Bill Cosby and Me

Bill Cosby doesn't like my video. When I first heard that he "attacked" the piece at a forum on black youth in D.C., I was shocked and a little perplexed. I mean, c'mon he's famous, a comedic genius and played Dr. Huxtable on TV. So why would he bother commenting and with such apparent anger? His problem was apparently that he thought the video (which asks folks to define what it means to be a black man) neglected to include any mention of the important role of family and fatherhood as part of being a black man. It is a point he's been hammering home to mixed reactions from black audiences for at least the past several years.

Of course, I do feel some need to defend the video, which I produced with Post reporter Hamil Harris. So by way of rebuttal, I direct your attention to the July 24 column "Invoking Responsibility" by Op-Ed columnist Jabari Asim. The Postie cited a quote in the video by Demitri Kornegay. The Montgomery County, Md., police lieutenant defines a black man as "a man who is honest, reliable, as well as self-reliant," and "assumes responsibility not only for his own actions but for the actions of those persons he is responsible for."

Your witness, Mr. Cosby

bdc

P.S. You can check out other reactions to the series and video here.

By Ben de la Cruz |  September 19, 2006; 5:10 PM ET  | Category:  Documentary Video
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