Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is recognized the world over as one of the greatest basketball players who ever played the game as well as a committed social activist and award-winning writer. As a player, he was the NBA’s all-time leading scorer with 38,387 points, a 6x NBA champion, and the league’s only 6x MVP. Time magazine dubbed him “History’s Greatest Player” and ESPN and The Pac 12 named him the #1 Collegiate Athlete of the 20th Century.   

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. His articles and now appear at kareem.substack.com 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 also an award-winning 7x Columnist of the Year by The Southern California Journalism Awards. Before leaving office, President Barack Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country’s highest honor for civilians. He is the recipient of The Ford Medal of Freedom, The Rosa Parks Award, The Double Helix Medal, The W.E.B. Dubois Medal of Courage and he holds 8 honorary doctorate degrees.  

He is a New York Times best-selling author of 17 books, most of which explore the often-overlooked history of African Americans, from the achievements of the Harlem Renaissance to the forgotten Black inventors who changed our daily lives. He is currently working on a series of graphic novels around social justice, The history of Los Angeles music & entertainment as well as a new super-hero comic.  

Kareem is an award-winning documentary producer and Emmy nominated narrator. He was featured in HBO’s most watched sports documentary of all time, Kareem: Minority of One and he wrote on Season 5 of Veronica Mars. He also has several television projects in development. Currently, he is producing a series of specials for History about black patriots and significant events in American history. His latest, Black Patriots, Heroes of the Civil War, premiered February 21 2022.  

Kareem has appeared in hundreds of iconic and memorable tv shows and movies such Airplane, Game of Death, The Big Bang Theory, Sesame Street, Jeopardy, The Simpsons, Fletch, New Girl, Full House, FX’s smash-hit, DAVE, aka Lil Dicky and is currently starring in two commercials for Universal Studios to promote Jurassic Park with Raptors Rookie of The Year, Scottie Barnes as well as Minions – The Rise of Gru. 

The Basketball Hall of Fame created the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar College Center of the Year Award to honor the top college basketball center each year. And in 2021 The NBA just created the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion Award to honor the next generation of athletes who lift up their communities. 

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 which allows LAUSD 4th and 5th graders to soar above the four walls of the classroom. His goal is to make science, technology, engineering, and math interactive, multi-sensory, relevant, and most importantly – fun. Kareem was named California STEM Ambassador because of his commitment to youth education. 

• Return to Hutchins Center Honors​​​​​​​