Garvey's Ghost: Black Talk

Facts? What Facts?

Today I ran across Earl Ofari Hutchison's critique of Bill Cosby's commentary. I usually ignire much of what Mr. Hutchison wrotes because I was put off by the illogical position he took that Black clergy were responsible for the rise in AIDS in black communities. However, since I'm still arguing with people over the stats and actuality of Cosby's comments, I find myself again, picking apart critique of Cosby's words. The problem with most of the critique against Cosby is that none of it, thus far, has been done by presenting facts that contradict Cosby's positions. And some of it has been simply pointing out that one of his daughters was a crackhead. As if that somehow invalidates Cosby's message. So let's look at Mr. Hutchison's facts:

quote:
Cosby myth: "You've got to stop beating up your women because you can't find a job, and you want to get an education and now you're minimum wage."

Truth: It's not clear what bed and living rooms in poor black households Cosby peeped in to make that charge, but a Justice Department study in 2000 found that since 1993, domestic violence plunged among all groups. It further found that the murder rate of black females killed by their partners sharply dropped, while the murder rate jumped among white females killed by their partners. The Justice Department study and a UCLA School of Public Health study in 1996, however, found that blacks are more likely to report domestic violence than whites, Hispanics and Native Americans.

In the UCLA study, the blacks who physically abused their partners were young (under 30), lived in urban areas, had lower income and were less educated.

The fact that domestic violence is supposedly dropping does not mean that it is not happening. Cosby did not say that domestic violence is on the rise, he simply pointed out that in black communities a significant amount of domestic abuse happens because black men feel powerless in other areas of thier lives and take it out on thier women. it also does not help with the glorification of Pimpin' on popular black music. And for the record, beating women is part and parcel of the pimp game. What is worse about Hutchison's critique is that after claiming a "Cosby myth" he goes on to site that the UCLA study were the exact group to which Cosby was referring to. Did anyone call this to Hutchison's attention?

quote 2

Cosby Myth: "They think they're hip, they can't read; they can't write, they're laughing and giggling, and they're going nowhere."

Truth: But many do think it is hip to read and write. The U.S. Dept. of Education found that in the decades since 1975, more blacks had enrolled in school, had improved their SAT scores by nearly 200 points and had lowered their dropout rate significantly. It also found that one in three was in college, and that the number of blacks receiving bachelors and masters degrees had nearly doubled. A survey of student attitudes by the Minority Student Achievement Network, an Illinois-based educational advocacy group in 2002, found that black students were as motivated, studied as hard, and were as serious about graduating as whites.

Many of the blacks that now attend historically black colleges – and probably other colleges – are from lower income, disadvantaged homes. In a majority of cases, they are the first members of their family to attend college.

What we will note here is that except for the 'one in three" comment, Hutchison offers no numbers. He can't offer numbers and bolster his case. Fact is that in NYC ( which is where Cosby was referring to) the drop out rates of blacks is 51%. It is worse in some other states. You can't go to college unless you complete High School ( or get a GED) Therefore in NYC it is simply impossible to say that "one in three" blacks of college age are in colllege. Also it has been recently exposed in the Black Commentator that in Illinois (specifically Chicago) there are more Black males in prison than enrolled in undergraduate studies at state institutions of Higher Education. So again the "one in three" comment is false for that area too. And these are the people that Cosby is talking about. Those of us who were/are not well off and attended Black colleges or any college are not the target of Cosby's commentary so why even bring us up?


quote 3:
Cosby Myth: "Well, Brown versus Board of Education: Where are we today. They paved the way, but what did we do with it." They ...don't hold up their part of the deal."

Truth: The ones who aren't holding up their part of the deal are Cosby's lower income whites and middle-income blacks, not the black poor. According to the latest census figures, a higher percentage of lower income blacks were registered to vote, and actually voted, than lower income whites. The same can't be said for their more well to do black brethren. The census found that a lower percentage of higher income blacks were registered, and voted, than their higher income white counterparts. The quantum leap in the number of black elected officials in the past two decades could not have happened without the votes of thousands of poor blacks.

What is this talk of Voter registration? That has nothing to do with Brown V Board. Brown v. Board was prior to the Voting Rights Act. furthermore it is agreed by most black educators that the logic behind Brown v. Board was seriously flawed. Furthermore, as is pointed out by many analysts, the higher the amount of education a person has, not only are the more likely to be iinformed of politics but are less likely to engage in voting because they know that voiting is perhaps the least effective means to influence the political process. remember that the upper 10% of the US population ( and a few outside nations) pour millions into the respective political parties and largely determine who get's heard and who does not, The poor simply vote for those who they have been told they can choose from Anyways... that has nothing to do with Brown v. Board. So that whole line was simply irrelevant.

Quote 4
Some poor young blacks can't read or write, join gangs, deal drugs, terrorize their communities and beat up their wives or partners. Many whites, Hispanics and Asians also engage in the same type of dysfunctional and destructive behavior. Cosby did not qualify or provide any factual context for his blanket indictment of poor blacks. He made the negative behavior of some blacks a racial rather than endemic social problem. In doing so, he did more than break the alleged taboo against publicly airing racial dirty laundry; he fanned dangerous and destructive stereotypes.


Like almost everyone else, Hutchison not only assumes what Cosby said (probably from the same news sources as everyone else...except me), but he assumes wrong. Cosby, on Like It Is, with Gil Noble, which aired on ABC Channel 7 in New York Stated that he did not mean to imply all black poor do the things that he said AND that he was wrong to imply such a thing. Why is it that Cosby has been big enough to admit is error (he had another error which he has not owned up too) but none of his critics can do so? Furthermore; Cosby made it clear that he was talking to and about blacks and could care less about whites think or do. So he didn't racialise the issue. He made the issue within' the race. I know it's hard to see the difference, but surely someone of Hutchison's education can tell the difference. Perhaps not.

links:
http://www.alternet.org/columnists/story/19216/