[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 37 (Monday, February 27, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E152-E153]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 HONORING THE LIFE AND CAREER OF LANSING'S OWN EARVIN ``MAGIC'' JOHNSON

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ELISSA SLOTKIN

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, February 27, 2023

  Ms. SLOTKIN. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to pay tribute to one of the 
greatest basketball players of all time, a man who brought so much 
magic to the game it quite literally became part of his name. And it 
all began in Michigan's capital city of Lansing--his hometown.
  To say that Earvin ``Magic'' Johnson came from humble roots is an 
understatement. His mother was a school janitor and his father worked 
the General Motors assembly line by day, and collected garbage in the 
evenings. Johnson would often help his father on the garbage route, 
earning him the nickname ``Garbage Man'' with the neighborhood kids. 
But all the teasing ended when he hit the basketball court. Johnson 
started playing as a youngster, and by the time he graduated from 
Lansing Everett High School--where he led his team to a state 
championship and was dubbed ``Magic''--he was already , considered the 
greatest high school basketball player to ever come out of Michigan. He 
moved just down the road to East Lansing, attending Michigan State 
University where he became a two-time All-American, leading the 
Spartans to the 1979 National Championship while being voted the Most 
Outstanding Player of that year's Final Four. He was the number one 
overall selection of the 1979 NBA draft, chosen by the Los Angeles 
Lakers where he would go on to play for his entire professional career.
  The stats are dazzling: in his 13 seasons with the Lakers, Johnson 
was a key member

[[Page E153]]

of five NBA Championships, as well as being a 12-time All-Star, three-
time NBA Finals MVP and three-time league MVP. During his NBA career, 
Johnson averaged 19.5 points per game, 7.2 rebounds per game and 11.2 
assists per game. He was a member of the original NBA Dream Team, 
winning a Gold medal in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Both his Spartan 
jersey and his Lakers jersey were retired, and Magic Johnson has been 
inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame, the Naismith 
Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, the MSU Athletics Hall of Fame and 
the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame.
  Johnson stunned the world in 1991 with the announcement that he had 
tested positive for HIV. It was a seismic moment, as an athlete of 
Johnson's stature vowed in public to raise awareness about a virus that 
was shrouded in stigma. In the decades since that pivotal moment, his 
advocacy off the court has been as impressive as his skills on the 
court, and has not been limited to one topic. He's used his platform to 
support so many causes, from HIV and AIDS to mental health to COVID 
vaccines and the transformational power of wealth-building for Black 
families.
  Johnson has said this about his legacy: ``Now these kids dream that 
they can become not only a basketball player or a football player, but 
they can become a businessman. So that's what's important, that we have 
power and that we have a seat at the table.''
  With gratitude for his enduring contributions, Earvin Johnson not 
only provided a seat at the table, he helped construct it. A table, 
formed in the heart of Lansing, Michigan, shaped by a fierce work ethic 
and raw talent, and sprinkled with Magic.

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