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The Cosby Effect
By Kevin Fobbs
June 14, 2004

It was the best of times it was the worst of times. The opening sentence from Charles Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities" seems apropos for this discussion -- a tale of two gifts -- one from legendary TV icon and renowned philanthropist Bill Cosby and the latter from parents of students in urban America. Both gifts are given to ensure the preservation of, and to empower the future for, urban America's youth. The potential impact of these gifts we are calling "the Cosby Effect."

As parents, the single most precious gift we can pass down to our children is the gift that a quality, equal education can ensure. This gift bestows untold opportunity. It can be the gift of a second chance to achieve any dream. It is also the gift to raise the next generation with all of the possibilities that alluded the previous generation.

In the coming weeks as high school graduates all across Detroit, Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Philadelphia, and St. Louis prepare to walk across the stage to be handed their diplomas, many thousands of parents in the audience may still have Bill Cosby's recent comments -- his gift to urban parents -- still ringing in their minds and burning in their hearts.

Bill Cosby, who on May 17th -- the 50th Anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court Brown vs. the Board of Education decision -- chose to speak out about one of urban America's silent secrets that has been spoken by literally millions of parents over the past 50 years at African American dinner tables, barber shops, beauty salons, community centers, and corner grocery stores. Many parents are not being responsible for their children's education and would rather blame the system, conservatives, Whites, "the man," the village, or anyone else rather than shoulder the responsibility themselves.

When he said, "These people are not parenting. They are buying things for their kids -

$500 sneakers for what? And they won't spend $200 for `Hooked on Phonics?'... They're standing on the corner and they can't speak English." All you have to do is speak with Detroit's Clementine Barfield of the nationally known SOSAD (Save Our Sons and Daughters) organization and she will tell you the high price parents should not have to pay over seeing their children murdered over high priced sneakers.

Cosby was addressing all those parents who mourn their child's death, both of life as well as of opportunities. Far too many are shut behind prison walls to be raised and educated only by older, wiser prisoners.

His words may have not only ignited a firestorm and took the lid off the pot, but for many apologists, shattered the pot all together. What was not shared was how he began his remarks by talking about a 50 percent high school dropout rate among poor Blacks. In Detroit according to a study released June 3rd by the Michigan League for Human Services called "The Kids Count", 37 percent of young adults in Detroit were high school dropouts in 2000.

Jane Zehnder-Merrell, senior researcher for the Michigan League for Human Services confirmed the report's statistics and described an even more ominous picture. "As bad as the numbers are, they don't tell the whole story. A lot of kids leave in the middle school age group and are not reflected in the numbers from the 2000 U.S. Census data." For middle and high school dropouts and their families there is no high school graduation stage and few, if any, real options in sight. "This is an even more dismal problem," added Zehnder-Merrell.

He encouraged all those in urban cities to take back their neighborhood and help their children drop back into a better future. Those remarks by Cosby were conveniently ignored by the media! We guess there was not enough drama in those words for it to matter much at all. He said many of the legal barriers that were the foundation of the Civil Rights struggle have fallen and that parents in urban America have to stop making excuses.

Dr. Austin Smith, a Detroit educator, desegregation expert of 30 plus years, and leader in the field to help Detroit's at-risk youth who have disappeared between the cracks agrees. He stated, "Bill Cosby lifted up the lid and let America look inside the pot and see why the stew was not being prepared accurately. He had it right. Too many people, parents included, have walked away from the principles of the Civil Rights struggle and the Brown decision. Fifty years later, we now have hundreds of thousands of Browns." Smith added, "Now we're left with too few educational horizons and unfortunately too many sunsets on the educational futures of our children."

Cosby's words gave credence to what many urban educators have been striving for years to say, but could only shout it in their hearts. Parents, parents, parents, please fight harder and do more to give your children a second chance at a first chance for an equal educational opportunity. Parents, this is your gift to your children.

Sharon Nattee Stephen, a former middle school principal and 20-year veteran educator concurs. "It's time for parents to wake up. I agree with Bill Cosby. As educators and those of us who are also parents, we have to begin to take control of our children's future," stressed Stephen. "When the parents are involved in their children's education, the kids open up like a butterfly's wings unfolding. We have to be more for them," she added.

Parents, use this summer to set educational goals for your children. Halt the hemorrhaging of educational hopelessness by taking steps to ensure that your child's priorities and your own parental priorities are in sync. Begin to say 'no' to $150, $250 sneakers and 'yes' to books;' no' to computer games and 'yes' to computer learning supplements.

Well now that the lid is off the pot, parents in Detroit and in urban cities all across America have an opportunity to give their children a future that all of Cosby's millions to colleges like Spelman College in Atlanta or his words of hope and truth could not guarantee -- an individual personal stake in their own child's future.

That is the gift the Cosby Effect will have in breaking the silence. For every student who does and, more importantly, for those who do not walk across the high school graduation stage in the coming weeks, his gift will show its impact upon every future generation. Parents, embrace this as a true gift of your love for your children.

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Note -- The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, views, and/or philosophy of GOPUSA.