,116],"related-coverage":[],"uwmnews-feed":[167],"class_list":["post-45626","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-community-engagement","tag-student-success","section-campus-community","display_categories-top-story-secondary","display_categories-top-story-section","uwmnews-feed-alumni-association"],"yoast_head":"\n