I had never seen the Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson cry in public. And
he's seldom upstaged. Until, Bill Cosby came to town.

Last week Jackson invited Cosby to the annual Rainbow/PUSH conference
for a conversation about controversial remarks the entertainer offered
May 17 at an NAACP dinner in Washington, D.C. That's when America's
Jell-O Man shook things up by arguing that African Americans were
betraying the legacy of civil rights victories.

"The lower economic people," he said, "are not holding up their end in
this deal. These people are not parenting. They are buying things for
their kids -- $500 sneakers for what? And won't spend $200 for "Hooked
on Phonics!"

Thursday morning, Cosby showed no signs of repenting as he strode across
the stage at the Sheraton Hotel ballroom before a standing-room-only
crowd. Sporting a natty gold sports coat and dark glasses, he proceeded
to unload a laundry list of black America's self-imposed ills. The
iconic actor and comedian kidded that he couldn't compete with the
oratory of the Reverend but he preached circles around Jackson in their
nearly hour-long conversation, delivering brutally frank one-liners and
the toughest of love.

The enemy, he argues, is us:

"There is a time, ladies and gentlemen, when we have to turn the mirror
around." Cosby acknowledged he wasn't critiquing all blacks-just "the 50
percent of African Americans in the lower economic neighborhood who drop
out of school," and the alarming proportions of black men in prison and
black teenage mothers. The mostly black crowd seconded him with choruses
of "Amens."

To critics who pose, it's unproductive to air our dirty laundry in
public, he responds, "Your dirty laundry gets out of school at 2:30
every day. It's cursing on the way home, on the bus, train, in the
candy store. They are cursing and grabbing each other and going
nowhere. And, the book bag is very, very thin because there's nothing in
it."

"Don't worry about the white man," he adds. "I could care less about
what white people think about me . . . let 'em talk. What are they
saying that is different from what their grandfathers said and did to
us? What is different is what we are doing to ourselves."

For those who say Cosby is just an elitist who's "got his" but doesn't
understand the plight of the black poor, he reminds us that, "We're
going to turn that mirror around. It's not just the poor-everybody's
guilty." Cosby and Jackson lamented that in the 50th year of Brown vs.
Board of Education, our failings betray our legacy. Jackson dabbed away
tears as he recalled the financial struggles at Fisk University, a
historically black college and Jackson's Alma mater.

When Cosby was done, the 1,000 people in the room all jumped to their
feet in ovation. Long after Cosby had departed, I could not find a
dissenter in the crowd. But in the hotel corridor I encountered a
vintage poster for sale that said volumes. The poster, which advertised
the Million Man March, was "discounted" to $5 Remember the Million Man
March? In 1995 Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan exhorted "a
million sober, disciplined, committed, dedicated, inspired black men to
meet in Washington on a day of atonement."

In 2004, perhaps all that' s left of that call is a $5 poster. We have
shed tears too many times, at too many watershed moments before. While
the hopes they inspired have fallen by the wayside. Not this time.
Cosby's plea to parents: "Before you get to the point where you say 'I
can't do nothing with them'-do something with them."


Like:

o Teach our children to speak English.
o When the teacher calls, show up at the school.
o When the idiot box starts spewing profane rap videos, turn it off.
o Refrain from cursing around the kids.
o Teach our boys that women should be cherished, not raped and demeaned.
o Tell them that education is a prize we won with blood and tears, not a
dishonor.
o Stop making excuses for the agents and abettors of black-on-black
crime.
o It costs us nothing to do these things. But if we don't, it will cost
us infinitely more tears.

We all send thousands of jokes through e-mail without a second thought,
but when it comes to sending messages regarding life choices, people
think twice about sharing. The crude, vulgar, and sometimes the obscene
pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of decency is too
often suppressed in school and the workplace.

"Failure can be divided into two ways...Those who Thought and Never Did,
or Those who Did and never Thought

Someone shared this with me and I think it makes good sense.

