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Black Profiles in Courage: A Legacy of African-American Achievement
In this ideal introduction to black history, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar examines the lives of heroic African Americans and offers their stories as inspiring examples for young people, who too rarely encounter positive black role models in history books or in the media. Profiled here are Peter Salem, the volunteer soldier who turned the tide at Bunker Hill; Joseph Cinque, leader of a daring revolt on the slave ship Amistad; Frederick Douglass, self-taught writer-orator and escaped slave who forced President Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation years ahead of schedule; Harriet Tubman, who led at least three hundred slaves to freedom; Lewis Latimer, whose scientific work was integral to the achievements of Bell and Edison; and many more. Shining a bright light on the touchstones of character, these exemplary stories reemphasize the integral role of African Americans in weaving the fabric of our nation and form an empowering legacy from which Americans of all ages can draw inspiration, wisdom, and pride.
261 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
42 people are currently reading
383 people want to read
About the author
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
54 books644 followersAs a center for the Los Angeles Lakers from 1975 to 1989, American basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, originally Lew Alcindor, led the all-time scores in history of national basketball association in 1984.
This former professional player current serves as assistant coach. Typically referred to as Lew Alcindor in his younger days, he changed his name when he converted to Islam.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kareem_...
This former professional player current serves as assistant coach. Typically referred to as Lew Alcindor in his younger days, he changed his name when he converted to Islam.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kareem_...
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
March 4, 2011
Loved it. It gave me so many more books to read to find out more about the people in this book.
June 1, 2014
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has been a person we have long admired. His book is about people who have presented an example for him to admire.
April 21, 2019
Another remarkable book by Karem Abdul-Jabbar. Reasonably documented account of courageous African Americans across the domains of exploration, revolution, resistance, incitement, escape, respect, defense, discovery (inventions) and change. Some of heroes are known to us, like Rosa Parks and Harriet Tubman, but their stories are incomplete. Others, like Bass Reeves, Louis Lattimer and Joseph Cinque were known in their time but quickly dropped out of the history books. The facts of black military heroism were likewise left on the cutting room floor of mainstream textbooks. I'm very impressed with how Mr. Abdul-Jabbar brings these stories to life. We need to know them better. They need to be put into our mainstream history curriculum.
This book held a number of surprises for me, but the biggest was that the famous 382 day Montgomery Alabama Bus Boycott started by Rosa Parks did NOT have desegregation as one of its demands. The racist bus segregation law was being fought in the courts, but all the boycottors were asking for, according to Mr. Abdul-Jabbar and attributed to the Rev. Ralph Abernathy were:
- Courteous treatment of blacks on all city buses
- First come, first served seating, with whites sitting in the front and blacks sitting in the rear.
- The hiring of black drivers on all-black routes
At the time of the boycott, black ridership was three times that of white ridership. The case for granting the above demands was not only moral but in the economic interest of the bus company. But the white leadership of Montgomery chose to use intimidation and violence to force black riders back into subservience. Meanwhile the bus company hurtled towards bankruptcy despite doubling fares. The acceptance of segregation wasn't enough -- the opponents of the boycott wanted blacks to "know their place" and move for whites. Think of the level of hostility behind that stance for a few minutes.
In the end, neither side yielded on their own. It took the US Supreme Court overturning Alabama's bus segregation law to end the boycott. With the law gone, first-come, first serve seating was the law of the land.
This book has a general bibliography organized by last name of author and a good index. I wish that Mr. Abdul-Jabbar had included footnotes to specific items he noted or had organized the bibliography by chapter. Still, I think he gives enough detail to track down the items.
I view this book as a must-read for American History for people of all races.
This book held a number of surprises for me, but the biggest was that the famous 382 day Montgomery Alabama Bus Boycott started by Rosa Parks did NOT have desegregation as one of its demands. The racist bus segregation law was being fought in the courts, but all the boycottors were asking for, according to Mr. Abdul-Jabbar and attributed to the Rev. Ralph Abernathy were:
- Courteous treatment of blacks on all city buses
- First come, first served seating, with whites sitting in the front and blacks sitting in the rear.
