Kareem Abdul Jabbar: Ferguson about “Corrupt Power Structure,” Not Race

The Ferguson debate has been deliberately framed by mainstream media through the eyes of Al Sharpton and Jessie Jackson, but now another celebrity source, basketball’s Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, is weighing in to say that the race issue is a distraction to divert attention away the other historical contender, class.

    Rick Moran first read Abdul-Jabbar’s feature in Time Magazine entitled “The Coming Race War Won’t Be About Race” which opened with “Ferguson is not just about systemic racism — it’s about class warfare and how America’s poor are held back, says Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.”  

      Moran himself points out that “Jabbar takes aim in Time Magazine at both sides in the Ferguson story and points out that the issue isn’t race – it’s class, and the helplessness felt by the poor and angst ridden Middle Class is a deliberate attempt by a corrupt power structure to remain in control” [my bolding].

       Abdul-Jabbar seems to agree that establishment politicians of both parties haven’t done their homework.  They’re out of date, relying on old media formulas and sentiments that lead nowhere except to a self-defeating solipcism, without extensions to real-world political dynamics.  Establishment folk can do this because the public’s understanding is even more derivative and simplistic, not surprising considering media coverage.  

    A sampling of Abdul-Jabbar’s much-needed fresh political voice might include:

      By focusing on just the racial aspect, the discussion becomes about whether Michael Brown’s death—or that of the other three unarmed black men who were killed by police in the U.S. within that month—is about discrimination or about police justification. Then we’ll argue about whether there isn’t just as much black-against-white racism in the U.S. as there is white-against-black. (Yes, there is. But, in general, white-against-black economically impacts the future of the black community. Black-against-white has almost no measurable social impact.)

     Then we’ll start debating whether or not the police in America are themselves an endangered minority who are also discriminated against based on their color—blue. (Yes, they are. There are many factors to consider before condemning police, including political pressures, inadequate training, and arcane policies.) Then we’ll question whether blacks are more often shot because they more often commit crimes.