What Say You ?

an interesting read and true for the most part but it's been said by sooooo many persons that it's pretty evident that no one is listening. Parents can only do so much because when it truly comes down to it, it's up to the individual child but they can still try (but sad to say, many aren't)

Among the wise, his words will be accepted. For the foolish, the whiners, and those that seek comfort in self-indulgence and self-pity , not so much!

I applaud Bill Cosby for speaking the truth. The thing is with us black folk sometimes is that we say other races cannot judge us because they dont understand our struggle. Then when "one of our own" stands up and says "hey, WE have to get OUR acts together", we condemn him as being a sellout or an "uncle Tom.". That symptomatic of a group of people who do not want to change or get better, or take responsibility for one's own development.

I'm certainly not naive of the racism and class-ism that permeates so many aspects of the world we live in, but so long as you hold onto a victim mentality, you will remain a victim. No one can get better unless he or she is willing to look in the mirror and say "I AM THE PROBLEM..I NEED TO CHANGE".

What upsets me is that people like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton continue to straddle the "developmental fence" (for their own gain sometimes too I believe), in that on the one hand they bring to the fore the very legitimate arguments about the effects of racism, but then when the other very legitimate arguments about us not owning up to our own potential comes around, they say "dont beat our people down."

Take Malcolm X as an example if you will. He told black men to stop having babies all over the place, stop disrepecting their women, be good fathers and providers, stay away from the booze and the cocaine..and he told black women to stop prostituting themselves, stop selling their souls for material wealth, be good mothers and wives and to both he reminded that without God, they arent being who they can be, and this was at the heart of the civil rights era when blacks were going through all manner of atrocities...whats wrong with that message??

Its true when Jesus said a prophet is not accepted in their own country..Im not calling Bill Cosby a prophet, but Im calling a spade a spade and saying these black leaders of today really need to take a look at themselves and determine what they really are defendin'.

I agree with Mr. Cosby as well.

I applaud Bill Cosby for speaking the truth. The thing is with us black folk sometimes is that we say other races cannot judge us because they dont understand our struggle. Then when "one of our own" stands up and says "hey, WE have to get OUR acts together", we condemn him as being a sellout or an "uncle Tom.". That symptomatic of a group of people who do not want to change or get better, or take responsibility for one's own development.
I'm certainly not naive of the racism and class-ism that permeates so many aspects of the world we live in, but so long as you hold onto a victim mentality, you will remain a victim. No one can get better unless he or she is willing to look in the mirror and say "I AM THE PROBLEM..I NEED TO CHANGE".
What upsets me is that people like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton continue to straddle the "developmental fence" (for their own gain sometimes too I believe), in that on the one hand they bring to the fore the very legitimate arguments about the effects of racism, but then when the other very legitimate arguments about us not owning up to our own potential comes around, they say "dont beat our people down."
Take Malcolm X as an example if you will. He told black men to stop having babies all over the place, stop disrepecting their women, be good fathers and providers, stay away from the booze and the cocaine..and he told black women to stop prostituting themselves, stop selling their souls for material wealth, be good mothers and wives and to both he reminded that without God, they arent being who they can be, and this was at the heart of the civil rights era when blacks were going through all manner of atrocities...whats wrong with that message??
Its true when Jesus said a prophet is not accepted in their own country..Im not calling Bill Cosby a prophet, but Im calling a spade a spade and saying these black leaders of today really need to take a look at themselves and determine what they really are defendin'.

Well said!:tup:

