"these people [the NAACP], the ones up here in the balcony fought so hard. Looking at the incarcerated, these are not political criminals. These are people going around stealing Coca Cola. People getting shot in the back of the head over a piece of pound cake! Then we all run out and are outraged, “The cops shouldn’t have shot him” What the hell was he doing with the pound cake in his hand? (laughter and clapping). I wanted a piece of pound cake just as bad as anybody else (laughter) And I looked at it and I had no money. And something called parenting said if get caught with it you’re going to embarrass your mother. Not you’re going to get your butt kicked. No. You’re going to embarrass your mother. You’re going to embarrass your family" --Bill Cosby, the Pound Cake speech
Not long ago, Barack Obama said that we need to start up a dialog about race again. I agree and disagree. On the one hand, yes, we do need to be more open and comfortable discussing the issue of race with one another so that we may clear up misconceptions. However, I also strongly feel that families aren't always doing the best they can with the opportunities they have...whether they are black, white, brown, or green. In the Pound cake speech, Cosby points our that his generation fought a long and hard battle so that future generations of African Americans could have better opportunities, and he blamed the current problems among African Americans (the ones who join gangs and live in poor neighborhoods) on their parents. Parents need to start parenting. Cosby was right, parenting is important. However another part of the racism that needs to be addressed is the legal discrimination that occurs everyday within the legal system.
American laws are set up to screw over minorities, particularly Blacks and Latinos. For example, take the laws regarding possession of regular cocaine versus crack cocaine: Did you know that in most states the punishments for crack a far more harsh than those for cocaine? Perhaps I'm crazy, but I feel that laws like these discriminate against minorities. Rich white people use the higher grade narcotic, cocaine, while the kids in ghettos can only afford crack. Who gets screwed over? Minorities. Another example, covered on 60 minutes once, is the state tax system that funds public schools. There are still a few states that fund schools in a particular district based on the money collected from that disctirct. The consequence? Schools in districts with very low income residents get little or no funding because they collect very few tax dollars, while schools in districts with upper class families have so much funding that they can provide computers fr every student (which is unnecessary when in the adjacent district, walls are falling apart). Something needs to be done.
***Constructive criticism about my writing style is greatly welcomed! Thank you!***
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Oh yeah, racism is still an issue. The problem is that it is oftentimes over/underapplied. Instead of focusing on blatant issues of race, we tend to label things racism if there is contrast in skin pigment. This is not inherently an issue of race.
Regarding the "pound cake speech" (which I find to be despicable), take a look at Professor Michael Eric Dyson's book 'Is Bill Cosby Right Or Has the Black Middle Class Lost Its Mind?'