Bill Cosby's Mo Better Blues

bill cosby
What's the difference between being rich and being wealthy?

"Rich people buy yachts and worry about how much the fuel costs. Wealthy people don't worry because they own the company that purchased the yacht."

That is how legendary comedian-actor-activist Bill Cosby sees it. His definition of wealth: "maintenance."

Last week I had an opportunity to spend an hour with "The Cos" unscripted. Cosby spends a great deal of his time helping historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) raise money and, in this case, he along with Nancy Wilson were headlining the fundraiser for Coppin State University in Baltimore .

In all honesty, when my husband informed me that he was emceeing the event, I had hoped to get a few minutes with him to discuss politics and, of course, my favorite subject of wealth or the lack thereof in the black community. As chance would have it, we were invited to his dressing room to be introduced. For the next hour, we were mesmerized by his storytelling, and sense of urgency about black folks coming clean about what ails Black America.

Cosby caused a stir in 2004 when he took the black community to task for pathologies he said prevented economic and social progress. And he is continuing to argue his point with passion in a new book he has written along with his associate, Dr. Alvin F. Pouissant, 'Come On, People.'

Is Cosby airing our dirty laundry or is he simply telling the black community what it needs to hear?

According to a recent research study, "Are Blacks Better Off?" by the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan fact bank, 85 percent of black folks named Bill Cosby as one of the most highly revered Americans, above Barack Obama, at 76 percent. Considering the amount of controversy his call-outs at HBCUs have caused within the black politic and media, I would have thought the number would have been lower. Could it be that black folks agree with what he says about accountability and that the decline of the black middle class is self inflicted?

During my visit, I watched as he graciously accepted the request of an 11th grader to meet him and then engaged her in a lively conversation about out-of-wedlock pregnancies and where she planned on attending college. Two topics he rails on as being directly responsible for the deterioration of the black family and black middle class. The findings in the Pew study support his view with 53 percent – or a majority of African Americans – saying that blacks who don't get ahead are mainly responsible for their condition.

Dr. Cosby hasn't totally lost his sense of humor and he is prescribing some harsh medicine using his comedy as a sweetener in order to cure what ails his community.

Black Americans – or anyone, for that matter – can achieve financial success in a number of ways: by being blessed with extraordinary athletic skills, hitting a big lottery jackpot or by focusing on acquiring real wealth through education, entrepreneurship and investments.
Visit http://pewsocialtrends.org/pubs/700/black-public-opinion to read the entire study: Are Blacks Better Off?