I found this article linked off of Thinklings. The article has quotes from remarks Bill Cosby made in response to the anniversary of Brown vs. The Board of Education where he calls on the African-American community to seize the advantages given them rather than squandering these advantages like he sees so many doing. The article then goes on to give the points of those who are outraged by his remarks and those who feel he is right on the mark.
From my experience, I think that Cosby is dead right in what he is saying. Granted, many of his critics agree that he is at least partially correct but want a more constructive manner of dealing with the problem. I think the problem lies with most not wanting to get out of the destructive urban sub-culture and not seeing the advantages to rising above such an environment. To be fair, most aren't going to arrive at this solution on their own and are going to need help to arrive at the mindset that there is something better out there than an uneducated life as a member of an impoverished community... but I think Cosby's point is also that too many African-American spokespeople and advocacy groups are in the business of trying to excuse the behavior of those in question rather than trying to change that behavior.
Posted by Vengeful Cynic at June 7, 2004 07:25 AM | TrackBack