- The hiring of black drivers on all-black routes
At the time of the boycott, black ridership was three times that of white ridership. The case for granting the above demands was not only moral but in the economic interest of the bus company. But the white leadership of Montgomery chose to use intimidation and violence to force black riders back into subservience. Meanwhile the bus company hurtled towards bankruptcy despite doubling fares. The acceptance of segregation wasn't enough -- the opponents of the boycott wanted blacks to "know their place" and move for whites. Think of the level of hostility behind that stance for a few minutes.
In the end, neither side yielded on their own. It took the US Supreme Court overturning Alabama's bus segregation law to end the boycott. With the law gone, first-come, first serve seating was the law of the land.
This book has a general bibliography organized by last name of author and a good index. I wish that Mr. Abdul-Jabbar had included footnotes to specific items he noted or had organized the bibliography by chapter. Still, I think he gives enough detail to track down the items.
I view this book as a must-read for American History for people of all races.
February 27, 2022
Amazing. Should be a must read for every American!
March 29, 2018
Makes a solid case that the people discussed should be part of everyone's history books, not just special histories.
Originally published in 1996.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar presents a look at American history through a different lens than you usually see. This book follows from even before the arrival of Columbus through Rosa Parks receiving her just accolades in the 1990's. His underlying theme, as explained in the title, is that African-Americans have been contributing in important ways the entire time, but they are often "whitewashed" from history.
Abdul-Jabbar is best known for his time as a top-level basketball player. But he is not just a jock (if you are a fan, you know he never was just a jock) - he is also an amateur historian and quite thoughtful. Clearly, he was inspired by the book Profiles in Courage by John F. Kennedy but this book is not structured in any way like that classic.
The book starts with its weakest proposition from a historical perspective. There are historians that assert that African peoples were heavily involved in Mesoamerican history (Mayas, Aztecs, Olmecs) and Abdul-Jabbar agrees with them. While it is interesting to ponder, I think that, at best, it can be said that there maybe some influence there - or maybe not. We cannot be definitively sure, even if there are tantalizingly suggestive clues, due to the lack of historical records on both sides of the Atlantic and a genetic record that has been muddled by intermixing for the last 500+ years.
But, the rest of the book is really quite strong. I very much enjoyed his biographical sketches of Crispus Attucks, Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass, especially Crispus Attucks. Abdul-Jabbar makes a solid case that the people he discusses should be part of everyone's history books, not just special themed history books.
http://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/2018/...
Originally published in 1996.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar presents a look at American history through a different lens than you usually see. This book follows from even before the arrival of Columbus through Rosa Parks receiving her just accolades in the 1990's. His underlying theme, as explained in the title, is that African-Americans have been contributing in important ways the entire time, but they are often "whitewashed" from history.
Abdul-Jabbar is best known for his time as a top-level basketball player. But he is not just a jock (if you are a fan, you know he never was just a jock) - he is also an amateur historian and quite thoughtful. Clearly, he was inspired by the book Profiles in Courage by John F. Kennedy but this book is not structured in any way like that classic.
The book starts with its weakest proposition from a historical perspective. There are historians that assert that African peoples were heavily involved in Mesoamerican history (Mayas, Aztecs, Olmecs) and Abdul-Jabbar agrees with them. While it is interesting to ponder, I think that, at best, it can be said that there maybe some influence there - or maybe not. We cannot be definitively sure, even if there are tantalizingly suggestive clues, due to the lack of historical records on both sides of the Atlantic and a genetic record that has been muddled by intermixing for the last 500+ years.
But, the rest of the book is really quite strong. I very much enjoyed his biographical sketches of Crispus Attucks, Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass, especially Crispus Attucks. Abdul-Jabbar makes a solid case that the people he discusses should be part of everyone's history books, not just special themed history books.
http://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/2018/...
