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ALA President's Program
Featuring Kareem Abdul - Jabbar
Sunday, January 13, 2008, 3:30 - 5:30 pm

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer and a prolific author, will be the keynote speaker for the ALA President’s Program at Its Midwinter Meeting.

ALA President Loriene Roy

"We're honored to have Dr. Abdul-Jabbar join us at our Midwinter meeting," Roy said. "I am especially thankful for his commitment to scholarship, education, and wellness and his work coaching high school basketball at a tribal school."

Abdul-Jabbar was chosen by American Library Association (ALA) President Loriene Roy to deliver the address on Sunday, Jan. 13. He is expected to talk about the Harlem Renaissance’s impact on his life. Abdul-Jabbar, who was born in Harlem in 1947, wrote the book, On the Shoulders of Giants: My Journey Through the Harlem Renaissance.

During the meeting, he will sign copies of the new audio version of the book, which profiles the achievements of the Harlem Renaissance. Harlem during the 1920s and 1930s was an incubator for a number of great artists, musicians, authors and thinkers, including James Weldon Johnson, Claude McKay, Langston Hughes, Paul Robeson and Duke Ellington. Their influence on Abdul-Jabbar’s life is shown in such chapters as How Harlem Writers Influenced My Life.

For more information about Abdul-Jabbar and the audio book, go to www.osgmovie.com. To listen to a sample of the audio book please visit  http://www.osgmovie.com/storepages/OSG_Audio_Sample.html 

Kareem-Abdul Jabbar talks with American Libraries

Abdul-Jabbar sits down with American Libraries Associate Editor Pamela Goodes for a conversation on growing up with libraries, his committment to literacy and learning, and how books help young readers understand both past and present struggles. http://alfocus.ala.org/videos/conversation-kareem-abdul-jabbar

Read about Kareem's favorite authors