Like all of us, I have been reeling in the wake of recent events in the political life of our nation. For clarity in the midst of the chaos around us, I often turn to the outstanding blog published by Kareem Abdul Jabbar on Substack. The writer George Saunders praises “keen and wise insights from a true national treasure.” I agree, and I encourage everyone to subscribe here (no charge for a basic subscription).
The most recent edition of “Kareem’s Substack” includes a “Special Message about the Assassination Attempt on Donald Trump.” I found it among the best pieces of commentary I have read about the gun violence that nearly took Trump’s life, and the meaning and aftermath of that dramatic event.
Meanwhile, the extraordinary Stephen Curry is getting ready for his debut on the US Olympic Team, under team coach Steve Kerr, in competition in the Paris Olympics in just three weeks. We wish Curry, his teammates and coach Kerr great good luck in Paris. We also thank Curry and Kerr for steadfast advocacy against gun violence always.
Steve Kerr’s father Malcolm Kerr was shot and killed by gunmen when he served as President of the American University of Beirut in 1984. In the long wake of his father’s tragic assassination, Steve Kerr has been a tireless moral witness and and eloquent advocate against gun violence, and the proliferation of guns, over many years. Kerr called the assassination attempt on former US president Donald Trump a “demoralizing day” for America highlighting a dangerous gun culture. Kerr said “It’s yet another example of not only our political division but also our gun culture, a 20-year-old with an AR-15 trying to shoot the former president. It’s hard to process everything and it’s scary to think about where this goes.”
Stephen Curry called for tighter gun control following the news. He said “It invokes a lot of emotions around things that we need to correct as a people, obviously gun control first and foremost.”
Reading Abdul Jabbar’s poignant “special message” about the attempted Trump assassination, and noting the way that Stephen Curry and Steve Kerr responded to the terrible incident to address the larger problem of gun violence in America, I am reminded of their courage to use the unique status of role sports heroes in America to become powerful “influencers” for social change, human dignity, and decency.
In this blog posting I reflect with gratitude upon the the deeply meaningful relationships between Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Stephen Curry and Dr. Clarence B. Jones. Independently and together, they have enormously benefited the USF Institute for Nonviolence and Social Justice and transformed our work. At 93, 77, and 36, respectively, Jones, Abdul Jabbar and Curry represent three generations in the long Black Freedom Movement that continues across time from Frederick Douglass to the present day, and the pursuit of the highest levels of excellence alongside dedication to social and political change to achieve a better world.
We are blessed and transformed by their example, their humanity and their generosity.
Boyhood memories
My father was a UCLA alum (he was an undergraduate, and he graduated from UCLA’s first law school class) and I grew up a loyal Bruin fan. My father had season tickets to the UCLA basketball season, and starting when I was 9 years old (in 1966) I accompanied him to many games in UCLA’s new stadium, Pauley Pavilion. By a coincidence of amazing good fortune, I witnessed the greatest run of the greatest team in the history of college basketball, to this day, under the visionary leadership of Coach John Wooden, with the greatest college center of all time, a towering figure (7-ft, 1-inch) by the name of Lew Alcindor.
Alcindor so dominated the court, and the sport, that the NCAA rules committee outlawed the dunk shot to slow him down from so relentlessly crushing out baskets to the cheers of Bruins fans like me. (The dunk shot was reinstated in 1976).
I remember Alcindor and his teammates, including the great Lucius Allen, Lynn Shackelford, and Mike Warren, destroying every team who came to Pauley Pavilion to meet them on the court. It was a special delight to watch UCLA eviscerate USC, our nemesis. Alcindor started in the Varsity team as a sophomore (at the time, freshmen had to wait a year); he and his teammates won the NCAA national championship in each year, and he won MVP each year. Alcindor graduated UCLA having broken record after record, and to this day he holds the highest college career scoring average (26.4); most points in a season (870, in 1967); most field goals in a season (346, 1967); most free throw attempts in a season: 274 (1967); most points in a single game (61), most field goals in a single game: 26 (vs. Washington State, February 25, 1967); most career field goals (943 tied with Don MacLean). He holds the record as for second highest season and career rebounds in college basketball history, second only to Bill Walton, who we lost six weeks ago.
Lew Alcindor was my hero. He demonstrated excellence, discipline, skill, stamina, agility, sportsmanship, power and grace more than anyone I had ever had the joy to watch.
But there was a lot I didn’t know about him. I didn’t know about his growing Muslim faith. I didn’t know about his opposition to the Vietnam War. I didn’t know about his courageous social justice activism.
