Looking back to when recently cancer-diagnosed Katie Couric interviewed NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: "Someone who's a multi-millionaire in office who doesn't care... how people make it from the lower class"
NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar made a guest appearance on Mic'd Up back in 2017. He was joined by Katie Couric, who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. They discussed Kareem's fitness and career, as well as the ongoing issue of racism in America.
The LA Lakers legend also broke down how differently people from his culture were being treated today when compared to his era. Katie and Kareem also discussed what it was like living through Donald Trump's presidential term and the difficulties of climbing social ranks.
Couric wanted an in-depth answer from the NBA legend regarding Trump's actions. Kareem mentioned that life was difficult for the poorer sections of society because Trump favored the wealthy populace.
"Having someone who's a multi-millionaire in office who doesn't care or even understand the workings of how people make it from the lower classes into the middle class or possibly into the upper class, he doesn't understand how that happens."
Kareem wrote a piece about what it means to be Black in America under the reign of Donald Trump. In the piece, he spoke about how easy it was to endure injustices in the country before the Trump era. He also pointed out that the country was more stable during Barack Obama's term.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's views on the state of race relations today
Katie Couric also asked Kareem Abdul-Jabbar how he felt about the state of race relations in the modern day. Kareem, who lived in an era that was full of racism, said he was disappointed with the lack of progress. He pointed out that the country had made progress under Barack Obama, but had taken many steps back since then.
"It's disappointing to me to see some things moving backwards. I'm disappointed to see some the old things start to try to rear their heads that should be dead."
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar pointed out that while racism is slowly becoming rampant in the country again, his children are still fortunate to endure less stressful situations than he did.