I was recently given the opportunity to review Dr. Cosby's latest literary effort, Come On People a few days ago, so I wait with baited breath until my book arrives. In the interim, let's take a look at the Sunday broadcast of an interview with Cosby and his longtime collaborator, Dr. Alvin Poussaint on Time Russert's Meet the Press show. It truly boggles the mind that Cosby's critics have deemed him delusional and out of touch-he couldn't be more in tune with the core problems affecting lower tier communities of color. It also appears that he had to capitulate to the progressives by alluding to the structural/racial factors that impede Black progress. No one denies that these hurdles exist, however I surmise that Dr. Cosby wants people of color to also focus on issues that may be cultural and/or pathological (admittedly a term often used here in Afronerd) in nature. Check out these clips, courtesy of Youtube and tell us what you think? Is Cosby crazy? Or just truthful? You guys know what I think.
And this just in-Dr. Cosby is scheduled to speak with Oprah this Wednesday. Here's more on that story courtesy of Black Voices:
The legendary entertainer, who is the co-author of the new book 'Come on, People,' is all fired up and speaking out on the controversy over his 2004 remarks about the black community.
"The only thing I regretted was I thought that I was talking to just my people," said the legendary entertainer largely known as "America's Favorite Dad" -- which airs nationally Oct. 17.
"I said, okay, I'm gonna talk to my people and I guess there were some black people who saw some white people sitting around and then they decided that I was dragging out dirty laundry," he continued.
The "dirty laundry" in question are the comments, made during an appearance at the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition's annual conference in the summer of 2004, where he said: "Let me tell you something, 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."
The remarks sent shockwaves through the African-American community, stirring much debate in the media about Cosby and whether or not he had the right to speak such words in a public forum.
On Winfrey's top-rated talk show, Cosby is uncensored, unplugged and utterly unapologetic. Here's some dialogue.
OPRAH: Did you think that you were dragging out dirty laundry?
BILL: Oh, yes. Oh, yes. And have you ever seen dirty laundry?
OPRAH: It's bad, isn't it? It's smelly. BILL: And we have to clean it, don't we?
OPRAH: Yeah. What -- what did you think though, Bill, when everybody really came after you? What did you -- did you think?
BILL: I thought they were crazy.
OPRAH: Did you. (Laughter.)
BILL: I said -- I said, these people have lost their minds.
According to publisher Thomas Nelson, 'Come on, People,' authored with Alvin F. Poussaint, is "always engaging, and loaded with heart-piercing stories of the problems facing many communities."
The hardcover tome hits newsstands this week.
"Our children are trying to tell us something...and we're not listening," Cosby said to Winfrey, while also taking on topics including absent fathers, teenage pregnancy, violence, the "n" word, and spanking.
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