In June, 1967, Alcindor was the only college athlete to join some of the most prominent Black professional athletes including Jim Brown and Bill Russell and political leaders (Carl Stokes, who became Cleveland’s first Black mayor shortly after) at the so-called “Cleveland Summit.” Alcindor joined Brown, Russell, Stokes and others to express solidarity with Muhammed Ali following Ali’s announcement that he refused to serve in the U.S. military in Vietnam. The summit participants mobilized support for Ali and declared their own opposition to the War in Vietnam. Here is a photograph of the summit’s press conference:
Back row (left to right): Stokes, Walter Beach, Bobby Mitchell, Sid Williams, Curtis McClinton, Willie Davis, Jim Shorter, and John Wooten.
(front row) Russell, Ali, Brown and Lew Alcindor (now Abdul-Jabbar)
During the summer of 1968, Alcindor converted to Sunni Islam, adopting the Arabic name Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He boycotted the 1968 Summer Olympics to protest the ongoing mistreatment of African Americans in the United States. “”We were trying to point out to the world the futility of winning the gold medal for this country and then coming back to live under oppression,” he explained.
In 1971, playing for the Milwaukee Bucks, he told the world that going forward he wanted to be called by his Muslim name: Kareem, meaning “noble”- Abdul, the servant of Allah; and Jabbar, “strength.”
Playing for the Los Angeles Lakers (1975–1989), famous for his gravity defying “skyhook,” his trademark goggles, HIS record six MVP awards, his 38,387 career points (surpassed only once, by LeBron James, in 2023), and his upstanding character and personal integrity, Abdul-Jabbar is remembered as one of the greatest players in the history of professional basketball, and a dedicated advocate for social justice.
The dream marches on, across generations
Through introductions by the women’s basketball legend and Olympic gold medalist Jennifer Aziz, Dr. Clarence B. Jones was invited to speak to the Golden Gate Warriors during a practice session in the new Chase stadium in December 2019, only weeks before the outbreak of Covid in 2020. Dr. Jones met Warriors coach Steve Kerr, himself an extraordinary person, and then spoke with the players for a half hour, sharing with them personal lessons drawn from his own life journey, and from his friendship with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Afterwards, Dr. Jones had a chance to meet and talk personally with Stephen Curry, a conversation that began a friendship that has grown and keeps deepening since.
On Juneteenth, 2020, less than a month following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, at the height of the Black Lives Matter movement, the USF Institute for Nonviolence and Social Justice joined in partnership with Jeff and Naomi Silk and the Silk Series lecture program at USF to convene a special online program featuring Dr. Jones and Stephen Curry in conversation, moderated by Jennifer Azzi. The conversation (“The Dream Marches On”), turned out to be unusually intimate, and extremely moving and powerful for tens of thousands of people all across the country who watched via livestream. You can watch it here:
Addressing the persistence of white supremacy and anti-Black racism, and the backlash against gains secured by the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, Curry spoke about his boyhood in North Carolina. “I was always reminded by my parents, aunts and uncles, and grandparents that this was their experience in rural Virginia. I’ve had countless family members get trapped in the judicial system with unfair sentences,” he said. “I’ve heard their stories, and I still feel them today.”
Jones told Curry that the efforts led by King during the civil rights movement in the 1960s were not enough. “We have to keep on,” he said. “Now is not the time to give up.”
“Dr. King said we can’t be quiet until there is no more police brutality and killing,” said Jones. “And here we are today. It’s clear to me we have to continue. Whatever achievements we thought we achieved, they were not enough.”
Curry urged each of us to “embrace this opportunity to use whatever God has given you, whatever platform, to try to better the person next to you. There is no selfish ambition in any of this. It’s all about making the world a better place.”
“I think a lot of this is the sense of urgency in the moment to know this has been a culmination of 400 years of injustices,” Curry said. “Everyone can play their part to help change. That’s why we’re here today. We want to see change now.”
Jennifer Azzi and Steph Curry talked about how they took their children to Black Lives Matter protests in the Bay Area as a way to educate a new generation about peaceful protest. Involving a new generation is important, Jones said, because they will need to continue to protest for freedoms that King and Jones called for in the 1960s.
Through their family foundation, Eat. Learn. Play. Steph and Aisha Curry made a $75,000 matching gift to the USF Institute for Nonviolence and Social Justice, generating matching gifts enabling INSJ to raise $150,000.
Curry talked about his own nonviolent activism and the work of Eat. Learn. Play to support urgently needed food, education and community sports programs in Oakland and throughout the SF Bay Area. Jennifer Azzi and Steph Curry talked about how they took their children to Black Lives Matter protests in the Bay Area as a way to educate a new generation about peaceful protest. Involving a new generation is important, Jones said, because they will need to continue to protest for freedoms that King and Jones called for in the 1960s. “From my standpoint, its holding everyone around me accountable to follow suit,” Curry said.