I had never seen the Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson cry in public. And
he's seldom upstaged. Until, Bill Cosby came to town.
Last week Jackson invited Cosby to the annual Rainbow/PUSH conference
for a conversation about controversial remarks the entertainer offered
May 17 at an NAACP dinner in Washington, D.C. That's when America's
Jell-O Man shook things up by arguing that African Americans were
betraying the legacy of civil rights victories.
"The lower economic people," he said, "are not holding up their end in
this deal. These people are not parenting. They are buying things for
their kids -- $500 sneakers for what? And won't spend $200 for "Hooked
on Phonics!"
Thursday morning, Cosby showed no signs of repenting as he strode across
the stage at the Sheraton Hotel ballroom before a standing-room-only
crowd. Sporting a natty gold sports coat and dark glasses, he proceeded
to unload a laundry list of black America's self-imposed ills. The
iconic actor and comedian kidded that he couldn't compete with the
oratory of the Reverend but he preached circles around Jackson in their
nearly hour-long conversation, delivering brutally frank one-liners and
the toughest of love.
The enemy, he argues, is us:
"There is a time, ladies and gentlemen, when we have to turn the mirror
around." Cosby acknowledged he wasn't critiquing all blacks-just "the 50
percent of African Americans in the lower economic neighborhood who drop
out of school," and the alarming proportions of black men in prison and
black teenage mothers. The mostly black crowd seconded him with choruses
of "Amens."
To critics who pose, it's unproductive to air our dirty laundry in
public, he responds, "Your dirty laundry gets out of school at 2:30
every day. It's cursing on the way home, on the bus, train, in the
candy store. They are cursing and grabbing each other and going
nowhere. And, the book bag is very, very thin because there's nothing in
it."
"Don't worry about the white man," he adds. "I could care less about
what white people think about me . . . let 'em talk. What are they
saying that is different from what their grandfathers said and did to
us? What is different is what we are doing to ourselves."
For those who say Cosby is just an elitist who's "got his" but doesn't
understand the plight of the black poor, he reminds us that, "We're
going to turn that mirror around. It's not just the poor-everybody's
guilty." Cosby and Jackson lamented that in the 50th year of Brown vs.
Board of Education, our failings betray our legacy. Jackson dabbed away
tears as he recalled the financial struggles at Fisk University, a
historically black college and Jackson's Alma mater.
When Cosby was done, the 1,000 people in the room all jumped to their
feet in ovation. Long after Cosby had departed, I could not find a
dissenter in the crowd. But in the hotel corridor I encountered a
vintage poster for sale that said volumes. The poster, which advertised
the Million Man March, was "discounted" to $5 Remember the Million Man
March? In 1995 Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan exhorted "a
million sober, disciplined, committed, dedicated, inspired black men to
meet in Washington on a day of atonement."
In 2004, perhaps all that' s left of that call is a $5 poster. We have
shed tears too many times, at too many watershed moments before. While
the hopes they inspired have fallen by the wayside. Not this time.
Cosby's plea to parents: "Before you get to the point where you say 'I
can't do nothing with them'-do something with them."
Like:
o Teach our children to speak English.
o When the teacher calls, show up at the school.
o When the idiot box starts spewing profane rap videos, turn it off.
o Refrain from cursing around the kids.
o Teach our boys that women should be cherished, not raped and demeaned.
o Tell them that education is a prize we won with blood and tears, not a
dishonor.
o Stop making excuses for the agents and abettors of black-on-black
crime.
o It costs us nothing to do these things. But if we don't, it will cost
us infinitely more tears.
We all send thousands of jokes through e-mail without a second thought,
but when it comes to sending messages regarding life choices, people
think twice about sharing. The crude, vulgar, and sometimes the obscene
pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of decency is too
often suppressed in school and the workplace.
"Failure can be divided into two ways...Those who Thought and Never Did,
or Those who Did and never Thought
Someone shared this with me and I think it makes good sense.
What Say You ?



That's some good insight!

bill cosby has been preaching the for a few yrs now. hopefully the black community will listen.

I applaud Bill Cosby for speaking the truth. The thing is with us black folk sometimes is that we say other races cannot judge us because they dont understand our struggle. Then when "one of our own" stands up and says "hey, WE have to get OUR acts together", we condemn him as being a sellout or an "uncle Tom.". That symptomatic of a group of people who do not want to change or get better, or take responsibility for one's own development.
I'm certainly not naive of the racism and class-ism that permeates so many aspects of the world we live in, but so long as you hold onto a victim mentality, you will remain a victim. No one can get better unless he or she is willing to look in the mirror and say "I AM THE PROBLEM..I NEED TO CHANGE".
What upsets me is that people like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton continue to straddle the "developmental fence" (for their own gain sometimes too I believe), in that on the one hand they bring to the fore the very legitimate arguments about the effects of racism, but then when the other very legitimate arguments about us not owning up to our own potential comes around, they say "dont beat our people down."
Take Malcolm X as an example if you will. He told black men to stop having babies all over the place, stop disrepecting their women, be good fathers and providers, stay away from the booze and the cocaine..and he told black women to stop prostituting themselves, stop selling their souls for material wealth, be good mothers and wives and to both he reminded that without God, they arent being who they can be, and this was at the heart of the civil rights era when blacks were going through all manner of atrocities...whats wrong with that message??
Its true when Jesus said a prophet is not accepted in their own country..Im not calling Bill Cosby a prophet, but Im calling a spade a spade and saying these black leaders of today really need to take a look at themselves and determine what they really are defendin'.

