Up from victimhood
Bill Cosby and Alvin Poussaint look at the problems of blacks in America and give some helpful advice on improving their situation in Come on People, on the Path from Victims to Victors.
It is a good book that puts Cosby and Poussaint on a plane with some of the best intellectuals who have looked at the problems faced by blacks in this country, such as Thomas Sowell, Walter Williams and Colbert King.
I admit I was saddened by the beginning of the book, because of the nonsense Bill Cosby has had to confront to get his important message out. It demonstrates the absurdity of some in the black community that anyone would argue whether Bill Cosby is black enough to write this book. This comes from the same crowd who praised Bill Clinton as the first black President. If Bill Clinton is black enough and Bill Cosby is not, then the word has lost its normal meaning.
One of the first problems addressed in the book is the breakdown of the black family. Roughly 70 percent of black babies are born to unwed mothers. This ongoing tragedy is a prescription for poverty and has led to an epidemic of emotional immaturity among young black men who are murdering each other at an unprecedented rate over trivial insults and turf fights over selling drugs.
The book touches only briefly on the events that led up to this irresponsible conduct. To an extent many in the civil rights community do not want to admit, welfare destroyed the dignity of many black males. The government became the provider and began providing incentives to have kids with out a father to be the provider. While welfare reform has removed some of these incentives it has not made the majority black fathers raise their conduct above the sperm donor stage.
Walter Williams has pointed out that there are three things everyone can do to avoid poverty. Finish school, get a job, and do not have kids until you are married. It works no matter what your race or background. That so many are ignoring this advice is an ongoing tragedy for the kids and the mothers who are struggling to provide for them. The authors set out some specific things that can be done to avoid the situation.
There is also a discussion of the culture that has produced blacks who call each other insulting things. The "N word" is used much among black rappers and their followers than it is by racist these days. I was in grade school in the south when Brown v. Board of Education was decided. My parents were not part of the civil rights movement, but they were educated and even before that decision it was made clear to me that nice people did not use that word. It was a word that marked a person as low class. It still is no matter the race of the user. Degrading names for women fall into the same category.
Benjamin O. Davis Jr. is in a chapter about role models. He started West Point in 1932 and went on to lead the Tuskegee Airman in World War I and was also the first black general in the US. Colin Powell became the first black to head the Joint Chiefs of Staff. When you hear Gen. Powell talk it is a long way from the street language of the rapper, but he is not using white speech. He is using the speech of successful officers in the military. The same is true of Col. Stephen Twitty who has been in charge of troops in the Mosul area of Iraq. Col. Twitty has the respect not only of his troops, but the Iraqi sheiks in the area too.
I have found the same to be true of black lawyers and investment bankers I have worked with over the years. These high achievers communicate in the same way as their white peers. They are not talking white. They are using the language of people who engage in their profession. If you want one of those good jobs you have to learn to communicate with others in that profession. The same is true for the way you dress. Look at the way people dress who have jobs you aspire to and dress the same if you want to get ahead.
I hope this book is widely read. I have been a fan of Bill Cosby since the early 60s when I listened to his comedy albums. I also enjoyed many of his TV shows. But this work with Alvin Poussaint may be his most important.
It is a good book that puts Cosby and Poussaint on a plane with some of the best intellectuals who have looked at the problems faced by blacks in this country, such as Thomas Sowell, Walter Williams and Colbert King.
I admit I was saddened by the beginning of the book, because of the nonsense Bill Cosby has had to confront to get his important message out. It demonstrates the absurdity of some in the black community that anyone would argue whether Bill Cosby is black enough to write this book. This comes from the same crowd who praised Bill Clinton as the first black President. If Bill Clinton is black enough and Bill Cosby is not, then the word has lost its normal meaning.
One of the first problems addressed in the book is the breakdown of the black family. Roughly 70 percent of black babies are born to unwed mothers. This ongoing tragedy is a prescription for poverty and has led to an epidemic of emotional immaturity among young black men who are murdering each other at an unprecedented rate over trivial insults and turf fights over selling drugs.
The book touches only briefly on the events that led up to this irresponsible conduct. To an extent many in the civil rights community do not want to admit, welfare destroyed the dignity of many black males. The government became the provider and began providing incentives to have kids with out a father to be the provider. While welfare reform has removed some of these incentives it has not made the majority black fathers raise their conduct above the sperm donor stage.
Walter Williams has pointed out that there are three things everyone can do to avoid poverty. Finish school, get a job, and do not have kids until you are married. It works no matter what your race or background. That so many are ignoring this advice is an ongoing tragedy for the kids and the mothers who are struggling to provide for them. The authors set out some specific things that can be done to avoid the situation.
There is also a discussion of the culture that has produced blacks who call each other insulting things. The "N word" is used much among black rappers and their followers than it is by racist these days. I was in grade school in the south when Brown v. Board of Education was decided. My parents were not part of the civil rights movement, but they were educated and even before that decision it was made clear to me that nice people did not use that word. It was a word that marked a person as low class. It still is no matter the race of the user. Degrading names for women fall into the same category.
Benjamin O. Davis Jr. is in a chapter about role models. He started West Point in 1932 and went on to lead the Tuskegee Airman in World War I and was also the first black general in the US. Colin Powell became the first black to head the Joint Chiefs of Staff. When you hear Gen. Powell talk it is a long way from the street language of the rapper, but he is not using white speech. He is using the speech of successful officers in the military. The same is true of Col. Stephen Twitty who has been in charge of troops in the Mosul area of Iraq. Col. Twitty has the respect not only of his troops, but the Iraqi sheiks in the area too.
I have found the same to be true of black lawyers and investment bankers I have worked with over the years. These high achievers communicate in the same way as their white peers. They are not talking white. They are using the language of people who engage in their profession. If you want one of those good jobs you have to learn to communicate with others in that profession. The same is true for the way you dress. Look at the way people dress who have jobs you aspire to and dress the same if you want to get ahead.
I hope this book is widely read. I have been a fan of Bill Cosby since the early 60s when I listened to his comedy albums. I also enjoyed many of his TV shows. But this work with Alvin Poussaint may be his most important.
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