Justice should be blind especially color-blind and able to fairly deal with the very real need for honest law enforcement.
When I was a kid, no one would believe anything positive that you could say about black people. That's a terrible burden.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights the burden of prejudice and the lack of belief in the positive attributes of black individuals during Abdul-Jabbar's childhood.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's quote reflects on the experiences of growing up in an environment where positive statements about black people were often dismissed or not believed. This speaks to the heavy weight of societal bias and the impact it has on both personal identity and communal representation, emphasizing the urgent need to challenge stereotypes and acknowledge the strengths and contributions of marginalized communities.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
During a panel discussion on race relations, one could use this quote to highlight the importance of believing in positive narratives about marginalized communities.
More from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
All quotes βI've had enough success for two lifetimes, My success is talent put together with hard work and luck.
Music rhythms are mathematical patterns. When you hear a song and your body starts moving with it, your body is doing math. The kids in their parents' garage practicing to be a band may not realize it, but they're also practicing math.
In a typical history book, black Americans are mentioned in the context of slavery or civil rights. There's so much more to the story.
I'm not comfortable being preachy, but more people need to start spending as much time in the library as they do on the basketball court.
Five guys on the court working together can achieve more than five talented individuals who come and go as individuals.
Similar quotes
In Western Australia, minerals are being dug up from Aboriginal land and shipped to China for a profit of a billion dollars a week. In this, the richest, 'booming' state, the prisons bulge with stricken Aboriginal people, including juveniles whose mothers stand at the prison gates, pleading for their release. The incarceration of black Australians here is eight times that of black South Africans during the last decade of apartheid.
America hasn't been able to grapple with the uncomfortable reality that police brutality is encoded in this country's DNA.
Growth is essential and must be sustained. But rapid growth alone cannot address the problems arising out of continuing disparities. Tackling these is not just a matter of social justice but, more importantly, an existential necessity and a moral imperative.
The March on Washington was a March for Jobs and Freedom. There are still too many people who are unemployed or underemployed in America - they're black, white, Latino, Native American and Asian American.
The thirst for liberation and equality can never come at the expense of dehumanizing other marginalized groups - especially at a time when hate crimes against Jews have increased significantly.
The appalling racial injustice inherent in the Trayvon Martin tragedy reminds us that there is still much to do.