Camille Cosby, Ed.D., is a champion of today's black community whose contributions to cultural excellence you might not recognize right away. This is not because of the lack of impact or the number of her achievements. Dr. Cosby's subtle influence on black America is due to the direct and human way that she seeks to positively influence others. Projects such as funding higher education and producing uplifting film and theater projects keep her behind the scenes, much like a nurturing mother's quiet love. Cosby's dedication to supporting the African American community is just as strong. The National Visionary Leadership Project (NVLP), another extension of her supportive efforts, is an organization founded by Cosby to connect young people in the black community with other elders like her who seek to inspire youth through direct contact with wise high achievers.

On Thursday, Jan. 28, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Cosby led a panel sponsored by NVLP, called Vision to Visionaries: Women Empowered, which took place at Spelman College with a simultaneous Web cast on the NVLP Web site. This groundbreaking panel discussion featured legendary actress and activist Ruby Dee, television's Jasmine Guy, Olympic gold medalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee and poet and professor Sonia Sanchez. By bringing these great women into the hallowed halls of a historically black college, Cosby helped to ensure the implementation of the NVLP's mission: connecting the African American leaders of tomorrow with our rich past through real people who have done great things.

Cosby took some time to tell BlackVoices.com more about her goals for positively influencing our young people on the eve of the Vision to Visionaries panel.

Tell us about your organization, The National Visionary Leadership Project. What led you to found the organization and what are its primary goals?

We focus on collecting the oral histories of African Americans who are at least 70 years old. The reason why I wanted to do this is because in the '90s I was involved in a fantastic project. I co-produced a Broadway play about Sadie and Bessie, Delany who were two African American centenarian sisters. What I witnessed in terms of viewing the audience is that people really do have a deep need to feel connected to history and to people who have led long lives. Because of those long lives, elders have all kinds of experiences that can be shared and lessons to be taught, particularly the lessons that defeats don't have to defeat you psychologically and how to achieve victories without arrogance.

In this nation of ours, which is so focused on ageism, people are afraid to be old, yet I also don't see much respect for the young. In addition, I started the NVLP because there is such a need to be not only aware of our histories but also aware of the value of life and the value of valuing one's self. Plus, there is the value of valuing others.

In your panel, Vision to Visionaries, we aim to provide wisdom to female leaders of tomorrow. What areas of growth do you think young women need to focus on?

I know that young women, as well as middle-age women, are always worried about balancing careers and their personal lives. I want to focus on what the panelists have to impart about their respective experiences. I just mentioned the issues of dealing graciously with defeats and victories. I want to focus on those themes as well, because clearly the panelists have felt defeat but have not been defeated psychologically. They still had the desire and the will to pursue their goals. I want them to also talk about the value of family and their experiences pertaining to family and balancing their families with careers. I also want to get into the issues of repetitive images pertaining to self-perception. There are so many negative repetitive images, particularly related to black people, people of color and females.

Speaking of images of females and people of color, how do you feel about the new Disney film, 'The Princess and the Frog,' which features the first African American princess?

I can't comment on that because I have not seen it. I am going to be very frank about this. I have never been impressed with Disney's perceptions of people of color. I think historically that those images have been quite negative. The bad characters have been in dark colors, for example. I have not seen this latest movie. I have no interest in it whatsoever.

Sonia Sanchez and Jasmine Guy are two participants in your event. Can you talk more about the special qualities of your panelists?

Sonia Sanchez and Jasmine Guy are not the only panelists, by the way. Jackie Joyner-Kersee is on the panel, as is Ruby Dee. We will also have the Spelman student association president, Ms. Morgan Pierce, because I wanted one of the students to be on the panel. Two of those elders, Sonia Sanchez and Ruby Dee, have been interviewed by me before, and they are just fantastic women. And, of course, the world knows about Jackie Joyner-Kersee's achievements, and, of course, the world knows about Jasmine Guy. Our panelists reflect that kind of tenacity, that kind of intelligence, that kind of success that young people can emulate.

With your doctorate-level degree and incredible support of Spelman College, you have shown that formal education is highly important to you. How can we stress the importance of education to young people? Why was it important to you to pursue your Ed.D.?

I'll answer the last part of that question first. I am the mother of five children. When I got married, I dropped out of college. As my husband and I had our children, and the children became of school age, I realized that I needed to get an education – to finish my undergraduate work and move on to graduate work. As I went into the schools to have the parent-teachers' meetings, I realized that I did not understand the educational jargon that teachers used, and that there was some form of condescension. Maybe it was because I was paranoid about not having my undergraduate degree, but that was certainly the impetus to put me back in school.

