Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

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. He played in the NBA, and is in the Hall of Fame as a Laker. He is widely considered one of the greatest basketball players of all time.

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

8 Responses

  1. bablah says:

    His grandfather was from Point Fortin in southwestern Trinidad; his grandmother hailed from Grand Rivere on the country’s north coast.

    “I visited in 1969 and went a few times in the 1990s. In 1969, many of my grandmother’s relatives were still alive so I got to meet my great aunt Emily and my great aunt Hilda. And one of my Dad’s first cousins was a magistrate, his name was Francis Alcindor. So, I got to meet some of my cousins and get an idea of who I am. I also sent my kids down there with my Dad to meet them as well,” he said.

    https://www.caribbeannationalweekly.com/sports/kareem-abdul-jabbar-goes-back-roots/

  2. andrew says:

    note that he is widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time

  3. bablah says:

    Finally found his father on a census:
    https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MJRX-Q8B

    He was Afro-Trinidadian.

  4. Ardor says:

    Arab name. And also looks Arab.

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