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Magic Johnson

by Thomas Taniguchi from San Diego, California in United States

"In life, winning and losing will both happen. What is never acceptable is quitting."

                                                                      -Magic Johnson

“Few athletes are truly unique, changing the way their sport is played with their singular skills. Earvin "Magic" Johnson is one of them.”(NBA staff)  Magic Johnson was an exceptional basketball player. He is known throughout the basketball community. But in addition to being a great basketball player he is an American hero. Growing up, Magic came from a poor family. His father and mother worked vigorously to support his family “His father, Earvin, Sr., worked on an assembly line at General Motors, and his mother, Christine, was a cafeteria worker. His father often worked two jobs to support his large family.”(Earvin Johnson) His father got him into basketball. From an early age Magic showed a lot of promise. His talent eventually won him a spot in the NBA.  “Johnson was selected first in the 1979 National Basketball Association (NBA) draft by the Los Angeles Lakers”(Earvin Johnson Jr.) Coming from poor background and then rising to the top has helped Magic understand all the hardships poor underprivileged families go through. Magic has helped countless people who can’t help themselves. He helps bring jobs to communities that have very little opportunity. Magic selflessly gives money to charity so others may have a chance at having a successful life. He also advocates for people struggling with AIDs and donates time and money so that the people who have AIDs can have a better chance at increasing their longevity. Magic Johnson’s selfless giving allowing underprivileged  people to make a better life and his willingness to stand up for people who are struggling makes him an American hero.

133549Magic after playing a game of basketballLucio10540 [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)]Magic Johnson helped give back to his community. Coming from a poor family he knew what it is like to be poor and wanted to help others in that situation. To help poor minority communities he founded the Magic Johnson Program. In an article about Magic Johnson Payne Ed says “The same month he tested positive for HIV, he formed the Magic Johnson Foundation which "works to develop programs and support community-based organizations that address the educational, health and social needs of ethnically diverse, urban communities."(Payne Ed) Magic Johnson has done alot to give back to the community. He created the Magic Johnson Foundation which has helped raise millions for poor communities and people struggling with AIDS. This makes him an everyday hero because he is helping the people who can’t help themselves and instead of taking the money he has earned for himself he is giving it away to help people in need. This selfless act is what makes Johnson a hero. Johnson also brought many businesses to poor communities giving the people a chance to improve their lives. “As it turns out, Johnson was a pretty good businessman too. He founded MJ Enterprises in 1987. The focus again was on serving diverse communities, bringing high-quality businesses to minority areas typically under served by larger corporations.”(Payne Ed).  Magic Johnson also helped many minority communities. These communities are generally very poor and people in them have little opportunity to leave and get a better life. Thanks to Johnson bringing jobs to the community people are getting a chance to lic prosperous lives. Magic Johnson could have put his businesses in more rich areas where he could make more money but instead he put his businesses into poor communities knowing that he might not make as much money. This act of selfless giving makes him a hero.

133550Magic at one of his fundraising eventsNeon Tommy [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)]Magic Johnson contracted AIDs in 1991. After this life changing event he has devoted his life to getting help for people with AIDs. In an article about Magic Payne Ed says “In the two-plus decades since the world gasped at his HIV announcement, the foundation has raised more than $20 million for charity” (Payne Ed) Magic has devoted his life to helping people with AIDs. His foundation has raised a ton of money for research and care for those who have AIDs. He has also given a lot of his own time and money to further the AIDs research. Raising money takes countless hours of time and effort. Lots of people would look the other way and do nothing. But Magic has taken it upon himself to help change the lives of these poor people. His selfless giving of his time and treasure make him an American Hero. Along with giving money magic has stood up and spoken out for the people who have AIDS in a letter to the president he said, “I have been increasingly frustrated by the lack of support, and even the opposition, of your Administration to our recommendations—recommendations which have an urgent priority and for which there is a broad consensus in the medical and AIDS communities. Your kind words to me aside, your Administration has not done what it could and should to address a situation which, day by day, poses an increasing danger to the well being of millions of Americans, and which threatens to cast an even wider pall across our nation. AIDS is a crisis of monumental proportions, and it cannot be fought with lip service and photo opportunities. I cannot in good conscience continue to serve on a commission whose important work is so utterly ignored by your Administration.”(Johnson) In this letter Johnson is standing up for the people with AIDS. He is denouncing the presidents approach on AIDs even though it could give him a bad reputation. Even in the face of all that he still decides to stand up for the underdog. This action definitely makes him an American Hero.

133551Magic with Phillip SchwalbPhilipschwalb [Public domain]Magic is someone that everyone should strive to be. He selflessly gives his time and treasure so that the underprivileged may have a chance at a good life. He also stands up for the underdog even though it could ruin his reputation. Magic Johnson’s selfless giving allowing underprivileged  people to make a better life and his willingness to stand up for people who are struggling makes him an American hero. If everyone acted just like Magic just think of how much of a better place this world could be.

Works consulted

"Earvin Johnson." UXL Biographies, UXL, 2011. Student Resources In Context, https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ2108101183/SUIC?u=powa9245&sid=SUIC&xid=d46c4386.

"Earvin Johnson, Jr." Encyclopedia of World Biography Online, Gale, 1998. Research in Context, https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/K1631003407/MSIC?u=powa9245&sid=MSIC&xid=3555fe1d.

Johnson, Magic. "Letter from Magic Johnson to George Bush, September 24, 1992." Gale U.S. History in Context, Gale, 2015. Student Resources In Context, https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/XAWASP080455654/SUIC?u=powa9245&sid=SUIC&xid=4b8a1dfa.

Payne, Ed. “Sterling Asked: What Has Magic Johnson Done? Answer: Quite a Lot.” CNN, Cable News Network, 13 May 2014, www.cnn.com/2014/05/13/us/business-of-being-magic-johnson/index.html.

Staff, NBA.com, and NBA.com. “Legends Profile: Magic Johnson.” NBA.com, NBA.com, 24 Aug. 2017, www.nba.com/history/legends/profiles/magic-johnson?ls=gnav.nba.

 

Page created on 5/13/2019 2:42:03 PM

Last edited 5/14/2019 10:22:55 PM

The beliefs, viewpoints and opinions expressed in this hero submission on the website are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs, viewpoints and opinions of The MY HERO Project and its staff.

Related Links

Magic Johnsons Hall of Fame Page - A list of Magic Johnsons achievements
Magic Johnsons HIV announcement - This is an article on Magic Johnsons HIV announcement
Magic Johnson Fast Facts - This is a list of facts on Magic Johnson