Well said and powerful! Cosby's speech in a nutshell is personal accountability and Self empowerment. Stop blaming bogeymen of the past and move on!

I had never seen the Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson cry in public. And
he's seldom upstaged. Until, Bill Cosby came to town.
Last week Jackson invited Cosby to the annual Rainbow/PUSH conference
for a conversation about controversial remarks the entertainer offered
May 17 at an NAACP dinner in Washington, D.C. That's when America's
Jell-O Man shook things up by arguing that African Americans were
betraying the legacy of civil rights victories.
"The lower economic people," he said, "are not holding up their end in
this deal. These people are not parenting. They are buying things for
their kids -- $500 sneakers for what? And won't spend $200 for "Hooked
on Phonics!"
Thursday morning, Cosby showed no signs of repenting as he strode across
the stage at the Sheraton Hotel ballroom before a standing-room-only
crowd. Sporting a natty gold sports coat and dark glasses, he proceeded
to unload a laundry list of black America's self-imposed ills. The
iconic actor and comedian kidded that he couldn't compete with the
oratory of the Reverend but he preached circles around Jackson in their
nearly hour-long conversation, delivering brutally frank one-liners and
the toughest of love.
The enemy, he argues, is us:
"There is a time, ladies and gentlemen, when we have to turn the mirror
around." Cosby acknowledged he wasn't critiquing all blacks-just "the 50
percent of African Americans in the lower economic neighborhood who drop
out of school," and the alarming proportions of black men in prison and
black teenage mothers. The mostly black crowd seconded him with choruses
of "Amens."
To critics who pose, it's unproductive to air our dirty laundry in
public, he responds, "Your dirty laundry gets out of school at 2:30
every day. It's cursing on the way home, on the bus, train, in the
candy store. They are cursing and grabbing each other and going
nowhere. And, the book bag is very, very thin because there's nothing in
it."
"Don't worry about the white man," he adds. "I could care less about
what white people think about me . . . let 'em talk. What are they
saying that is different from what their grandfathers said and did to
us? What is different is what we are doing to ourselves."
For those who say Cosby is just an elitist who's "got his" but doesn't
understand the plight of the black poor, he reminds us that, "We're
going to turn that mirror around. It's not just the poor-everybody's
guilty." Cosby and Jackson lamented that in the 50th year of Brown vs.
Board of Education, our failings betray our legacy. Jackson dabbed away
tears as he recalled the financial struggles at Fisk University, a
historically black college and Jackson's Alma mater.
When Cosby was done, the 1,000 people in the room all jumped to their
feet in ovation. Long after Cosby had departed, I could not find a
dissenter in the crowd. But in the hotel corridor I encountered a
vintage poster for sale that said volumes. The poster, which advertised
the Million Man March, was "discounted" to $5 Remember the Million Man
March? In 1995 Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan exhorted "a
million sober, disciplined, committed, dedicated, inspired black men to
meet in Washington on a day of atonement."
In 2004, perhaps all that' s left of that call is a $5 poster. We have
shed tears too many times, at too many watershed moments before. While
the hopes they inspired have fallen by the wayside. Not this time.
Cosby's plea to parents: "Before you get to the point where you say 'I
can't do nothing with them'-do something with them."
Like:
o Teach our children to speak English.
o When the teacher calls, show up at the school.
o When the idiot box starts spewing profane rap videos, turn it off.
o Refrain from cursing around the kids.
o Teach our boys that women should be cherished, not raped and demeaned.
o Tell them that education is a prize we won with blood and tears, not a
dishonor.
o Stop making excuses for the agents and abettors of black-on-black
crime.
o It costs us nothing to do these things. But if we don't, it will cost
us infinitely more tears.
We all send thousands of jokes through e-mail without a second thought,
but when it comes to sending messages regarding life choices, people
think twice about sharing. The crude, vulgar, and sometimes the obscene
pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of decency is too
often suppressed in school and the workplace.
"Failure can be divided into two ways...Those who Thought and Never Did,
or Those who Did and never Thought
Someone shared this with me and I think it makes good sense.
What Say You ?



