On the Shoulders of Giants My Journey Through the Harlem Renaissance

291 Pages·2007·1.28 MB·English

by  Abdul-Jabbar

Also by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
BROTHERS IN ARMS
A SEASON ON THE RESERVATION
BLACK PROFILES IN COURAGE
KAREEM
GIANT STEPS
SIMON & SCHUSTER
Rockefeller Center
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
Copyright © 2007 by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any
form.
SIMON & SCHUSTER and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon &
Schuster, Inc.
Designed by Karolina Harris
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.
ISBN-13: 978-1-4165-4991-8
ISBN-10: 1-4165-4991-9
JACKET PHOTOGRAPHS:
Front cover, left side sliver (Striver’s row): © Underwood &
Underwood/CORBIS
Front cover, right side sliver (Apollo): © AP/Wide World Photos
Back cover, lower left (Mamie Smith & Jazzhounds): © Frank Driggs Collection
Back cover, lower right (Fats Waller): © Photo by Evening Standard/Hulton
Archive/Getty Images Front cover, center (Kareem in suit): © Frank Veronsky
Front cover, right side (Avedon photo of young Kareem): Photo by Richard
Avedon, © 1963
The Richard Avedon Foundation
Front cover, lower right (Savoy): AP/Wide World Photos Strange Fruit written
by Lewis Allen
All rights for the world excluding the United States controlled by Piedmont
Music Company.
Strange Fruit by Lewis Allen
Copyright © 1939 (Renewed) by Music Sales Corporation (ASCAP)
International Copyright Secured. All Rights Reserved.
Reprinted by Permission.
“Still I Rise,” copyright © 1978 by Maya Angelou, from AND STILL I RISE by
Maya Angelou. Used by permission of Random House, Inc.
Copyrights held by Amistad Research Center, Tulane University Administered
by Thompson and Thompson, Brooklyn, NY20
“Harlem (2)”, “Dinner Guest: Me”, from THE COLLECTED POEMS OF
LANGSTON HUGHES by Langston Hughes, copyright © 1994 by The Estate
of Langston Hughes. Used by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of
Random House, Inc.
Visit us on the World Wide Web:
http://www.SimonSays.com
This book is dedicated to those who had the courage and resolve to
participate in the great migration of black people to the cities of North America.
The oppressive and often brutal atmosphere of the southern United States and
the Caribbean basin motivated these brave Americans to find a place in the
world where they could thrive. The promise of America’s founding fathers—to
allow people to enjoy “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”—was
profoundly challenged by their ambition. Their presence determined whether or
not the goals of the founding fathers would ever apply to all Americans. Starting
in the 1920s, blacks brought their lives and hopes to the cities of America’s
northern tier in their quest to achieve the American dream. It is to these pioneers
that this book is dedicated. Their sacrifices have borne fruit. All black
Americans owe them in so many ways; and our nation would have been so much
less without them. Their spirit marches on.
KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR
To my wife, Loretta, a brilliant writer and teacher, whose insights and
suggestions make me a better writer. And to my children, Max and Harper, who
made me want to write this book with the hope that it would provide more
shoulders to stand on so they could see farther than I have.
RAYMOND OBSTFELD
Contents
Foreword by Quincy Jones
Introduction: Our Future or Our Fate
“Some Technicolor Bazaar”: How Harlem Became the Center of the Universe
“Mad Medley”: How Harlem Influenced My Life
“Master Intellects and Creative Giants”: The “Talented Tenth” Paint the World
Black
“The Gifts That My Ancestors Gave”: How Harlem Writers Influenced My Life
“Fairness Creeps out of the Soul”: Basketball Comes to Harlem
“Hoping Against Hope”: How the Rens Basketball Team Influenced My Life
“Musical Fireworks”: Jazz Lights Up the Heavens of Harlem
“Everything Was Mostly Fun”: How Jazz Influenced My Life
Photo Credits
Bibliography
Acknowledgments
Index
Foreword:
C’mon, Get Happy
By Quincy Jones
Most people get it wrong. History isn’t about showcasing the differences
between us and those who lived before us so that we can feel superior; it’s
about revealing the similarities so we can feel gratitude and humility. Look
around. See that guy with the ear-buds and iPod jogging by? See that woman
driving next to you, her head bobbing to the radio? How about those children
on the playground gleefully dancing to the CD their teacher is playing on the
boom box? What they have in common with the generations of people who
came before them—before there were iPods, or radios, or CDs—is a passion
for music.
Russian writer Leo Tolstoy (War and Peace) said, “Music is the
shorthand of emotion.” I’d go Leo one better and say, “Music is the shortcut
to happiness.” A recent poll of Americans about happiness asked what
actions they took when trying to improve their mood. In other words, what
did they do to get happier? Most said they sought the company of family and
friends. But surprisingly, nearly as many said they played music in order to
cheer up. In third place was prayer or some form of communication with
God. From this we can see that people rely on music for more than just
background wallpaper, it is a source of happiness—perhaps even spiritual
fulfillment. This happiness isn’t the result of eardrum-busting volume or
finger-snapping beats; it’s the articulation of emotions that express clearly
what a person is feeling but is unable to put into words. Having those
emotions expressed is liberating for a person and therefore makes him or her
happier. That desire to be able to express our feelings, and the sense of
fulfillment we feel when a song helps us do that, is what we share with the
cave-dwellers who pounded on animal hides and danced around a fire, with
the bejeweled audiences listening to the swelling sounds of a symphony, and
the kid on the stoop improvising a little dance as he listens to the latest tune