Profile Text
Abdul-Jabbar in 2008, photo by Prphotos.com
Birth Name: Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor, Jr.
Place of Birth: New York City, New York, U.S.
Date of Birth: April 16, 1947
Ethnicity: African-Trinidadian, African-American
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is an American professional basketball player, writer, and actor. A center, he played for the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was assistant coach for Alchesay HS and the Los Angeles Clippers, coach for Oklahoma Storm, and assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers. A record six-time NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP), he is widely considered one of the greatest basketball players of all time. He is in the Hall of Fame as a Laker. He is 7′2″.
Kareem is the son of Cora Lillian (Douglas), of North Carolina, and Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor, who was born in New York, to parents from Trinidad. He converted to Islam in the late 1960s.
He has several children, including three with his former wife Habiba Abdul-Jabbar.
Kareem’s paternal grandfather was Cyrus Alcindor (the son of Charles Alcindor and Mary Alexander). Cyrus was from Point Fortin, on southwestern Trinidad.
Kareem’s paternal grandmother was named Venus Prince. Venus was from Grand Rivere, on Trinidad’s north coast.
Kareem’s maternal grandmother was named Ola Jane Douglas (the daughter of James/Joe Douglas and Elva V.). Ola was born in North Carolina.
Sources: Genealogies of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – http://freepages.rootsweb.com https://www.wikitree.com
Kareem’s father on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Obituary of Kareem’s father – https://www.findagrave.com
Kareem’s mother on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org