I was just wandering if any topics had been up about Cosby's comments about the black race even though it was roughly a month ago. If not I would like to post this article. Thanks. SunHerald.com Bill Cosby was 'straight up raw' about black America By Gregory Clay During the reception, the champagne flowed. When the program started, the bright lights glowed. And when the festivities ended, actor-comedian-philanthropist Bill Cosby had provided the spark that shocked us back to reality. On May 17, during the gala commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Brown vs. Board of Education Supreme Court decision desegregating the nation's public educational system, Cosby scolded a few thousand of us on that star-studded night at Constitution Hall in Washington. A scolding that has been somewhat glossed over by the major media the past week. As the young, 18-34 demographic might say, Cosby "was straight up raw." Then again, he had to be. Sometimes you must strategically employ that method to get your point across. Speaking to an audience that was probably 75 percent black, Cosby, who received an award for philanthropy, began his acceptance speech by blurting, "Fifty percent dropout rate." That's the statistic for black students opting to drop out of school in many areas of the nation. Cosby, who has a doctorate in education, harped on that periodically throughout his, let's say, "night-time current events lesson." (The term "diatribe" might be a bit too strong.) He spoke of the epidemic of out-of-wedlock births among black folk, saying, "People used to be ashamed." Nowadays, he said, "a woman has eight children with eight different 'husbands,' or men or whatever you call them now." Cosby, in what appeared to be a veiled reference to the dangers of the hip-hop culture, moved on to poor English spoken by many black folk, saying some American-born black people are immigrants in their own country because of this. He switched to the high prison rates among black males, admonishing black parents who don't properly raise their children. Cosby presented scenarios of young black males dressed in orange jumpsuits in jails and courtrooms with their only salvation being their parents asking, "Jesus, please save my son." But Cosby used this forum to ask, "Where were the parents when he was 2 years old, when he was 12 years old, 18 years old?" And those housing projects. Cosby implored, "The idea is to one day get out of the projects. You don't just stay there." The audience initially sat silently as people ostensibly were genuinely surprised by the direction of Cosby's comments. But as Cosby got deeper into his sermon, he received intermittent amen-like applause. Suffice to say, Cosby woke up some folk. We needed it. The glitz and glamour were blinding us. Cosby broke the black code Many black folk probably are surprised because Cosby broke the code; he stepped out of the box. A black person publicly criticizing other blacks, especially those in the lower economic stratum? Come on, no way. Cosby left no stone unturned, though. He even blasted black athletes. "We have millionaire football players who can't read," Cosby groaned. "We have million-dollar basketball players who can't write two paragraphs." Do you think the superstar black athletes of today would have been allowed at the universities of Texas or Arkansas or North Carolina without the Brown decision? Didn't think so. But some are abusing the privilege. Cosby openly chastised some black people for our dirty, little secrets. We are exposed. To paraphrase a seminal Jack Nicholson movie moment: And many of us just can't handle the truth. Cosby broke the black code. Another code-breaker is former NBA star turned television commentator Charles Barkley. Last year at the National Association of Black Journalists Convention in Dallas, the outspoken Barkley said during a panel discussion, "We as black folks have to do a better job... . Someone working at Wal-Mart with seven kids, you are hurting us. We have to start holding each other to a higher standard... ." Cosby - or the Round Mound of Rebound (Barkley) for that matter - didn't echo the usual patronizing sentiments of the supposed black reverends of record: Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. Perhaps Barkley and Dr. Bill should get their own network talk show this fall. Give Cosby credit for having the guts to voice his displeasure at such a regal event. Remember this night was about elegance, not feather-ruffling. We saw actor Steve Harris, who plays an attorney on "The Practice," re-enact the young lawyer Thurgood Marshall arguing the Brown case before the Supreme Court. That was brilliant; so was the peerless Savion Glover tap dancing to John Coltrane's jazz version of "My Favorite Things." And then, there was the fired-up Cosby. The real issue here is not Cosby's remarks that many perceive as controversial and degrading to black folk. The real issue should be why did we have to wait three and a half hours into an extremely informative program to hear about the plight of blacks and education today. Not 50 years ago. Today. Cosby didn't finish his speech until close to midnight, this after we saw a parade of luminaries ranging from Julian Bond to Dennis Haysbert to Ossie Davis to Kweisi Mfume to Hank Aaron speak. Will Cosby have to back down? Some have said Cosby is pitting lower-income blacks against middle- and upper-class blacks. That's utterly ridiculous. Cosby's central theme simply was this: Better parenting and educational achievement are in black people's best interest, and some have failed miserably. Don't let the Brown case die on the vine. We have to admit this; it's about survival. Yet, the unmitigated fear here is that Cosby may feel pressure from various black groups or personalities to back down, to retreat from his original, incisive comments. It's been a week now. Look, Mr. Cosby, stick to your guns. Let's have a champagne toast to that.
