The most thrilling thing I did while at conference was attend a talk by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. At first, I had no idea why I was so excited about the opportunity to see him . When he began to speak, I remembered. Just a little older than me, he was just old enough, involved enough, and good enough (as a person and as an athlete) that he made an impression on my youth. He was a person to be admired; not only for his physical gifts, but how he carried himself. He stood for the things in which he believed (as he still does today). He talked about his book On the Shoulders of Giants:My Journey Through the Harlem Renaissance and, as with any good book talk, made me anxious to read it as well as the authors who so inspired him ! I was also happy to learn that soon a new audio book, based on his research for the book will be released. It will feature music and interviews with major figures from the Harlem Renaissance.
Abdul-Jabbar was so patient and kind. He must have answered questions from the audience for at least 90 minutes- a first in my experience of any famous person who speaks ! The most interesting answer was to a question concerning changing his name. He did so, he said, for religious purposes when he became a Muslim. He said that Muhammed Ali had already “taken the heat” for doing the same thing and that, therefore, he did not have to deal with as much as he would have had he been the first.