my highly evolve brain says that some thing stinks here, can you find it or are all a yinna sleeping again in the box. Bless are those whose eyes and ears are open. I like that, get out of the box and start thinking, stop being blinded by these half stepping, non thinking media boots,

I had never seen the Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson cry in public. And
he's seldom upstaged. Until, Bill Cosby came to town.
Last week Jackson invited Cosby to the annual Rainbow/PUSH conference
for a conversation about controversial remarks the entertainer offered
May 17 at an NAACP dinner in Washington, D.C. That's when America's
Jell-O Man shook things up by arguing that African Americans were
betraying the legacy of civil rights victories.
"The lower economic people," he said, "are not holding up their end in
this deal. These people are not parenting. They are buying things for
their kids -- $500 sneakers for what? And won't spend $200 for "Hooked
on Phonics!"
Thursday morning, Cosby showed no signs of repenting as he strode across
the stage at the Sheraton Hotel ballroom before a standing-room-only
crowd. Sporting a natty gold sports coat and dark glasses, he proceeded
to unload a laundry list of black America's self-imposed ills. The
iconic actor and comedian kidded that he couldn't compete with the
oratory of the Reverend but he preached circles around Jackson in their
nearly hour-long conversation, delivering brutally frank one-liners and
the toughest of love.
The enemy, he argues, is us:
"There is a time, ladies and gentlemen, when we have to turn the mirror
around." Cosby acknowledged he wasn't critiquing all blacks-just "the 50
percent of African Americans in the lower economic neighborhood who drop
out of school," and the alarming proportions of black men in prison and
black teenage mothers. The mostly black crowd seconded him with choruses
of "Amens."
To critics who pose, it's unproductive to air our dirty laundry in
public, he responds, "Your dirty laundry gets out of school at 2:30
every day. It's cursing on the way home, on the bus, train, in the
candy store. They are cursing and grabbing each other and going
nowhere. And, the book bag is very, very thin because there's nothing in
it."
"Don't worry about the white man," he adds. "I could care less about
what white people think about me . . . let 'em talk. What are they
saying that is different from what their grandfathers said and did to
us? What is different is what we are doing to ourselves."
For those who say Cosby is just an elitist who's "got his" but doesn't
understand the plight of the black poor, he reminds us that, "We're
going to turn that mirror around. It's not just the poor-everybody's
guilty." Cosby and Jackson lamented that in the 50th year of Brown vs.
Board of Education, our failings betray our legacy. Jackson dabbed away
tears as he recalled the financial struggles at Fisk University, a
historically black college and Jackson's Alma mater.
When Cosby was done, the 1,000 people in the room all jumped to their
feet in ovation. Long after Cosby had departed, I could not find a
dissenter in the crowd. But in the hotel corridor I encountered a
vintage poster for sale that said volumes. The poster, which advertised
the Million Man March, was "discounted" to $5 Remember the Million Man
March? In 1995 Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan exhorted "a
million sober, disciplined, committed, dedicated, inspired black men to
meet in Washington on a day of atonement."
In 2004, perhaps all that' s left of that call is a $5 poster. We have
shed tears too many times, at too many watershed moments before. While
the hopes they inspired have fallen by the wayside. Not this time.
Cosby's plea to parents: "Before you get to the point where you say 'I
can't do nothing with them'-do something with them."
Like:
o Teach our children to speak English.
o When the teacher calls, show up at the school.
o When the idiot box starts spewing profane rap videos, turn it off.
o Refrain from cursing around the kids.
o Teach our boys that women should be cherished, not raped and demeaned.
o Tell them that education is a prize we won with blood and tears, not a
dishonor.
o Stop making excuses for the agents and abettors of black-on-black
crime.
o It costs us nothing to do these things. But if we don't, it will cost
us infinitely more tears.
We all send thousands of jokes through e-mail without a second thought,
but when it comes to sending messages regarding life choices, people
think twice about sharing. The crude, vulgar, and sometimes the obscene
pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of decency is too
often suppressed in school and the workplace.
"Failure can be divided into two ways...Those who Thought and Never Did,
or Those who Did and never Thought
Someone shared this with me and I think it makes good sense.
What Say You ?