February 13, 2017
Educational and inspirational, the profiles presented seek to end the confusion about the roles of Black people in USA history, debunking the myths perpetuated in many history books, if we are mentioned at all, of Blacks as ignorant, uncivilized, non-contributors to the building of this country. In doing so, Mr. Abdul-Jabbar emphasizes the key roles played by Black people in creating this nation, while emphasizing our moral center and character, so that young people feel connected to our heritage, our country and each other. "Knowledge is power;" understanding one's heritage is a good way to exercise that power. Defining courage as recognizing when something needs to be done and doing it, even when there are easier choices, the author is truly "doing the right thing" with this book.
March 16, 2013
This was a good history book, I felt its down fall was the authors. Many times he went to far on his personal feelings and ended up taking away the importance of the history. To change things one has to let go of the past, this author seems to be living in a time before he was born. Other then that it was a good book.
December 10, 2013
I enjoyed reading this book. It's really interesting, I never knew I would learn so much just by reading the book. Personally I don't enjoy reading autobiographies which is the reason It got a 3/5. I picked the book due to me wanting to learn more about black history. I would recommend reading this book to anyone who is interested in black history and culture.
February 20, 2018
An extremely well researched book. To say I’ve come away with a greater appreciation for the role African Americans have played in shaping our nation’s history is an understatement. The only complaint I have is the writing is a little inconsistent at times, but overall an important and impressive read.
February 28, 2020
When asked what is a good read for Black History Month, I will remember this title. Black History is American History! African Americans have contributed in every way to what America is, even if the story hasnt always been told. I appreciate Mr. Jabbar's shedding light on known and little known courage Black Americans. I leave this book inspired.
February 9, 2008
This is the book for you if you are into history! It is a collection of biographies on importan, courageous African Americans. I think Karem Abdul-Jabbar did a nice job on tell these stories, but i felt he was a little to "woe is me." All in all, i enjoyed it!
February 26, 2016
This book talked about the history about blacks. This told about people that had been in the times in racism. it had told about people that had died in the times of the racism. I will recommend this book to anybody that likes books about black history month.
March 27, 2017
I think everybody should read this. So much information that has been missing from our general US history education
That said, it wasn't consistently edited --- a few oopsies made it into printed edition (including a few uses of "hung" instead of "hanged" and "yolk" is not "yoke")
That said, it wasn't consistently edited --- a few oopsies made it into printed edition (including a few uses of "hung" instead of "hanged" and "yolk" is not "yoke")
April 17, 2015
Excellent book!
Read
July 14, 2014I believe this was at the Newberry Library that I came across this book, and used it for theLewis Latimer bio.
November 29, 2010
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar identifies and highlights the lives of blacks that have had strong profiles...
September 24, 2020
I had read JFK’s ‘Profiles in Courage’ a few years back and was interested in reading this for a while. Covid brought it to the top of my ‘to read’ pile.
Well it is an interesting and powerful book. I think the good features include Kareem taking us through his feelings of disenfranchisement and empowerment as he learns about African American history, the interesting profiles themselves, and the engagement with the promise of America and it’s cultural ideals.
There were some amazing stories. I was really interested in the lawman Bass Reeves, and the idea that the successes of those profiled had to be so over and above white Americans had to do just to get a mention in the history books is shown here when they do get their due.
One of the things that jars, and I think it probably jars because the history itself is jarring, but the book moves through the profiles in chronological order from European exploration and colonization of America to the civil rights movement of the 60s. What is bad about this is we get the history laid out in terms of the dominant narrative, and so the first profile is an explorer who helped the conquest of indigenous peoples. He’s part of the same project that got him into slavery. Same for the soldiers who are profiled- courageous in their own right- but part of a problematic system of violence. I guess a more sustained critque along these lines would probably be reserved for a different book.
Well it is an interesting and powerful book. I think the good features include Kareem taking us through his feelings of disenfranchisement and empowerment as he learns about African American history, the interesting profiles themselves, and the engagement with the promise of America and it’s cultural ideals.
