American Libraries

Well, I hope the librarians will come and see me speak and get an idea that not all athletes that gain prominence are uneducated. Too many athletes have made that question kind of pertinent and I hope to show them that it does work in the other way, too.

My library where I grew up was the Inwood Library in the northern Manhattan, it's on Broadway at about 203rd Street. And I was always in there. They're probably still looking for me to return some books. James Baldwin's essays I have found to be really fascinating and informative. It gave me a good perspective on what was going on in the Civil Rights Movement when I was growing up. I remember when the girls got killed down in Birmingham—that was very hard for me to deal with. And reading people like James Baldwin enabled me to get a better perspective on it and not become so enraged that I couldn't function.

I think when young people take an active interest in what's going on now, they automatically will start looking at what happened. And you don't even have to go as far back as the Harlem Renaissance: the 50's were a time of great turmoil in this country, if you look at what happened to Emmett Till, Dr. King's efforts, the march in Selma, his address at the reflecting pond in Washington, where he gave his I Have a Dream Speech. When I was in grade school I had no idea I would become a professional athlete. And college was about as high as you could aspire to for the regular gym rat type of person.

Since I retired from profession basketball, I've tried to be involved with programs that promote literacy and learning. That's something that I feel is a key to advancement, no matter where you want to advance, no matter what field. Knowledge is power. I think libraries are very important in helping young people get an understanding of how important it is to read. A lot of people don't have money to buy books. And having a place where you can go and get a book and read it and return it really enables you to broaden your perspective on life. I know that's what it did for me. Going to the library helped me understand how big the world was and the incredible amount of possibilities you had for your life.