The Constant Reader: ‘Come On, People’

“We can change things we have control over if we accept personal responsibility and embrace self-help.” – Introduction to “Come on, People”

Bill Cosby

In the three years since Bill Cosby delivered what can be thought of as his “Ghettoesburg Address” during the NAACP’s 50th anniversary of Brown vs. Board of Education, there has been a big hoopla in the black community over his controversial remarks. Using the national community as his stage, Bill Cosby and co-author Dr. Alvin E. Poussaint have been listening to and participating in “community call-outs” in cities across the country.

In the section, “It Takes a Community – Remembering the Triumphs,” the authors explore how African-American people have lost many of the kinship bonds that historically held us together as communities. They point out that the spirit of caring and self-help that sustained us for centuries is now largely a cultural memory.

Replacing Victimhood with Neighborhood

“In
the era before welfare checks, food stamps, subsidized housing and
Medicaid, families were strong – they had to be. If the nuclear family
faltered, (as sometimes this happened), the extended family, (uncles,
aunts, neighbors), lent a helping hand.”

CALL-OUT:

Birmingham, Alabama

“We just have to do a few things; we need to have a vision. We need to
be accountable not only to ourselves, but FOR ourselves and others. We
need to be accountable for the ways that we contribute to what is going
on in our communities today. We need to see things differently, the way
our ancestors did — and know that it is possible.”  – Attorney Lauren Lake

Cosby’s response: “We have to begin by taking back our neighborhoods;
we have to be involved. Black strength lies in our resolve to keep on
keeping on, never quitting, never giving up, never yielding to the role
of cooperative victims.

Sometimes people with a victim mentality feel hopeless and do
self-destructive things that make their lives even worse. It is time to
redirect that energy. It is time to think positively and act
positively.
The people who need your help are right here — right now! We must
relearn how to respect ourselves and help each other in a way that will
serve the community, not destroy it. What will it take to pull our
people out of poverty? What will get us to contemplate a life with
brighter dreams? What will inspire us to pursue the future as if it
mattered? We ask these questions only because there are answers, real
ones, and attainable ones.”

About the Children

We ALL Start Out as Children — Teach the Children Well
“If children are not being helped, they’re going to pay somebody back for what happened to them!”

CALL-OUT:

Compton, California

“Each and every one of us has a responsibility to protect the children
— your child, my child, your next-door neighbor’s child. Fathers,
Mothers, Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Neighbors, God-parents, Play
Aunts, God aunts. Every single one of you has a responsibility for the
children. Every single one of you.” – Dr. Xylina Bean, Chief of Neonatology,

King Drew Medical Center.

Victorious children are kids who live happy, healthy, loving, and
cooperative lives, kids who enjoy learning and exploration; kids who
embrace the future. They don’t get there by themselves. “All parents
can do right by their children, and all children can succeed. There is
no reason why not.
It’s important to remember that they (children) live in our village
too! Parenting works best when both a mother and a father participate,
communities and families must provide our youth with the love and
guidance that keeps them strong and on that positive path,” said Dr Alvin Poussaint.

Thoughts on the Media

It ALL Starts with Choices

Studies have shown that being exposed to a high level of media violence
may make your kids numb to it. Excessive media violence plays a role in
societal violence. It amplifies the toxic atmosphere that gives support
to violence, and it undermines efforts at violence prevention,
practically among young people.

Exposure to media violence also heightens feeling of paranoia. In fact,
children who watch a lot of television do worse in school than those
who watch less. Children who engage in other activities such as
reading, board games, and creative play learn the best.

Use the Media to Educate

“With both good and bad media out there, you have to help select media
for kids that will support their successes. With violence and killing
so prevalent, you have the responsibility to monitor the effects of
media violence on your kids,” said Dr. Alvin Poussaint.

On Black Men

For the last generation or two, as our communities dissolved and our
parenting skills broke down, no one has suffered more than our young
black men.

CALL-OUT:

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan

“This gansta mentality is leading our children into the valley of
death. There’s no return ticket on that trip! Does anybody stop and
say: We understand that and will not go there — or do you just keep on
keeping on?”

“It’s time for us men to think of the future, to straighten out our
acts, to say to ourselves, I am more interested in raising my child
than any other issue I had before — it’s about the child. If a Black
man makes that commitment, he is a much better man than he thought he
was,” said Cosby.

Combining a message of personal responsibility with practical
solutions, the authors call for African-Americans to embrace self-help
while shedding self-destructive behaviors. Analyzing each situation and
never mincing their words, Cosby and Poussaint take pro-active
positions on any number of subjects unequivocally. Among those words,
(along with community ‘call-outs’) are the tools that are necessary in
the face of the degeneracy directed daily at our African-American youth
in the battle for their bodies and minds.

This book will encourage you to set aside all excuses and make a better
life for you, our youth, and the community. A must read for people
concerned about empowering the world they live in.