Does That Mean I Won Something?

When I worked at the newspaper, I once tried to get an interview with Bill Cosby. Up front, I laid out my lack of objectivity, telling his people that our paper agreed with him, and wanted to learn more. His people said they'd call me back.

When they did, you might be surprised to learn that Mr. Cosby was "busy."

I knew I wasn't unique in failing to interview Cos. The writer of this Atlantic article mentions similar difficulties in reporting on The Former Mr. Huxtable, but he still does a good job.

This Is How We Lost to the White Man

I dislike black vs. white talk, but apparently it plays in some Peorias. And despite inflammatory rhetoric, Mr. Cosby makes shrewd observations. A powerful excerpt, about the response following Cosby's famous/infamous Pound Cake speech:

But Cosby’s rhetoric played well in black barbershops, churches, and backyard barbecues, where a unique brand of conservatism still runs strong. Outsiders may have heard haranguing in Cosby’s language and tone. But much of black America heard instead the possibility of changing their communities without having to wait on the consciences and attention spans of policy makers who might not have their interests at heart. Shortly after Cosby took his Pound Cake message on the road, I wrote an article denouncing him as an elitist. When my father, a former Black Panther, read it, he upbraided me for attacking what he saw as a message of black empowerment. Cosby’s argument has resonated with the black mainstream for just that reason.