A Look At Bill Cosby's Place in the African American Community

This analysis of Bill Cosby's activism, written by Ta-Nehisi Coates, left me with more questions than answers. There is much that I agree with in the article; at the same time, I'm at complete odds with some aspects of Coates' point of view. First off, I just want to say that I believe that Cosby's message to the black community needs to be heard. I'd even go further to say that our country, all of us, need to take Cosby's message to heart. There does need to be more focus on education, responsibility, and productivity. Father's need to take a more active role in raising their children. That said, I believe that we as a society need to ensure that the rights of fathers are protected.

Within the article, Coates stops just short of praising Cosby's efforts, and in my opinion, that's unfortunate. I have yet to find fault with Cosby's message. Coates, on the other hand, doesn't seem all that concerned with anyone outside of the African American community. That's unfortunate. Until we get rid of labels, we are never going to truly come together. The article is extremely long, especially for Internet writing, but it is a good read.

This Is How We Lost to the White Man

Lindsey