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Cosby’s words...and those of some critics
About the author
Yulanda Essoka is a member of the Notebook editorial board and a special projects assistant at the School District.
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Debate on parenting triggered by Cosby still rages
by Yulanda Essoka
Bill Cosby, a Philadelphia native – known as the Jell-O Pudding man and Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable, father of five – is also associated with his commitment to education and his caustic criticism of Black parents.
In May 2004, Cosby attended the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s 50th anniversary commemoration of the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision that desegregated public schools. There he ignited controversy with his scathing remarks on the Black community – particularly the poor.
Since this time, he has gone on a national tour entitled “A Call Out with Cosby.” The tour’s mission is to “spark debate about family and educational issues among Black communities.” Cosby says that to cite poverty as a factor in explaining the behaviors he criticizes in the Black community is to make excuses.
He said he hopes that his focus on parenting in the Black community will prompt more involvement. In one interview, Cosby stated, “In my day, my parents didn’t knock on my bedroom door, because they had this strange notion that it was their house.”
However, Cosby has his share of critics. Many have expressed outrage over remarks that are perceived as publicly airing the Black community’s dirty laundry.
Some opponents maintain Cosby has forgotten where he came from and are disturbed by his targeted attacks on the poor. These critics want Cosby to remember that people cannot pull themselves up by their bootstraps if they have no shoes.
Others argue that Cosby’s argument ignores the effects of ongoing institutional racism and discrimination – allowing Whites to feel entitled to sit on the sidelines and blame social problems on irresponsible Black people, instead of assuming any responsibility for eradicating racial bias.