May 24, 2004
One of the stronger opinion pieces I've seen so far on the Cosby-NAACP affair popped up on Google News after my earlier update this morning. It's by Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service editor Gregory Clay. He attended the D.C. Brown vs. Board do, and lauds Cosby as a "code breaker" for his speech there.
Here's a bit of Clay's op-ed, including an interesting aside about similar, earlier comments from ex-NBA star Charles Barkley.
During the reception, the champagne flowed. When the program started, the bright lights glowed. And when the festivities ended, actor-comedian-philanthropist Bill Cosby had provided the spark that shocked us back to reality.
On May 17, during the gala commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision desegregating the nation's public educational system, Cosby scolded a few thousand of us on that star-studded night at Constitution Hall in Washington. A scolding that has been somewhat glossed over by the major media the past week.
...The audience initially sat silently as people ostensibly were genuinely surprised by the direction of Cosby's comments. But as Cosby got deeper into his sermon, he received intermittent amen-like applause. Suffice to say, Cosby woke up some folk.
We needed it. The glitz and glamour were blinding us.
Many black folk probably are surprised because Cosby broke the code; he stepped out of the box. A black person publicly criticizing other blacks, especially those in the lower economic stratum? Come on, no way.
....Another code-breaker is former NBA star turned television commentator Charles Barkley. Last year at the National Association of Black Journalists Convention in Dallas, the outspoken Barkley said during a panel discussion, "We as black folks have to do a better job. ... Someone working at Wal-Mart with seven kids, you are hurting us. We have to start holding each other to a higher standard. ...''
....The real issue should be why did we have to wait three and a half hours into an extremely informative program to hear about the plight of blacks and education TODAY. Not 50 years ago. TODAY. Cosby didn't finish his speech until close to midnight, this after we saw a parade of luminaries ranging from Julian Bond to Dennis Haysbert to Ossie Davis to Kweisi Mfume to Hank Aaron speak.
Some have said Cosby is pitting lower-income blacks against middle- and upper-class blacks. That's utterly ridiculous.
Cosby's central theme simply was this: Better parenting and educational achievement are in black people's best interest, and some have failed miserably. Don't let the Brown case die on the vine. We have to admit this; it's about survival.
Again, read the whole thing. It'd be beneficial to society if this piece ran in all, or at least many, Knight-Ridder and Tribune Co.-affiliated newspapers. Any particular reason that shouldn't happen?
UPDATE: Add this into the mix, from DeWayne Wickham at USA Today. And this, from Atlanta Journal-Constitution Editorial Page Editor Cynthia Tucker.
Posted by Matt Rosenberg at May 24, 2004 04:58 PM
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Dear Mr. Clay,
While I was not a fan of Randy Moss' antics in victory over the Packers last Sunday, I did understand them more after learning of the fans' tradition of mooning the visiting team bus after a Packers' victory. I found your comments on Moss very out of line and ignorant. Do you even follow the Vikings and/or did you even do any research anything for your story? Randy's number have been in decline since Daunte has taken the starting roll. And to make the comment that could Randy put up his stats w/ another quarterback? Of course he could! Didn't he do exactly that w/ the Randall Cunningham/Jeff George/Todd Bouman/Guss Ferotte combinations. Maybe you need to realize that it's not Daunte who makes Moss better, but Moss who makes Daunte better........ and Wiggins, and Bennet, and Smith, and Nate, and everyone else on offense playing 10 on 9 the whole game. I was very let-down by your sensationalizing and ignorance on the subject matter. I'm not saying Randy is a classy individual, but what went on last Sunday was not nearing the black-eye all you over-the-top media personas made it out to be. This is coming from someone who watches Minnesota every weekend and next time you need some help w/ a story, just give me a call and you won't look nearly as foolish as you did this past Tues.
Joe Ford