Thanks for this insightful info. I totally agree with Bill Cosby. I'm glad he had the gall to stand up and say what needed to be said. We, as black people, need to come from under the yoke of slavery and oppression. We need to develop a set of values that would help us to advance and assume a position of respect among the peoples of the world.

We constantly blame others for our failures without assuming responsibility ourselves. Many would argue that we are still oppressed, but truth is, we are our own oppressors. The black American diaspora is reminiscent of what is going on in The Bahamas. We reward mediocrity, encourage lawlessness, hypocrisy, stealing, misplaced priorities ...all while eyeing our neighbour with envy, jealousy, hatred.

In The Bahamas, who is responsible for the education system...mostly black Bahamians. Shouldn't they design and implement a system that would raise The Bahamas to a stature that would be envied by all? Shouldn't we, as a majority black country, strive to have the best of everything; roads, airports, public buildings, justice system, social system, healthcare? We control these things, so why don't we have the best?

Education is frowned upon, yet everyone wants a soft, cushy job. There are students in our education system, who are afraid to excel because they are afraid of being bullied. I was fortunate to attend a school where those who excelled were encourage by teachers and admired by peers.


We've been given a beautiful country, so let's build a society that would stand as a model of success.

Why should Bahamians gain an education? We can go and sweep the beach at Atlantis and make over $100 a week! We can open a car wash in our back-yards and make $200 from washing 20 cars! We can sell "Mary Jane" or "Snow" and make thousands... What good is an education in the land of paradise? You cannot wear the $50 shirts we wear on a daily basis if you wasting time in school! You cannot purchase $200 kicks if you worrying about getting a degree! come on...

Why should Bahamians gain an education? We can go and sweep the beach at Atlantis and make over $100 a week! We can open a car wash in our back-yards and make $200 from washing 20 cars! We can sell "Mary Jane" or "Snow" and make thousands... What good is an education in the land of paradise? You cannot wear the $50 shirts we wear on a daily basis if you wasting time in school! You cannot purchase $200 kicks if you worrying about getting a degree! come on...


LOL....LOL!!!!

I'm inclined to agree with you to a certain extent. Actually, in addressing the low standard of education, I have heard it been said that the very nature of our economy, ie tourism, doesn't require many persons with higher education. To this I say...true, albeit, we need managers and entrepreneurs who are armed with the knowledge to succeed and direct. Further, the industry also needs persons who possess basic competencies in math, English etc. and it is here where the system fails. It is not even preparing our people with the basics needed to survive and prosper.

The Bahamas of yesteryear was able to get away with such underachievement, but if we are to be forward thinking, we should start planning an economy that would be able to effectively compete in the global arena.

If we, as a country, are satisfied with the status quo, then by all means, continue on this track. However, if we are to build a more prosperous country for our children, then the bar on education has to be raised.

slicer,

come on now i agree with you to a certain extent but money is only a fraction about what striving for a higher education is about. i have forgotten alot about what i learned in college and high school but the life lessons will stay with me forever.

being the offspring of typical two island people i come from stock where neither of my parents finished high school. did they do ok. yes. do they own homes. yes. but trust me buddy they wished they went to college. it can open up so many more opurtunites and experiances for a person.

but college isnt for everybody. if not college go to a tech school and learn a trade. cuase kissin white people hip, sweepin beaches, cleanin toilets, always feelin like u could have done better when u have babies to feed sometimes aint no fun. at least that what my parents told me.

