Editorial-

Bill Cosby Speaks His Mind Courageously
In Declaring Black Fate is Largely In Black Hands

Bill Cosby was always a brave man. He took on and overcame countless obstacles to achieve his goals, and in retrospect it seems clear that his principal aim was always to find a podium from which he could speak his mind. He found that through an ability to use the English language, or at least the American version of it; he was able to engage people from all walks of life with his candid and engaging humor, and later with his obvious acting ability, his common sense and generous sensibilities.

But all of that achievement never diminished his respect for and understanding of the power that emanates from education. He illustrated that when after achieving fame and financial comfort, he still returned to academia – to the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, to be precise – to obtain a doctorate in education.

Obviously for a black man growing up in the late Depression/WWII era of American history, to achieve what he has accomplished is more than remarkable; he is deservedly an American icon.

And now, at 66 years old, having achieved vast success and sustained immense loss – most particularly the senseless murder of his son, Ennis, by an immigrant, Mikail Markhaseva, a Russian criminal laying in wait for roadside victims instead of trying to take advantage of American opportunities – Bill Cosby has shown everyone that his courage has not failed, nor has his interest in helping black people.

In less than two months, Cosby has electrified any and all general discussion of the plight of the poor, especially that of young black people, but far more importantly he has pointedly aimed his remarks at all levels of black society in America. He underscored that fact just before July 4^th, at a meeting of black activists in Chicago – the RAINBOW/PUSH coalition’s annual conference – when he responded to a comment by saying he is "long past the point in my life where I’m concerned about what white people think…"

And then, for the second time in about six weeks, Mr. Cosby publicly broke with what has for some become a sacrosanct tradition; that is, blaming the plight of poor blacks on conditions imposed upon them by the larger, predominantly white society. In his most recent remarks, Cosby declared that no longer can blacks justify pregnancy and dropout rates on problems relating to the larger, white society, either in its current or historical form.

"For me there is a time . . . when we have to turn the mirror around," he said, "Because for me it's almost analgesic to talk about what the white man is doing against us. And it keeps a person frozen in their seat. It keeps you frozen in your hole you're sitting in." **

Clearly this is a subject that has been bothering Bill Cosby for some time, but he chose well in making his stand.

The first forum he selected was the celebration of the 50^th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in Brown versus The Board of Education, held at the D.A.R.’s Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. in May. It was a star studded affair, bringing together many of the most accomplished and well to do black men and women in America, together with a number of other political and professional figures, of various backgrounds, who have been prominent over the years in the fight against discrimination.

When Bill Cosby took the podium, everyone was comfortable and quietly anticipating an enjoyable, humorous speech. But they were in for a surprise. Mr. Cosby delivered a quietly angry and powerful disquisition regarding the failure of black parenting among the poor.

"I am talking about these people who cry when their son is standing there in an orange suit," Cosby said, then rhetorically demanded to know: "Where were you when he was two? Where were you when he was 12? Where were you when he was 18, and how come you didn’t know that he had a pistol?"*

He drove the point home by noting, "In all of this work, we cannot blame white people."*

This is just a sampling of the May speech.

Bill Cosby’s remarks, to say the least, took virtually everyone by surprise, and resulted in some very direct reactions, many of which were negative though not publicly stated until later.

But one prominent figure, NAACP Executive Director Kweisi Mfume, didn’t need to think it over; he firmly embraced Mr. Cosby after his remarks and told the black tie crowd that he subscribed to the overall viewpoints expressed. "The issue of personal responsibility is real," Mr. Mfume later stated. "A lot of people didn’t want him to say what he said because it was an open forum. But if the truth be told, he was on target."*

NAACP Director Mfume, however, also drove home a weakness in Mr. Cosby’s argument. He noted that the problem is not the sole province of the "‘lower socioeconomic’ groups (who) have not kept their end of the deal when it came to realizing the promise of Brown," * but rather the fault is shared by the successful and wealthy blacks who have not become more actively involved in helping the poor.

Bill Cosby seemed to be responding to that concern when he spoke last week in Chicago. And he was roundly cheered and applauded when he reiterated the heart of his early message and told the Rainbow Coalition and PUSH members that too many black children, especially the urban poor, are "the dirty laundry" that many avoid criticizing despite their failed grammar, foul language and absence of civility and manners.

"Let me tell you something," Cosby said: "Your dirty laundry gets out of school at 2:30 every day, it's cursing and calling each other [the N-word] as they're walking up and down the street. They think they're hip. They can't read. They can't write. They're laughing and giggling, and they're going nowhere." **

But while Cosby's remarks stilled were aimed at the failures of parents in the lower economic and social strata, he made it abundantly clear that he believes all levels of black society much come together to solve the problems.

"It's the same thing I've been saying since 1976," said Jesse L. Jackson, the president of the Rainbow/PUSH group, who was at Cosby's side last Thursday. Jackson was further quoted in the press as being critical of "‘rap-music artists who liberally use derogatory terms for blacks and women, as well as black and white listeners who blithely repeat the words. ‘It's unacceptable.’" **

In a press interview just before the July 4^th weekend, Cosby said he’s now "speaking out because dropout, illiteracy and teen pregnancy rates are at ‘epidemic’ levels among less-affluent African Americans. ‘You can't get me to soften my message,’ he said. ‘If I had said [it] nicely, then people wouldn't have listened.’"

Both Mr. Cosby and Mr. Mfume have taken considerable heat since the Washington gala, when this discussion was first aired, but the bulk of the firestorm of course has landed on Bill Cosby. Various groups and individuals have stepped forward, finding a ready media microphone, to castigate Mr. Cosby for his failure to recognize continuing discrimination and to criticize his overall generalizations regarding dress and attitudes, including his strong views regarding the misuse of the English language.

But all of that is to be expected, and it is healthy because the dialogue has been opened; what everyone whispered about has now been spoken publicly.

Bill Cosby has once again illustrated that he is a brave and immensely talented man who will not simply retire behind his well deserved wealth, but will continue to challenge society as a whole and black people specifically, all with one goal in mind: the advancement of black society. He is a man worthy of respect by all.

* Washington Post, May 26, 2004, Page B05.