Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's 2016 Democratic National Convention Speech

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar delivered a speech at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia on 28 July 2016.

Transcript
Hello everyone. I'm Michael Jordan, and I'm here with Hillary!

I said that because I know that, uh, Donald Trump couldn't tell the difference.

Good evening, everyone. I'm Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and I'm here to tell you about Captain Humayun Khan, who was one of fourteen American Muslim soldiers who have died in combat serving the United States since Nine-Eleven.

His family immigrated to the United States from the United Arab Emirates, where Captain Khan was born. The first place they visited upon arriving in America was the Jefferson Memorial. The words engraved there read: "I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man."

Donald Trump's idea – to register Muslims and prevent them from entering our country – is the very tyranny Jefferson abhorred. In 1777, Jefferson drafted the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, which later became a model for the First Amendment. Today's so-called "religious freedom acts," like the one signed by Governor Mike Pence of Indiana– they are the opposite of what Jefferson wanted, because they allow discrimination.

And at its core, discrimination is a result of fear. Those who think Americans scare easily enough to abandon our country's ideals in exchange for a false sense of security underestimate our resolve. To them, we say only this: not here. Not ever.

Thank you.