Today, the Newseum announced that Cultural Icon, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, retired professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers, will be presenting Dr. John Carlos and Dr. Tommie C. Smith with their 2018 Free Expression Awards on April 17, 2018.

When American Olympians Carlos and Smith bowed their heads and raised their fists on the medal stand at the 1968 Olympics, they were bravely protesting against injustices towards African Americans and people of color around the world. The athletes were banished from the U.S. Olympic team and faced death threats. Still, they remain devoted to the cause of freedom and justice.

During the same summer, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar also took part in his own form of protest regarding the unequal treatment of African-Americans in the United States by boycotting the 1968 Summer Olympics altogether and not trying out for the United States Men’s Olympic Basketball team.

Throughout his 20 season career, Abdul-Jabbar has been honored as one of the greatest players in NBA history. He is the NBA’s All-Time Leading Scorer, 6X NBA MVP and a 19X All-Star as well as NY Times best-selling author and columnist for The Hollywood Reporter and The Guardian. In 2016, Abdul-Jabbar was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama.

The Free Expression Awards recognize those who exhibit passion for and dedication to free expression. Honorees have taken personal or professional risks in sharing critical information with the public, have been censored or punished by authorities or other groups for their work, or have pushed boundaries in artistic and media expression.

The event will be hosted by John Seigenthaler, award-winning journalist and former anchor and correspondent at NBC News, as well as the honorary host and steering committees. The other recipients of the 2018 Awards are:

• Arthur Sulzberger Jr., former publisher of The New York Times and chairman of The New York Times Company since 1997. Sulzberger will be presented the Lifetime Achievement Award for spearheading innovative print and online initiatives that have enabled The Times to compete successfully in the global media marketplace while winning 60 Pulitzer Prizes and providing readers with innumerable examples of momentous journalism.
• Journalists who uncovered the pervasive problem of sexual misconduct in the media, film, manufacturing, technology, the arts and other industries. Through fearless yet sensitive reporting, these journalists exposed powerful people, many of whom had engaged in abusive sexual activities for years. Their work sparked the national conversation known as the ‘Me Too’ movement, which has drawn needed attention to the issue of sexual harassment in the workplace.

About The Author

Dean Rogers

Editor-in-Chief/Entertainment Reporter

I knew early on that I wanted to take my place among the stars. One day, my mother saw me reading The Washington Post at a very young age. Who would have known that it would be the building blocks of my journey? Since that day, I dedicated my life to learn all that is learnable. I read everything from encyclopedias, to books, to dictionaries, to magazines. I’m also an avid consumer of television, with my favorite genre being game shows. If you’ve seen me on Who Wants to be a Millionaire or Wheel of Fortune, then you know that this interest has served me well!

My unique style of reporting began back in junior high school, when I started to chronicle the events that shaped my life. Whether it was the annual family vacation or the local science fiction convention, I shot numerous pictures and recorded my thoughts so I could truly appreciate the history. During my senior year at Friendly High, I wrote what was to be my first masterpiece, “Advanced Space Academy – A One Week Journey.” I sent the eleven-page article back to the U.S. Space Camp staff. The article was highly praised for being “one of the best written articles in the history of U.S. Space Camp.” From then on, I knew what I wanted to do for rest of my life — to be a reporter.

Since then, I have trained in Broadcast Journalism at Bowie State University (2008) in Bowie, MD earning a B.S. in Communications. I gained experience in news production and editing through field experiences with Bowie Community Media Corporation, Prince George’s Community Television, and Bowie State University Television. I also wrote scripts for a variety of quiz shows for over five years.

As a lifelong movie buff, I now see close to 100 films every year. I took this love of movies to the next step when I became a co-host for Eclipse Magazine TV in the fall of 2005. While at EMTV, I interviewed celebrities, worked red carpets, and attended a wide variety of movie screenings. In January 2009, I took a leap of faith and started my own entertainment news magazine, The Rogers Revue. Shortly afterward, my life-long journey of studying the silver screen and writing about what I learned finally earned me a place in the Washington Area Film Critics Association.

All of this has led me here, giving you the latest entertainment news for the DMV and the entire nation, and I am truly excited for whatever will come next.

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