Coz in the hood
(philly.com) An interesting thing has happened in the three years since Bill Cosby got blasted for, among other things, describing his people as “those people.”
Somewhere along the way, he became one of “those people,” connecting with black folks - especially poor black folks - in a way he never had before.
No amount of millions - and, trust me, America’s Dad has got more cash than Jell-O has pudding pops - could ever erase Cosby’s humble beginnings. Growing up poor in the Richard Allen Homes, dropping out of both Germantown High and Temple, repping North Philly all the way.
But since his controversial comments, which erupted during a speech that was supposed to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, Cosby has traversed the country with a missionary’s zeal, espousing his message of African American self-responsibility.
Before, he often came off as unduly harsh.
His words: Poor people were the “lower economics,” kids who didn’t speak proper English were “knuckleheads,” and parents who gave their children African American names such as Ali and Shaniqua were lambasted.
Who could be inspired to do better when all they heard was a diatribe from the mouth of Cliff Huxtable?
Need for outrage
But here’s the thing. This year, as the homicides pile up at an alarming rate, with no end in sight and no solution on the horizon, the very unfiltered outrage Cosby was once criticized for openly expressing seems more than justified now.
We should be outraged that no one is outraged over this bloodshed. What does it take?Apparently, if the Michael Vick case is any indication, you have to be a dog to get anyone to care. If you want jail time, kill a dog.
But black folks? Nobody seems to care that they are being killed every day. There’s no outrage from our public officials, not from our residents, not even from the disproportionate number of African American men the violence affects.
“I literally cry out every day [about] the idea of black men dying being normal and not even noteworthy,” says Marc Lamont Hill, professor of urban education at Temple. “What [Cosby] has done is model the type of outrage we’re supposed to have.” (more…)
Hill hit the nail on the head with his comment here. This was something I tried to express in my post “Random people behind the statistics (and you want me to target ALL my anger towards White against Black injustices?).” Young Black men being killed everyday in this country has become the norm in both White and Black circles. It as if folks have accepted the notion that being shot in a civilized country is a normal part of the life cycle of Black men.
As I said when Cosby first launched into his national tour on Black responsibility, how it is said and who it is said in front of does not bother me just as long as it is being said. Yes, there are folks out there that have addressed these issues in the same tone Cosby has been using. But he has both the audience and the money for it to hover in the consciousness of Americans a little longer than your average foot soldier out there who has been doing it without media fanfare.
What really took me over the edge with this was how folks online were screaming about the Jena six case while virtually ignoring the over 100 mostly Black individuals who were killed in New Orleans so far this year (within the same state as Jena) UNDER THE NOSE OF A BLACK MAYOR WITH MOSTLY BLACK SUPPORTING LEADERSHIP. No special blogs created, no chain e-mails…nothing. White cop shoots Black kid—wailing and screaming about how this is a continuation of slavery.
Finally, Cosby’s talks does not even come close to the harsh, unfiltered fire we throw around when criticizing Whites. Yet in the back of our minds we know “they” can take it. Criticism of Black folks (that is usually on the money) within earshot of Whites and now we have to play dead because he is being too hard on us.
Well there are hundreds of dead Black men and women in our streets who are not playing dead. Somebody has to get angry about this.
I know I have been sounding like a broken record on this issue, but it needs to be repeated. Something is really wrong when folks get more fired up about interracial dating than the life of another Black kids being snuffed out by another Black kid. This should not be the norm!
August 24th, 2007 at 3:47 pm
Here we are again,waiting for the goverment to FIX it
I hear time and time again Wait till the democrats get
back in things will be back to normal,we will all have money,position etc etc etc.Now we are waiting for some white man or Hillary to save us.we have even adopted the DONT ASK DONT TELL of not telling law enforcement of a criminal act we witness.could it be true (on the banks of the west indies /the willie lynch story) could it be true are we just a lost peple.
August 24th, 2007 at 6:30 pm
Because I gotta be me:
1. When Cosby said what he said, the audience backed what he said, if not how he said it, despite what the press wrote.
2. Cosby later went on Tavis Smiley’s PBS show and apologized for how he put his remarks, saying he painted too broad of a brush.
But, because I gotta be me:
Yelling and saying “do better” ain’t enough. It’s obvious that, unfortunately, HOW do “do better” has to be taught. Where’s the discussion on that?
Buck, you are ignorant. Look here for a start.
August 24th, 2007 at 10:02 pm
Your opinion here means squat. Cosby is usually invited to these events where folks may later use his talk as a rallying point to get the community together on the same page. Your constant bashing of him because “HOW” he saying it is not only just as fruitless, but downright elitist. More from the article…
So if it is helping people like her, what difference does it make?
But I guess you know better, right?
Yeah, elitist!
Yelling and saying “do better†ain’t enough.
Who said he is doing that besides you? Because you are way off.
As far as blackselfhelp goes, its a start, but most folks who really need that info are not going to surf the net for it (trust me, been there, done that). In fact, I will go far to say that the majority of folks who are regularly online do not need that info. It is the people who are not typically online that need it. You gotta take it to them. And even after you do that, they still got to make the choice if they are going to use it. So at best, this is something you can point to when someone ask you “What are you doing about it?”
HOW do “do better†has to be taught. Where’s the discussion on that?
Again, are you looking for something outline in someone’s commentary (i.e. something covered by the media)? Folks who really need the ‘how to” message usually are not online.
