temperaments and anxiety. if you look at not identical twins, but siblings, that number falls dramatically. what does that mean? that means that if you scatter genes around you will loose that effect. it is true that there are elements in the genome that may govern more complex traits of personality and they will be unlikely to manipulate because there are multiple genes govern them. they are heritable but not inheritable. >> host: i want to say again it is a fascinating book. don't be intimidated by the fact it is about science because you

write it about people, it is about family. it is done in a remarkably approachable way. a great book. it has been my pleasure. >> guest: thank you. [applause] [applause] >> you are watching booktv on c- c-span2. booktv, television for serious readers.

kareem abdul-jabbar, searching for your book, "writings on the wall: searching for a new equality beyond black and white" you write it is as if we invented the most precise and beautiful watch ever created and snapped it to the tail of a wild jackal. what are you talking about? >> i am talking about the fact that most americans don't appreciate the fact their vote and opinion means a lot. they have the ability to have their choice heard but they don't take advantage of it. i think it it is a shame the united states is last in voter participation.

that bothers me because if we don't keep our eyes on the prize and if we don't understand how we have to be monitoring what is going on and taking steps to rectify problems they will multiple and we end up like now and very divided. that should not be the case. unless the people want to participate in the democracy that is what will happen. >> you are calling to look at old arguments in a new way. >> guest: the founding fathers understood they had their own bias and maybe they didn't get it right so they gave us the constitution that allows us to mend and tweak it so it can deal

with problems as they arise. at this point in the life of our democracy, the average person is not engaged or involved. >> host: is your book is the cream not rising to the top when it comes to politicians? >> guest: i think people are asleep at the wheel with regard to using their vote. they need to use their vote to punish the politicians to ignore their needs. so many politicians are more interested in getting reelected than they are in dealing with the needs of their constiuents. they get elected and start asking for money from wealthy female get reelected and forget about the people they are supposed to be representing. that is a real problem. unless the people who are suffering from that lack of

attention, unless they do something about it, by using their vote, this is going to continue. >> host: one of the issues you addressed in "writings on the wall" is the education system. what would you like to see changed? >> guest: i would like to see the money that is spent on education actually go to employing competent teachers and making a good education accessible to all americans. that has changed. our public education system used for work for everybody and now it doesn't. we have exclusive schools that are able to produce elite students and other schools like in the inner cities where it is just a joke. kids don't get educated and suffer for it. we have to change that. we have to get everybody involved and we have to get parents involved and have them participate in the decisions

made in our school boards and everything. that again requires them being involved and caring and using their vote or -- by using their vote for city council and people who are elected to the school board. all of these things are crucial to getting the results you want which is an excellent education for all of our students. >> you write there is much in inequality in america but the most destructive inequality is economics. >> guest: absolutely. i think people who do not have the opportunity to support their families end up dealing with desperate measures to support their families, to support themselves. we have so many people who can't afford to raise their children the way that their children need to be raised and they give up. we have a whole lot of

abandonment of people because the system doesn't accommodate their needs. we have to change that. >> host: you put an argument in the book over the r-word. we have all heard about the r-word but you talk about race as the r-word. why? >> guest: race is really an artificial concept. from what we can understand from what socialo tell us is people look different because they were under the equator. but we are all homosapians and

the same species. but the physical differences we are put people in a situation where they think they are different from other people. we are all the same. in america, you see what that means. we are able to contribute to our democracy and intelligence and hard work. we have to forget about race and realize it is about who you live with in your community. >> host: your book is semi-autobigraphical. you write you have been writing for 40 years. what has changed? what has gotten better? >> guest: i think the whole idea that people are starting to see

even people who don't look like -- he is a fellow american. in that sense, we are part of the same group. our ancestors came from various different places but we are all here now and this is our kouptry and we have to -- country -- do everything we can to make it the greatest place in the world. >> host: from your book, i was called an n in high school, an n when i played at ucla and i was called an n last week by someone who didn't like an article i wrote. >> guest: i put that sentence in there to let people know that racism is still an issue. it is still a problem. the election of president obama did not eliminate the racism and the systemic racisms we have to deal with in america.

a lot of our institutions are racially fragments and there is bias at the heart of a lot of different institutions in america. we have to understand that and try to eliminate those problems when we can. >> host: kareem abdul-jabbar, o are you a role model? >> guest: the fact i was able to achieve what i was as an athlete and hopefully an author makes me a role model. i am a parent so i have to be a role model. all parents are role models. i don't think any of us escape that burden. for some it is a burden and for some a joy. >> host: are you a national role model? >> guest: i guess so. >> host: is that a good thing? >> guest: it can be. i have to make it a good thing i

have been trying to use it in a positive way. >> host: you write i have a complicated situation with the media and used by celebrity to take political positions. >> guest: i use my celebrity in a way that enables me to say what i need to say and i am glad other athletes are getting in line with that. when tamir rice was killed in cleveland, lebron james came out and said something about it. that was very important the fact that lebron, despite his incredible celebrity and achievements as an athlete, he was concerned the killer of a young person in his community that should not have been killed. that was awesome. i was happy to see it. i am glad that whole position of

activism has not died in our community. a couple members of the cleveland browns ought came out and said something. some of the guys on the police force seem to have an issue with that. these guys were parents and they could see easily how their kids could have been tamir rice under the same circumstances. so their concerns were valid and they voiced their concerns and i am happy they did that. >> host: is it controversial and harmful to a professional athlete to take a political stand? >> guest: it can be harmful to a professional athlete but you have to take the risk if the issue is that important and that meaningful to you it is worth taking the risk. >> host: when did you start writing? >> guest: when i was in grade school, really. i am still in touch with the

nun who got me to write in the seventh and eighth grade. she said i was the best writer in the class. it is something i have enjoyed my whole life. >> host: books and researching. when did you get into that? >> guest: i enjoyed research. i enjoyed being a historian and just finding out what happened and understanding how that affects what is going to happen. if we don't learn from the mistakes we made we are condemned to repeating them. so knowing what happened is crucial for anybody who wants to understand what is going to happen. >> you talk "writings on the wall" about your conversion to islam and what it has meant to

you and other people. >> guest: well, i think my convergence was something that was personal to me. it was a religious event in my life. people have tried to make it political but really it was a spiritual thing for me. i think islam has given me an anchor that has enabled me to diff diff differ from right and wrong and understand life in those terms. my conversion to islam was very personal and ended up becoming political but i didn't want it to be like that. i probably would have done it differently. if i had a chance to go back, i would do it differently. i didn't have to be so public with it. it was important to me and a way

for me to exert my own identity as a black american and not have to be portrayed as somebody who was sitting -- a stereotype that was not actually me. it enabled me to define myself as such is very important to me. >> host: where did you grow up? >> guest: manhattan. born and raised in manhattan. i had a great time growing up there. >> host: what did your parents do? >> guest: my dad was a police officer and my mom was a seamstress. >> host: you mentioned a cath n catholic nun as a teacher. you went to catholic school? >> guest: until high school.

>> host: you talk about the rules in the book. following the rules of the nuns, coaches, and dad. >> guest: i have had a lot of coaching and i have had to understand discipline from a lot of other people's vantage point. i am happy at this point in my life to be following by own path. >> host: what are you doing these days? >> guest: these days i am writing, i am spending time with my granddaughter -- i am a new grandparent. i have a beautiful granddaughter. so i take in what is happening in the world. >> host: what about your charity? >> guest: i have a foundation. my foundation tries to get kids from the inner city to understand what s.t.e.m. is about. science, technology, engineering and math. we send them to camp for five days and four nights and give themn opportunity to be exposed to s.t.e.m. education.

that enables them to get an idea of where all of the good jobs are going to be in the 21st century. i think it is a good thing to get kids to understand what the possibilities are. so many kids, especially in the inner city, they all want to be beyonce or lebron james. they don't understand there are so many great jobs out there that requires them to be well-grounded in science, technology, engineering or math so by giving them an insight as to where the jobs are, at the right time in their lives, i think that makes it possible for them to take a good path to achieving their goals. >> host: does writing come easy to you? >> guest: writing -- i think writing does come easy to me. i enjoy it, i am able to

organize my thoughts in a coherent way and get them out there. so yeah, i think writing is something that is natural to me. >> host: is it easier than being out in public? >> guest: at times. you have time to think through things and make sure everything is what it needs to be so your message is coherent. you cannot have your thoughts organized and present something in an intelligent and organized w w way. >> host: you attended an opt-ed in support of hillary clinton. why? >> guest: i am supporting ms. clinton because i think she has the thoughts and concerns about the lower and middle classes that have been ignored by so

many politicians. i think her focus on trying to make the government and make the political systems work for the average person is worthwhile. >> host: if someone says they are a donald trump supporter do you have a picture of who they are? >> guest: i have an idea. so many people are motivated by fear. so the whole idea about what mr. trump says about immigrants and trying to make us afraid of mexican immigrants or muslims i think is reprehensible and certainly not an accurate portrayal of immigrants or the other issues he claims to be knowledgeable about.

i think he is showing everybody how ignorant he is. >> host: in "writings on the wall" you talk about reaction and reacting from fear. what is your prescription? >> guest: i think knowing whether we can get over fear is through knowledge, becoming familiar with the issues we tend to be afraid of. once you get an idea of what is actually happening, you can figure out a solution that does not involve building walls across the mexican border. we can fix a lot of these issues if we have an honest and rational approach to it. i don't think we will solve anything with fear mongering and d demonizing people. >> host: we talked to bill airs yesterday. is it time to fire up a brand new system in your view?

>> guest: i mentioned earlier the founding fathers give us the constitution and to make the adjustments that need to be made as we moved forward. there are new issues and problems that the founding fathers didn't foresee and they gave us the means to deal with it. we have to use the tools we have. too many people are ignorant of the fact we have these tools. that is a shame. once we get that idea across to people, i think a lot of people will calm down and do what they have to do to effect change. >> host: one more issue you brought up in "writings on the wall." political pressure. what does that mean to you? >> guest: trying to be polite to people. i don't see it as a problem. trying to be respectful to other

people and not offend them by the why you depict them and talk about them. it is just trying to be gracious. that is all it is about. i don't think it is a big political issue. but some people want to make a big deal of it. i don't think it is a real problem. >> host: if somebody says i am not politically correct what does that mean to you? >> guest: to me it means maybe they have things they want to say about people and ignore that they have to watch what they say. being polite is a social grace that a lot of us refuse to -- >> host: where did this book come from? >> guest: this book came from just how i feel about what is going on in my country and it is my attempt at trying to talk

about some solutions that might work. that is all it is. >> host: it is your fifth book? sixth? >> guest: my 11th. >> host: kareem abdul-jabbar, "writings on the wall" is the name of the book, "writings on the wall: searching for a new equality beyond black and white," it comes out august of 2016. you are watching booktv on c-span2. >> here is a look at some authors featured on booktv after wards. senator barbara boxer of california looks back at her life in politics. mitch mcconnell discussed his political philosophy and time in the senate. and the vice president of policy and research talked about america's new working class and its potential political power. in the coming weeks, holt will profile the women instrumental

to the development of america's space program in the 1940s and '50s. pamala hague looks at the history of gun ownership in america. and eric fair will discuss his time in iraq working as an interrogator for a private military contractor. and this weekend, the law looks test history and rise of isis. ...

"after words" airs every sunday. to watch programs on our website go to book tv.org. >> our country needs a truly great leader now. we need a leader that knows the art of the deal. we need a leader that can bring back our jobs and bring back our manufacturing and can bring back our military and take care of our vets. our vets have been abandoned. we also