“When it comes to my brand partners, people I come across in our organization, in my foundation – they need to spread love and positivity to anybody in any walk of life. They have to have an action and perspective of how they are interacting with the black communities, investing with black communities… I’m trying to create a program and platform of questions that I ask every single person I do business with and have a personal relationship with. And hopefully that’ll inspire them to carry that torch and do it in their own circles, and we can have a wildfire spread like that. Those are the tangible steps. As we look ahead, being bold and understanding the power that we have.”
The 2023 Kareem Abdul Jabbar Social Change Champion Award
In 2023, Stephen Curry was honored by the National Basketball Association to receive its Kareem Abdul Jabbar Social Justice Champion Award. As explained by the NBA, “Curry was selected from a group of five finalists for his dedication to pursuing social justice and advancing Abdul-Jabbar’s life mission to engage, empower and drive equality for individuals and groups who have been historically marginalized or systemically disadvantaged.”
Here is a short message from Abdul-Jabbar congratulating Curry on his selection for the social justice award bearing his name:
Steph Curry had the opportunity to designate any charitable organization in the United States to receive the $100,000 in funding that accompanied the award. We have been immensely honored and grateful that Curry selected the USF Institute for Nonviolence and Social Justice as the recipient of this impactful gift. As announced by the NBA: “Curry has selected University of San Francisco Institute for Nonviolence and Social Justice, which investigates, illuminates, and advances the theory and practice of transformational nonviolence to confront and overcome injustice and systemic violence and contribute to the just resolution of communal conflict, to receive a $100,000 contribution from the NBA on his behalf.”
“I’m passionate about the work of the USF Institute for Nonviolence and Social Justice and its commitment to overcoming injustice and systemic violence through peace,” said Curry.
Read the USF press release here, and the USF News article here.
Stephen Curry is an extraordinary human being in every way, on and off the court. He is a humanitarian and a true mensch through and through. We are incredibly moved by the generosity of his support for the nonviolence education work of our institute, and deeply grateful.
Black Heritage Night at the SF Giants, June 2024
On May 31, 2024, Dr. Jones and Steph Curry came together to create an unforgettable experience for thousands of baseball fans at Oracle Park and throughout the country. As described by Shrabana Sengupta on the Essentially Sports website:
“On a night that transcended baseball, Oracle Park transformed into a living testament to history and hope as the San Francisco Giants celebrated African American Heritage Night in the presence of Bay Area celebrity and NBA luminary Stephen Curry. This event, made even more significant by Major League Baseball’s recent decision to integrate Negro League statistics into its official records, honored the immeasurable contributions of black athletes to America’s favorite pastime. The ceremonial first pitch was a powerful symbol of unity, with Dr. Clarence B. Jones, a confidant and speechwriter for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., sharing the mound with Curry. Their presence resonated with the shared dream of equality, opportunity, and the relentless pursuit of excellence that Dr. King championed.”
See especially the last minute of this video:
https://www.mlb.com/giants/video/stephen-curry-dr-clarence-b-jones-toss-first-pitch
And see this very short video
Standing on the Oracle Park field with my son Kenji, watching this moving ceremonial first pitch with these two great men, of different generations, I felt the spirit of Willie Mays in the stadium, and the “inescapable network of mutuality” Dr. King reminded us to remember.
I am so grateful to more than 60 friends of the USF Institute for Nonviolence and Social Justice who joined us for this special evening, with special gratitude for including Jeff and Naomi Silk, and Diana Cohn and Craig Miralees, and Cissie Swig, who so generously sponsored the event in support of the work of our institute, and colleagues from the University of San Francisco, including USF President Fr. Paul Fitzgerald, USF Chancellor Fr. John Fitzgibbons, and USF Provost Eileen Fung.
Later that evening, I had the joyful experience of sitting together in private conversation with Clarence Jones and Stephen Curry. The mutual admiration and love between these extraordinary men, their profound care for each other, is so palpable and incredibly moving, and it inspires me to follow in the path they have pointed for us toward excellence and humanitarian action no matter what.
Kareen Abdul Jabbar and Stephen Curry used their platform as basketball superstars to become transformative agents of social change. They are role models for all of us in their accomplishment of the highest levels of athletic excellence and humanitarian advocacy.
Along with Dr. Clarence B. Jones, they are my heroes.
In his iconic 1963 “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King, Jr. reminded us that all human beings are connected “in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.” We are blessed by the network of relationships between Abdul Jabbar, Curry, Jones and the nonviolence education work we are engaging together to realize Dr. King’s vision of the Beloved Community.
Jonathan D. Greenberg
London, June 17, 2024
