Cosby: 'I'm trying to stop the bloodshed'

By Kristin Palpini
Staff Writer

Published on November 30, 2007

Entertainer and activist Bill Cosby stood to defend his new book against one listener's strong objections during an appearance Monday at the University of Massachusetts.

Cosby came to UMass to talk about "Come on People: On the Path from Victims to Victors," a book he wrote with Alvin F. Poussaint, a civil rights veteran and professor of psychiatry at the Harvard Medical School. The book draws attention to long-standing problems plaguing black America, such as high rates of incarceration, dropping out of high school and homicide.

During a question-and-answer period following Cosby's and Poussaint's book talk, Carlos McBride, a UMass graduate student and Greenfield Community College educator, decried what he termed the book's narrow focus on dilemmas. He said it overlooks positive developments in minority urban communities.

Cosby, who at one point rose from his chair and spoke in a high-pitched tone, vigorously defended his book, saying that if people don't talk about problems, solutions will never come.

"This nation has abandoned this color," said the Shelburne resident, pointing to himself. "You can't fix things unless you wake people up.

"Kids are killing each other and I'm trying to stop it," Cosby said. "Yes, there are positive things going on, but that's not what the book is about."

In one year, 385 black people were slain in Philadelphia, Cosby told an audience of about 500 people at the Student Union. In Newark, N.J., in one year, 147 black people were killed.

"I'm trying to stop the bloodshed," he said.

In a 10-minute discussion peppered with sarcasm on both sides of the microphone, McBride accused Cosby of proposing easy answers to complicated problems.

"We are not the root cause of the violence in the community," McBride said.

Cosby's answer to problems in the black community - problems that include a 50-percent high school dropout rate among youths, black-on-black crime and black people making up 45 to 50 percent of prison inmates - is a solid family and emphasis on education.

McBride described himself as sharing a past with the people Cosby is trying to help. He said talking with teenagers and children about the importance of education is not effective in resolving larger social problems. McBride said people often hide behind easy answers and gloomy statistics, instead of solving deeper issues and recognizing good changes.

"You can't put your finger in someone's face and say, Do good in school,'" McBride said.

"There is nothing anyone could have told me that would have made me want to do this," said McBride, describing his teenage demeanor. "I'm tired of feeling like it's an easy solution."

"I'm not trying to challenge you or your book," he said to Cosby. "I'm just sharing that folks need to understand good things are going on."

Book's approach

Cosby, who received a doctorate in education from UMass in 1977, said social problems are felt by all races and creeds, but he chose to focus on how these issues affect black people. Although black Americans make up 13 to 14 percent of the nation's population, they're "No. 1 in so many categories," he said.

"The book and why Alvin and I put this together was really to say, Come on, stop this, all this foolishness,'" Cosby said during remarks before the Q&A. "The family is very important in the success of our people.

"If you're in your 40s, there is no way a 14-year-old kid should be able to out-argue you on anything," Cosby said. "Parents have got to speak up to the children and explain the value of education."

And parents have to speak loud enough to have their voices heard over messages of violence, the pursuit of money through dishonest means and the exploitation of women featured in mainstream hip-hop music and the media, Cosby said.

"Hip-hop uses profanity," said Cosby. "The music is plainly angry and this is instead of it lifting up and saying in hip-hop, education, let's get it.'"

Cosby punctuated his address with humorous stories about societal problems. At the cornerstone of these dilemmas are apathy brought on by feelings of low self-esteem, abandonment, anger, fearfulness, sadness and feelings of being used and undefended, he said.

Too many people accept the way things are and don't seek change, he said. They are "stuck and stopped" in a life they don't realize can be advanced.

"I know, but ...' in this world, to me, that is the worst thing to say," said Cosby. "It's like when you say to someone, how can you eat that, it's got all that bad stuff in it. Eat that and it will kill you in 20 years.

"And then they say, I know, but it tastes good,'" Cosby said, to laughter. "Yeah, you could say that about death, put that on your tombstone, It tastes good.'"

Cosby said he hopes his book, published by Thomas Nelson and retailing for $25.99, can help people overcome their "stuck" feelings and turn from victims to victors.

"People have got to wake up," Cosby said. "Children are taking their education and throwing it away. We need to address these problems that exist."