When our youngest child was about 2 years old, I re-enrolled in school. And then I had a wonderful woman, a supporter and adviser, who encouraged me to finish my graduate work on the master's level, because, at one time, I thought I was juggling too many things, but I finished that. Then without my knowledge, she enrolled me in a doctorate program. I just kind of was pushed into that. In retrospect, it is so important in terms of self-value, again, in terms of self-perception, in terms of being a role model for your children. Not necessarily to get a doctorate, but certainly to get an undergraduate degree, or to be trained in something. To have a degree from a community college is just as good. To be trained and skilled. As this wonderful adviser told me, women more so than men needed to have a degree, particularly women with children.

To convince young people that higher education is valuable, I think it goes back to connecting them to the elders. I think young people are so disconnected in terms of family, and I am not talking about a traditional family. I mean in terms of anyone who can be a caretaker and an adviser. I think that if they can spend time with people who are older than them, who have achieved something – I'm not talking about monetary success – but who have achieved their goals, or are still on a quest for their goals, any kind of person who is a role model in a positive way would help a child to place a value on education. And to realize that education was one of the biggest things, among many of course, that were denied us as a people when we were enslaved. So certainly, there must be some value because of that.

You are very passionate about producing popular media, from plays to documentaries. How does NVLP fit into this? Is this more of a grass-roots project?

Yes. I think you have to combine the two. Because you don't want to only reach a few hundred people. You want to reach millions of people. But one should never ever lose sight of the fact that personal interaction is always so important. It goes back to people feeling so disconnected. A panel discussion like 'Vision to Visionaries' enables one to connect to people on a personal level, to be there in person rather than just seeing a person on television or on the computer. These particular topic discussions are so important in terms of knowing more about ourselves and about others so that our attitudes are not contaminated about ourselves, or about others. So that our behaviors are in check pertaining to ourselves and others. The whole issue around self-value is very important, because if you don't have that then deviant behaviors with surface, and I think that we have to use all of the resources we have to put out that message of the importance of self-value. Vision to Visionaries helps the NVLP put out that message.

That's a very good point that a lot of people don't pay attention to when they focus on problems in the black community. There is definitely a lot of criticism, but not enough talk about how to build peoples' self-esteem.

Yes, that's right.

Do you have certain heroes in your life who have inspired you to be your best?

One is Mr. Percy Sutton, who recently died. The other is Dr. John Hope Franklin. I admired them so much, because of their tenacity and full commitment to educating the populace about the contributions of African Americans. They did not shy away from the failures either, but they wanted to focus on the contributions. Another person whom I admire who is still very much alive is Dr. Dorothy Height , who participated in the civil rights movement of the '50s and '60s and was one of the few women who refused to be pushed into the background. She stayed right up there in the forefront with the men. There is Dr. John Henrik Clarke, who was a walking mountain of African American history. He, too, is deceased. Right before he died, he was working on a volume of matrilineal history in Africa that I thought was fascinating.

And, of course, I place tremendous value on my mother and father and the fact that they were always there in my life when I was growing up. I never felt unloved, so I know the value of love and having been told I was special. It's one of the reasons why I want to enable others in the best way that I can to feel the same thing in some way.

So it's as though you are a much-needed mother and mentor to people you may never meet. I know you have a long history of mentoring others. Your NVLP programs are like an extension of that caring.

Thank you.

Would you like to share a piece of your caring wisdom with the young people and the young at heart on Black Voices based on the amazing achievements of your own life?

I have to go back to the word "defeat." When I look at people, so many of them seem to be defeated by obstacles, and the reality is that you are going to encounter obstacles. There's no way you can get around that. But you can go around the obstacles. I think you expend less energy going around them than you do trying to break through them. Because of the disconnect of not being connected to elders, in terms of perhaps living a life in which there is no one who is nurturing and loving, young people today are easily mentally defeated and become depressed. I hope that young people can learn to feel the support that so many of us who are much older than them are willing to give to them, and to not be afraid of emotional intimacy. But you have to be willing to put yourself into the environment that will enable you to feel that support. I am just hoping the young people that we target will allow themselves to listen and to connect. We, as human beings, need to feel connected, to feel valued. We need to feel nurtured and loved.

The National Visionary Leadership Project periodically holds roundtable discussions that feature elders answering questions of the young. I will never forget this one young woman at the end of a roundtable discussion that featured Geoffrey Holder and Carmen Delovedod. This young woman stood up, and she just started crying. She said she had never had an opportunity to talk to anyone who is an elder. She clearly exhibited the fact that she was disconnected from any kind of family unit. She was so moved to the point that she was balling, and it was moving for me to see. It's a good thing for those involved with the NVLP to see. It helps us to know that we are on the right track.