Its been out there for years. The problem is that there are too many folks out there who want to all of a sudden use candor when using constructive criticism towards Blacks while busting a gut when the same things are said UNCHALLENGED and uninhibited in a comedy routine. So in the meantime we settle for coddling under the guise of ‘help’ while going full throttle when criticizing White folks.
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August 25th, 2007 at 8:31 am
1. Again, you misread me.
2. Why did HE apologize on Smiley’s show for HOW he said it?
3. I never denied he is being invited. In fact I pointed it out. See #5.
4. I keep saying, and I’ll keep saying, JUST SAYING STOP IT DOESN’T WORK for the most part. IN FACT, you follow the same reasoning here, when you commented: In MANY ‘Black churches’ that I have either attended or been a member, sex was a topic that was limited to “it’s wrong, don’t do it.” Apparently this message alone is not effective as I have seen plenty of cases where teens and adults regularly have sex outside of marriage. Someone at work could have just finished talking about how they did so-and-so the other night and.
5. Your constant bashing of him because “HOW†he saying it is not only just as fruitless, but downright elitist.
Elitist my ***! Again, you read ONE part of it and ignore the rest. Look what I wrote here. If stated accurately, the language is FAR MORE EFFECTIVE.
It is the people who are not typically online that need it. You gotta take it to them. And even after you do that, they still got to make the choice if they are going to use it. So at best, this is something you can point to when someone ask you “What are you doing about it?â€
First, you’re right and I admit that right out the box. Second, the same applies towards your efforts. Third, the intent is for people who are looking for something and don’t know, at least it’s there. Fourth, and most importantly: It is the people who are not typically online that need it. You gotta take it to them.. That is what I have been writing all of this time.
100 Black Men brought Cosby into D.C. to speak at UDC. They, and others, brought the people they are mentoring or want to mentor. But the best thing 100 Black Men are doing, they were doing before Cosby and after. They were going directly to the need, as is Concerned Black Men, 100 Black Women, Peaceniks, the Urban League, and others in D.C. and across the country.
Locally, I hear and read of people and groups asking Black people, especially men, to mentor and get involved. THAT is more effective than SHOUTING STOP IT!
the same things are said UNCHALLENGED and uninhibited in a comedy routine.
It’s COMEDY… Like Jackie Mason and his Jewish jokes.
Lastly, again I ask, why did Cosby apologize for HOW HE STATED IT on the Tavis Smiley show?
August 25th, 2007 at 9:30 am
Why did HE apologize on Smiley’s show for HOW he said it?
Because he was constantly getting hammered by folks like you who feel that they know better than people like that single mother I pointed out earlier.
I keep saying, and I’ll keep saying, JUST SAYING STOP IT DOESN’T WORK for the most part. IN FACT, you follow the same reasoning here,
Sure do! But who is the one that is getting bent out of shape over this? Not me! If there are folks out there who need the Cosby factor, and he his telling them the truth, that is on them.
A few months back Al Sharpton was invited to speak not to far from where I live to address some local “racial” issues. From what I heard he was well received. Because I generally disagree with his approach to the issues, I did not go. END OF STORY.
Again, you read ONE part of it and ignore the rest.
Man, you keep saying this and I am still looking at your whole comment and would say the same thing.
Second, the same applies towards your efforts.
Ooooooo! Ahhhhhhh! I kinda knew that was coming. (lol)
Typically, the stuff that I deem as “self-help” are things that are e-mailed to me or something I think has some uniqueness to it. If it is something I feel is a good idea, I’ll post it knowing full well that the vast majority of my readers could care less about it. It’s sad, but very true (I’ve already did this experiment a while back and my numbers went down—way down).
It’s COMEDY… Like Jackie Mason and his Jewish jokes.
Yep, Whitey does it so I guess Black folks are on par.
And I am sorry, Jackie Mason can’t hold a candle to vulgar crap we bust a gut over–EVEN WHEN IT IS ABOUT POOR AND UNEDUCATED BLACK FOLKS! Then when Cosby gets up there and says what he does, all of a sudden we got to break out the kid gloves?
The funny thing about all of this is that what Cosby is saying is no different from what I hear in black barbershops. If the conversation is about a Black person that everybody knows who did something stupid, folks will rip him/her to shreds (and if that person is broke–that’s bonus material). Some of the same things are said without the comedy and with the purpose of encouragement in the earshot of Whites and we have to go into censor mode.
Again, let folks like this be~
“I don’t think he was talking down to us,†said Arris Nelson, 34, a single mother of two girls, 15 and 13. “He was talking out of concern.â€
August 27th, 2007 at 4:42 pm
HOW do “do better†has to be taught. Where’s the discussion on that?
I would say Duane’s post on flying the model rocket with the kids was a pretty good start. Get’em interested in something other than the typical stuff kids do.
There was a time in this country when it was typical kid stuff to dabble with model rockets, airplanes, model cars and such. That seems to have fallen by the wayside at some point — but it was a critical formative thing for kids of that era (of which I’m one). We designed and built the moon rockets.
I was too young to be there for Apollo, but I wasn’t too young to make it for the Space Shuttle — my first job right out of college was with Rockwell’s Space Division in Downey in 1980. As a kid who grew up loving flying things, it was a dream come true. I was there for STS-1/2/3 and four of the cockpit display computer’s ran software was the responsibility of me and two other guys. If the thing crashed, the fickle finger of fate was going to point straight at us and demand answers chop chop.
My feeling? Get’em off the gamecube and get’em CREATING SOMETHING — something they have to BUILD rather than just buy completed. I don’t care what it is. It could be model boats, airplanes, bird houses, doll houses, whatever. Get their hands busy.