Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, NBA’s all-time leading scorer and author of several New York Times bestsellers, wrote On the Shoulders of Giants: My Journey Through the Harlem Renaissance, with Raymond Obstfeld and then produced a documentary film that is “The Story of the Greatest Basketball Team You Never Heard Of,” the Harlem Rens.

In the spring of 2012, Detroit Newspapers in Education (DNIE), in partnership with the Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services and the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, produced a student section that honored the Harlem Rens as the 2012 Ford Freedom Award Honoree and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the Ford Freedom Award Scholar. DNIE received an autographed hardcover copy of Abdul-Jabbar’s inspiring book and a DVD of the feature length documentary, which we are donating to the auction.

Here are a few quotes about the book and documentary:

 “In On the Shoulders of Giants, indomitable basketball star and bestselling author and historian Kareem Abdul-Jabbar invites the reader on an extraordinarily personal journey back to his birthplace, through one of the greatest political, cultural, literary, and artistic movements in our history, revealing the tremendous impact the Harlem Renaissance had on both American culture and his own life. Beginning with the rise of the Harlem Rens as pioneers of professional basketball, Kareem traces the many streams of historical influence that converged to create the man he is today -- the NBA's all-time leading scorer and a veritable African-American icon. –from the book jacket

 “The brilliance of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was never limited to on-court accomplishments, and On the Shoulders of Giants is another shining example of this. Kareem re-opens the door to history and captured the essence, energy, creativity and spirit of the Harlem Renaissance and the influential artists and players who defined that era.” –David J. Stern, NBA Commissioner

“Kareem has offered his own unique perspective to the story of the Harlem Reniassance. By doing so, he has provided a moving history of a cultural place and time that can be experienced by our children and grandchildren. As the saying goes, to know where you are going, you must know from whence you came. We came on the shoulders of giants.” –Muhammad Ali

“Archival footage, innovative 3D graphics and reenactments, along with Interviews with celebrities and sports legends, all combine to tell the story of the greatest basketball team you never heard of – and of the heroes, both sung and unsung, who remind us that we are all standing On the Shoulders of Giants.” –from kareemabduljabbar.com