Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s thoughts on racism and journalistic corruption

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has always fought for social justice. Here are his three thoughts on society.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is an NBA legend. But aside from all the accolades, he has earned in the sport of basketball, he is also an advocate of social justice. He has headed many protests and wrote many books and essays on the matter.

Abdul-Jabbar was raised prior to and during the Civil Rights movement. As a young teen in high school, he attended many demonstrations to fight against the injustices against African-Americans. He also wrote many essays criticizing the maltreatment of minorities. He continued to express his displeasure while he was in college, during his time in the NBA, and after he retired.

Here are his three thoughts on racism in America and journalistic corruption:

Noam Chomsky on capitalism, terrorism, and education

Noam Chomsky, who is often referred to as “the father of modern linguistics,” is a linguist, philosopher, historian, and social critic. Additionally, he is the author of over 100 books, writing about war, society, and politics.

Here are Chomsky’s 3 thoughts on society:

1) “It’s ridiculous to talk about freedom in a society dominated by huge corporations. What kind of freedom is there inside a corporation? They’re totalitarian institutions – you take orders from above and maybe give them to people below you. There’s about as much freedom as under Stalinism.”

Chomsky, in this quote, is criticizing capitalism. He believes that even though Western societies are always preaching about freedom and claiming that all their citizens are free, they are not. They are not free because they are controlled by the institutions that they work for.

Martin Luther King, Jr. on capitalism, policies, and racism

Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Baptist minister and a Civil Rights activist. He was well-known across the world for his activism for equal rights for African-Americans and was the most visible spokesperson for the Civil Rights Movement.

Here are Martin Luther King, Jr.’s 3 thoughts on society:

1) “Capitalism does not permit an even flow of economic resources. With this system, a small privileged few are rich beyond conscience, and almost all others are doomed to be poor at some level. That’s the way the system works. And since we know that the system will not change the rules, we are going to have to change the system.”

This Martin Luther King, Jr. quote is pretty self-explanatory. With a capitalistic economic system, there will never be equally wealthy people because there will always be two groups --the rich (a small few who hold the majority of the riches) and the poor (the majority of the nation).

Angela Davis on racism, prison, and the women’s suffrage

Angela Davis is a political activist, social commentator, and educator. During the 1960s, she was an important voice who advocated for the oppressed and the Civil Rights Movement.

Here are Davis’s three thoughts on society:

Malcolm X on race, society, and the media

Malcolm X was an American Muslim minister who fought for civil rights in the 1950s and 1960s. He often preached for race pride and social justice and encouraged visible minorities to fight against racism and oppression.

Here are Malcolm X’s three thoughts on society and my interpretations of them:

James Baldwin’s 3 thoughts on society

James Baldwin, born in 1924, was an author and social critic. He was a gay black man living during a time when racism and homophobia were still very strong. He had many thoughts and criticisms about this time. Here are three of them:

1) “People who treat other people as less than human must not be surprised when the bread they have cast on the waters comes floating back to them, poisoned.”

“What goes around, comes back around,” is pretty much what Baldwin is trying to say here. If you continuously treat people horribly and as less than equals, one day, the bullied will rally together and fight back. And sometimes, they’ll do more than protest –they may try to overthrow you to take back their power.

The oppressed are not going to just sit still in a corner, and let the oppressor beat and drag them down forever. They will eventually find the strength to stand up and fight back.