On the latest edition of her daytime talk show, Ellen DeGeneres welcomes hoops legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who shares his thoughts on the Black Lives Matter movement and the ever-growing protests against police brutality following the death of George Floyd.
In his conversation with DeGeneres, the NBA great discussed the take-a-knee movement sparked by former NFL star Colin Kaepernick and the opposition that arose.
He also shared his recollection of meeting Dr. Martin Luther King during a journalism workshop. “It was wonderful to hear him say that he thought a great job was being done, because we were already thinking how we could make our communities better. That’s what needed to take place in Black communities across the nation.”
According to Abdul-Jabbar, the protests are sparking conversations about the racial divide in America that are long overdue, but admitted it’s been a “mixed bag” of victories both large and small since the civil rights movement of the 1960s.
“There’s been some major progress and there’s been major backsliding,” he said. “We still have to make sure that the protections that should be guaranteed in our Constitution are extended to all of our citizens. That’s how it’s supposed to work.”
