Come On People!

Come On People

Bill Cosby

Alvin F. Poussaint, M.D.

265 pp. Thomas Nelson

$17.50 (Amazon.com)

Dr. Huxtable is NOT happy. Apparently so are a lot of his critics. Back in May of 2004 Bill Cosby AKA "America's Dad" stunned the black establishment when he unleashed a harsh critique of the black "underclass." Jaws were slackened and soon after, much of the black left came to the defense of the black poor whom they saw as being unfairly blamed for their status. On the Black right there were roars of delight that "the Cos" had blown the cover of the "professional victimizers" that they see make up the post Civil Rights establishment. The news media had a field day as giddy newscasters ran and reran footage of a darkly bespecled Cosby having his say. Meanwhile, in my circle our reaction was more like "nothing we haven't been saying." That generally sums up what I felt when I read this particular book. There was nothing there that I didn't already know.

Before you think that such a statement is indicative of a book that is not worthy of a reader's time let me say that the reason this book was published is because the "common knowledge" it contains is, unfortunately, not common knowledge for the people to which it is being pitched to. Who might that be:

"We are talking about people in poverty. If you fit that description, we are talking to you. How do you get out of poverty? What must you do to get your mind cleared, you spirit healed, your dreams refocused?





As you probably know, certain people tell us that we are picking on the poor. Many of those who accuse us are scholars and intellectuals , upset that we are not blaming everything on white people as they do. Well, blaming only the system keeps certain black people in the limelight, but also keeps the black poor wallowing in victimhood."

What struck me most about the Cosby's critics is that most of them did not dispute the facts (or opinions) that Mr. Cosby stated. Instead they were mad that he did so in language they found objectionable. In fact it was evident by most of the criticism that many of these critics had not even listened to or read transcripts of the speeches. It would seem that since Mr. Cosby dispensed with the preacher style commentary or took to comedic exaggeration to make his point, people thought that he was out of his mind. Even today among many black blogs, including those of great repute you will find it fashionable to compare Mr. Cosby to the lowest of the low of black conservatism, a charge that makes little sense at all.

Come On People! serves to answer the critics. It is an important part of the call out series because it provides reference material that is usually missing from the call out speeches and usually the source of ire among Cosby's detractors. So yes, Mr. Cosby is well aware that the rate of teenage pregnancy among African American girls has dropped. And yes, he has documentation for that 70% drop out rate that he often sites. Most of this book is like his other works like Fatherhood and Congratulations! Now What? He dispenses what could be considered obvious advice to those reading the book such as my favorite: Keep the TV's out the Bedrooms. Cosby and his buddy Poussaint give out advice that can be applied to anybody and they state as much. The advice given, if heeded will change anyone's life for the better. Not that all of the advice is easy but that's not the point. Nothing worth having comes quick and easy.

What this book will not do, as stated in the quoted paragraph, is satisfy those who want to see a robust critique of institutional racism (Global White Supremacy for those in my circle). To be honest I wasn't expecting it and neither should the reader. First, Dr. Cosby was straight from the jump that he was not spending his time discussing what white folk do or should be doing. It is therefore unfair to criticize Dr. Cosby for not talking about that which he said he wasn't going to address. That's about on par with stating that a person cannot give out financial advice unless he or she offers a round critique of Capitalism. Personally I'm not sure that I would agree with Dr. Cosby or Dr. Poussaint's explanation of racism on a local and global level, but I'm hard pressed to say that the specific advice given in Come On People! is wrong.

Secondly, I am of the opinion that regardless as to what white folk do or do not do, there is stuff we need to do. Of course this is within the Garveyite philosophy of "do what you will." In some way this position is the general fault line between Cosby supporters and detractors As this book is lacking in critique of GSW (Institutional racism to those so disposed), it is also lacking a robust critique of the black middle class. Indeed many of the bad parenting behaviors exhibited by the black poor are also exhibited by their middle class bretheren. The latter of course have the means to buffer themselves and their children from the worst effects of such parenting. Furthermore, while Cosby and Poussaint advocate that we use the tools at our disposal to get the government to follow through on it's responsibilities they fail to point out that while many other communities position themselves to support their own businesses thereby creating employment opportunities for their own youth, the black middle class has largely abandoned black neighborhoods and rarely if ever support black businesses that would be able to provide entry level jobs for black youth. Honestly though, If one is really that into black pathology one will have moved on to Carter G. Woodson or Amos Wilson.

And moving on is the best thing that can come out of this book. It is not intended to be the big answer book. Instead this book, like the call out series is meant to inspire the reader to find out more and to do more. Indeed the book is full of examples of people who have picked themselves up from all manner of situations and have made it. As much as the book is a critique of behavior it is also a chronicle of success and should it reach the right hands it will inspire more success.

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