NBA legend and Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul Jabbar said the decision to charge the Minneapolis officers was "a step toward justice," and praised the Minnesota governor and Minneapolis mayor for acting quickly.
Speaking to CNN on Wednesday, he offered an analogy for what it's like to be black in America.
“It’s like, you know, the United States is this wonderful bus with great seats in the front of the bus. But as you go further to the back of the bus, the seats get worse and the fumes from the exhaust leak in and really wreck with people's health and their lives. But the people at the front of the bus, they have no complaints. It's kind of like that," he said.
"That dust accumulates in the lives of black Americans, and it eliminates all the mechanics of democracy. Democracy doesn't work for us."
He added that nothing had changed in the past 30 years in regards to systemic racism and injustice, pointing to the Rodney King beating and Los Angeles riots in 1991 and 1992.
"Something has to be done." he said. "It's not enough to say, 'That was terrible and my thoughts and prayers are with you.' That's not getting anything done."