Open
Letter Regarding Harsh Criticism of Dr. Bill Cosby
By
Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.
While I respect the intellectualism and intent of Dr. Michael
Eric Dyson, and treasure our friendship, his attacks on Dr.
Bill Cosby are too harsh.
Cosby
has paid his dues. He has earned the privilege of having and
expressing an opinion about the plight of Africans in America.
In his groundbreaking sitcom, The Cosby Show, unlike many
of today’s unapologetic, commercial purveyors of filth
and degradation, Cosby uplifted black college and family life
in ways that permanently changed perception and reality. There
is a great distance – philosophically and politically
– between Bill Cosby on the one hand, and those like
Clarence Thomas and many artists who use their power and access
to media to hurt the cause of civil rights and social justice.
On a personal
note, I recall Bill’s alignment with, not distancing
from, the civil rights movement. On one occasion, Bill Cosby
did a concert to raise funds for the movement, and many who
normally would come to see him would not come. So Bill later
did events without announcement of its fundraising purpose,
would pack the house, and then support the movement directly.
He is the longest and largest single source of support for
the Jackie Robinson Foundation, and is well known for his
and his wife Camille’s support for Spellman College,
Morehouse College, and our historically Black Colleges and
Universities.
Early
on, Cosby was a major supporter of our organization’s
Push for Excellence Program in 1975. Former South African
President Nelson Mandela spoke often of how The Cosby
Show struck a blow to apartheid caricature of Black
South Africans; so careful was Bill (with the assistance
of Dr. Alvin Poussaint) to make sure the content and
images on the show were positive and uplifting. It is
one thing to disagree with his views, but quite another
to personally denigrate him to make one’s point.
To do so is to diminish his commitment and service.
There
is no real debate in the African American community
concerning personal responsibility. It is well settled
that while institutional inequality and injustice are
real, they never excuse doing less than one’s
best to overcome the effects. Certainly, African Americans
and the poor face structural inequality. Cosby argues
that while it may NOT be the fault of Blacks for being
in poverty, it IS our burden to challenge and break
out of it.
We
marvel at our athletes enjoying success DESPITE growing
up with inferior resources: rocky baseball diamonds,
hoops without nets, dilapidated public tennis courts
and public golf courses. But athletes make choices to
overcome—not succumb—to such obstacles,
to not let anyone hinder them from achieving their goals.
It is fair to say when rules are public, goals are clear,
and the playing field is even, all people, regardless
of ethnicity do exceedingly well. But if one group is
far behind for any reason in the race of life, that
group must run faster. We, as African Americans have
much ground to make up. As a community and a people,
we must make good choices.
If
the playing field is uneven, those who succeed and benefit
most from the struggle of others are not the ones who
make it even. It is always the VICTIMS of the uneven
playing field who must rise up and make it even –
that’s the legacy of our civil rights struggle:
Not blaming the victim, but securing social responsibility.
Cosby,
like many artists, feels that African Americans cannot
tolerate the hieroglyphics of destitution and music
that commercially recycles degradation as “truth”—none
of which can be reconciled with dignity.
There
is an historical and palpable anxiety with the challenges
raised by Cosby. However, his is not a new message and
is one that should not be distorted or twisted to serve
one’s own view. Ministers and teachers convey
Cosby’s message to us every day. Cosby’s
prominence should not be misused to justify the political
right wing’s predisposition of being indifferent
to the pain of poverty, and to blame communities for
the plight of people who live there. The right wing
historically has twisted the words of Jesus and used
the Bible as a weapon to justify slavery, segregation
and racial superiority; they twist the words of Dr.
Martin Luther King to justify their anti-affirmative
action rhetoric.
Speaking
at the 50th anniversary of the 1954 Brown v. Board Supreme
Court decision—after 247 years of slavery—Cosby
reflected on the price paid by our lawyers, martyrs
and common citizens at great risk, facing violence and
lynch mobs on a daily basis. Thinking of the price they
paid for our momentous victories, he commented that
many of the beneficiaries of these struggles are now
nonchalant and dismissive about their sacrifice. Today,
many have lost the will to fight back against FEWER
odds, with un-sound priorities, engaging in commercialized
self-degradation and undermining self-determination.
Therefore, such people suffer from a dignity deficit
disorder.
Cosby
issued a clarion call to demonstrate and show what all
of us can do if we have the will and use our power and
accept the challenge of taking on today’s rightwing
so determined to roll back the gains of the last 50
years. So, we should respect Dr. Cosby’s cumulative
record of service and appreciate the context of his
pain and challenge. We cannot justiably make Bill Cosby
the “poster child” for cultural insensitivity.
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