There were some amazing stories. I was really interested in the lawman Bass Reeves, and the idea that the successes of those profiled had to be so over and above white Americans had to do just to get a mention in the history books is shown here when they do get their due.
One of the things that jars, and I think it probably jars because the history itself is jarring, but the book moves through the profiles in chronological order from European exploration and colonization of America to the civil rights movement of the 60s. What is bad about this is we get the history laid out in terms of the dominant narrative, and so the first profile is an explorer who helped the conquest of indigenous peoples. He’s part of the same project that got him into slavery. Same for the soldiers who are profiled- courageous in their own right- but part of a problematic system of violence. I guess a more sustained critque along these lines would probably be reserved for a different book.
July 8, 2021
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar takes readers on a deep dive into Black American history with profiles of a variety of black American heroes. It is unfortunate that our history books have neglected to include details of these courageous leaders who were able to help to change the circumstances of others. Through appropriate research and thoughtful interpretation, Mr. Abdul-Jabbar is able to document and give proper credit to these courageous men and woman. Inspirational and encouraging, this book demonstrates multiple ways in which each of us can contribute to the betterment of others. This should be required reading for all Americans to help us fully understand the role of African-Americans in helping to build our Nation and how to be more empathetic of others.
July 15, 2022
I learned more from this book about the history of black people in America than I learned in my entire time in school. It's unbelievably sad the way black history has been "whitewashed" as Kareer writes, but I definitely have more of an appreciation for the contributions that race has made to America. It'll be a great foundational book to share with my kids as they get older. I hope Kareem writes another one of these because I'm sure there are plenty more stories just waiting to be told!
May 18, 2025
This book got better and better as I kept reading. Even though, in my reading the last 5 years, I have learned about many of these Black American heroes and heroines, Mr. Abdul-Jabbar illuminated things about their lives that touch all of us. And now these heroes are mine.
July 12, 2025
I thought I had researched quite a bit of black history
Oh… my shortcomings!!
Kareem delivers a wide range of African-American achievers. I knew about half of them.
While describing their achievements, he also described their struggles. Amazing!!
(Ok. My favorite has always been Bass Reeves)
Oh… my shortcomings!!
Kareem delivers a wide range of African-American achievers. I knew about half of them.
While describing their achievements, he also described their struggles. Amazing!!
(Ok. My favorite has always been Bass Reeves)
January 27, 2018
Beautifully compiled, very informative!
February 15, 2021
Excellent book! Fantastic research! The history of many unknown Blacks. A must read for all people.
April 29, 2024
Wonderful read. Now I want to read more by this legend.
June 8, 2022
Awesome! A real experience!
November 1, 2020
A disappointing book.
I don't know if I'm more disappointed by the tone of the book, or the assumption that what is in the book is not known by so many. Perhaps that was the case for when it was written, but so much of the information seems to be common knowledge today. Perhaps this book helped it become more common knowledge.
I was also disappointed by the poor grammar in the book. I have read other (more recent) books by Abdul-Jabbar, and didn't encounter the poor grammar, so I was surprised.
The author communicates much anger in the book. I do not pretend to understand the anger, although I believe that such anger may be warranted. However, I think that it detracts from the book, and perhaps even the books intent. At the least, it seems to weaken what could be a stronger argument without the anger.
I don't know if I'm more disappointed by the tone of the book, or the assumption that what is in the book is not known by so many. Perhaps that was the case for when it was written, but so much of the information seems to be common knowledge today. Perhaps this book helped it become more common knowledge.
I was also disappointed by the poor grammar in the book. I have read other (more recent) books by Abdul-Jabbar, and didn't encounter the poor grammar, so I was surprised.
The author communicates much anger in the book. I do not pretend to understand the anger, although I believe that such anger may be warranted. However, I think that it detracts from the book, and perhaps even the books intent. At the least, it seems to weaken what could be a stronger argument without the anger.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews