Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer and a six-time champion, gracefully extended his personal spotlight to an international platform of social justice (as well as to literature: he’s written several history books, autobiographies, mysteries, children’s books, and graphic novels). Now he merges these passions and rallies for the win with Writings on the Wall: Searching for a New Equality beyond Black and White (Time Home, $27.95). Working with his frequent co-writer Raymond Obstfeld, Abdul-Jabbar deploys history and statistics to assess America’s current state of angst with regard to Islamophobia, media bias, rape culture, and the social plague of inequality reflected in housing, education, employment, sexism, and racial profiling. To keep these themes poignant, lyrical, and connected, the authors put them in a musical framework, drawing from songs as a source for chapter titles and segues; give a listen to Marvin Gaye’s “Makes Me Wanna Holler,” Imagine Dragons” “Radioactive,” and Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition.” The latter initiates the book with the haunting refrain: “...when you believe in things you don’t understand, then you suffer/superstition ain’t the way.” Through its elevating soundtrack and accessible discourse, Writings on the Wall offers and inspires solutions, encouraging fundamental change and renewing belief in the power of community.