I’m sorry if this post is so long but I’ve been thinking about this for awhile now-- and I have some history and observations I’d like to share, as a black man, as an educator. I invite any scrutiny of my comments.
Black people in America are unaccustomed to hearing intraracial problems within the African-American population in this country aired publicly. You may never have heard a well-known black figure talk PUBLICLY about poor blacks and irresponsible behavior before. We don’t air our dirty laundry. It just doesn’t happen.
Black secular leadership has always been reluctant to do it, although some few members of the black clergy have occassionally preached on it: Dr. Martin Luther King made exactly one sermon I can recall that hit on the same issues Cosby spoke about, and included issues like personal hygiene and grooming, too.
The 1995 Million Man March missed a key opportunity to plainly speak about the need develop good, strong habits in personal responsibilty, self-control and safety. The hosts of that event, Farrakhan’s Nation Of Islam – are so far outside the mainstream of contemporary African-American activism, and their motivations so suspect, as to to make even their long-winded, garbled, vague messages of “atonement” and “pledges” during that gathering rendered almost meaningless.
Within the socioeconomic mores of this nation’s highly secluded black elite – ones with collegiate ties, wealthy estates and political clout going back three or four generations – talking openly and critically about the decisons lower-class blacks make that perpetuate cycles of poverty, irresponsible behavior and violence is verboten, Something That Is Simply Not Done, a situation that author Lawrence Otis Graham frequently mentions in his book, Our Kind Of People. It is a phenomenon of that subculture that goes back at least to Reconstruction, and issue often overlooked by W.E.B. DuBois while he fought for civil activism and dealt with perfuctorily by Booker T. Washington, whose uncommon optimism caused him to write in Up From Slavery
A typical, coded message that harped on Washington’s two biggest sins: blacks avoiding industriousness and acting uncivilized.
The people who break with this tradition of public silence are the ones whom you might least expect to do it. Increasingly, a very few black comedians over the years – folks like Richard Pryor in the 1970s, Cosby in the 80s and Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle and Bernie Mack in the 90s and now-- have offered pointed observations and unveiled criticisms on our people’s own self-destructiveness to nervous black audiences. The initial novelty of hearing these criticisms spoken so openly is fast changing to mixed emotions about who else is listening.
I see what Bill Cosby’s doing now as a part of that mold, this time much more openly – because for a very long time he was silent on the issue (he’s part of that black elite I was talking about) of self-determination and responsibilty among lower-class blacks, too.
If anybody’s earned the right to hector, lecture and publicly shame blacks for irresponsible poverty-related behavior, it’s self-made millionaire, educator, entertainer and philantrophist Cos.
That said, the fact that his message may fall on some deaf ears is irrelevant. A lot of people are listening now. The fact is he HAS started to speak on it, and more power to him for his willingess to speak some ugly truths. I wonder if Oprah will have him on?
Thanks for reading.