Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, 4x award-winning Magazine Columnist of the Year, a six-time NBA champion and the league’s only 6x MVP. He is one of a handful of influential and respected black men in America who has a national platform as a regular contributing columnist for newspapers and magazines around the world, such as The Guardian and The Hollywood Reporter where he shares his thoughts on some of the most socially relevant and politically controversial topics facing our nation today. After 50 years as an athlete and activist, he offers his perspectives as a nationally recognized speaker who regularly appears on the lecture circuit. He is the recipient of 3 Columnist of the Year Awards in (2017, 2018 & 2019) by the Southern California Journalism Awards.
Currently, Abdul-Jabbar serves as the chairman of his Skyhook Foundation whose mission is to Give Kids a Shot That Can’t be Blocked by bringing educational STEM opportunities to underserved communities through innovative outdoor environmental learning. A New York Times best-selling author, he has written 15 books, including two recent memoirs: Becoming Kareem for young readers, and Coach Wooden and Me about his lifelong friendship with famed UCLA coach John Wooden. His third installment of the Mycroft Holmes series, entitled Mycroft & Sherlock – The Empty Birdcage was released in September 2019.
His Emmy Award-winning HBO Sports documentary, Kareem: Minority of One, debuted as HBO’s most watched and highest rated sports documentary of all time. Currently, he is in development on a tv series for Warner Brothers entitled Trouble Man and he just finished writing the 5th season of Veronica Mars for Hulu.
Before leaving office, President Barack Obama awarded Abdul-Jabbar The Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.
Recommended Reading & Watching:
Becoming Kareem by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (for young readers)
Coach Wooden and Me: Our 50-Year Friendship On and Off the Court by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Kareem: Minority of One on HBO
February 1 Nonprofit Partner: Oaktown Jazz Workshops
Oaktown Jazz Workshops (OJW) is a nonprofit, community based, cultural education organization dedicated to passing on the tradition of jazz music to young people through music instruction, educational presentations and live concerts.
Founded in 1994 and based in Oakland, California, OJW celebrates jazz music as a complex and enjoyable music as well as an important indicator of American history. Jazz offers a rich legacy that has touched the lives of each generation and continues to be a critical component of contemporary culture.