I had never seen the Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson cry in public. And
he's seldom upstaged. Until, Bill Cosby came to town.
Last week Jackson invited Cosby to the annual Rainbow/PUSH conference
for a conversation about controversial remarks the entertainer offered
May 17 at an NAACP dinner in Washington, D.C. That's when America's
Jell-O Man shook things up by arguing that African Americans were
betraying the legacy of civil rights victories.
"The lower economic people," he said, "are not holding up their end in
this deal. These people are not parenting. They are buying things for
their kids -- $500 sneakers for what? And won't spend $200 for "Hooked
on Phonics!"
Thursday morning, Cosby showed no signs of repenting as he strode across
the stage at the Sheraton Hotel ballroom before a standing-room-only
crowd. Sporting a natty gold sports coat and dark glasses, he proceeded
to unload a laundry list of black America's self-imposed ills. The
iconic actor and comedian kidded that he couldn't compete with the
oratory of the Reverend but he preached circles around Jackson in their
nearly hour-long conversation, delivering brutally frank one-liners and
the toughest of love.
The enemy, he argues, is us:
"There is a time, ladies and gentlemen, when we have to turn the mirror
around." Cosby acknowledged he wasn't critiquing all blacks-just "the 50
percent of African Americans in the lower economic neighborhood who drop
out of school," and the alarming proportions of black men in prison and
black teenage mothers. The mostly black crowd seconded him with choruses
of "Amens."
To critics who pose, it's unproductive to air our dirty laundry in
public, he responds, "Your dirty laundry gets out of school at 2:30
every day. It's cursing on the way home, on the bus, train, in the
candy store. They are cursing and grabbing each other and going
nowhere. And, the book bag is very, very thin because there's nothing in
it."
"Don't worry about the white man," he adds. "I could care less about
what white people think about me . . . let 'em talk. What are they
saying that is different from what their grandfathers said and did to
us? What is different is what we are doing to ourselves."
For those who say Cosby is just an elitist who's "got his" but doesn't
understand the plight of the black poor, he reminds us that, "We're
going to turn that mirror around. It's not just the poor-everybody's
guilty." Cosby and Jackson lamented that in the 50th year of Brown vs.
Board of Education, our failings betray our legacy. Jackson dabbed away
tears as he recalled the financial struggles at Fisk University, a
historically black college and Jackson's Alma mater.
When Cosby was done, the 1,000 people in the room all jumped to their
feet in ovation. Long after Cosby had departed, I could not find a
dissenter in the crowd. But in the hotel corridor I encountered a
vintage poster for sale that said volumes. The poster, which advertised
the Million Man March, was "discounted" to $5 Remember the Million Man
March? In 1995 Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan exhorted "a
million sober, disciplined, committed, dedicated, inspired black men to
meet in Washington on a day of atonement."
In 2004, perhaps all that' s left of that call is a $5 poster. We have
shed tears too many times, at too many watershed moments before. While
the hopes they inspired have fallen by the wayside. Not this time.
Cosby's plea to parents: "Before you get to the point where you say 'I
can't do nothing with them'-do something with them."
Like:
o Teach our children to speak English.
o When the teacher calls, show up at the school.
o When the idiot box starts spewing profane rap videos, turn it off.
o Refrain from cursing around the kids.
o Teach our boys that women should be cherished, not raped and demeaned.
o Tell them that education is a prize we won with blood and tears, not a
dishonor.
o Stop making excuses for the agents and abettors of black-on-black
crime.
o It costs us nothing to do these things. But if we don't, it will cost
us infinitely more tears.
We all send thousands of jokes through e-mail without a second thought,
but when it comes to sending messages regarding life choices, people
think twice about sharing. The crude, vulgar, and sometimes the obscene
pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of decency is too
often suppressed in school and the workplace.
"Failure can be divided into two ways...Those who Thought and Never Did,
or Those who Did and never Thought
Someone shared this with me and I think it makes good sense.
What Say You ?

Much of this is the same argument that Louis Farrikhan preaches. There is much entitlement in place for the poor of America,they need to take full advantage of every oppurtunity.