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Hosted by nonprofit group “The Black Belt Community Foundation,” as apart of “March for Education,” Bill Cosby was invited to walk across the historic Edmund Pettus Bridge.
Unfortunately, lending his celebrity to support an awesome cause won’t deflect from the mounting accusations against him: that he (allegedly) drugged and raped over 30 women across a long span of time during his career as a comedian-actor.
Cosby is currently in Selma Alabama where (like his comedy shows he insists on performing in-despite the heckles and boycotts) he is sticking to the Cosby m.o: Education.
Current situation: In Selma, Alabama as apart of an initiative to bring awareness about the state of underfunded schools in the city and along with the Black Belt Community Foundation, work towards bringing a solution to the problem as, the foundation’s mission is improving the lives of citizens in a 12-county section of Alabama known as the “Black Belt” area.
Although Bill Cosby’s career span is older than many of us are even aware of, the fact of the matter is, (like me) many people were introduced to Bill Cosby at the point of The Cosby Show and A Different World-both shows were very much apart of his personal brand (personally) to the extent that he made no qualms about its underlying focus on the importance of education [Dr. Huxtable with his kids and too, Sandra having graduated college. Theo going off to college and teaching-and although scurrying through then out of college-“Denise” attending “Hillman” as expected of the“Huxtable” ritual and legacy].
Preparing to speak with students in Alabama today, 77 year-old Cosby didn’t ignore the fact that his presence is going to cause some backlash. To that, he said this [to ABC’s Linsey Davis-interviewing him]:
“I think that many of them may say, ‘Well, you are a hypocrite. You say one thing, you say another. My point is, ‘OK, listen to me carefully. I’m telling you where the road is out. I’m telling you where, as you drive, you are going to go into the water. Now, you want to go here or you want to be concerned about who is giving you the message?’ ”
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The organization’s president, Felecia Lucky, did admit-at first, there was some apprehension: “We had some very rich discussions about it, but at the end of the day what was most important was: How do we make sure the world knows that Black Belt children matter?”
Although Bill Cosby hasn’t been criminally charged for any of the allegations against him, the gavel of the court of public opinion, scorn, and scrutiny still has not forced Cosby to back down (or out of) life as he’s known it:
- Traveling the world and making people laugh.
- Lending is name and brand to causes centered around the importance of education
When asked by Davis about his return to television and what he wanted his legacy to be-he deflected: “I really know about what I want to do tomorrow — in the tomorrows that follow. I have a ton of ideas to put on television for a series about people and their behavior and their love for each other.”
“It’s interesting. When I talk to people they will say, ‘This is a situation that’s unprecedented.’ I, my family, my friends, I have been in this business 52 years,” he expressed. “I’ve never seen anything like this. And reality is the situation. And I can’t speak.”
…(he deflected, again).
In his defense however, when he says “I can’t speak,” it almost sounds like a legal clause or reason [for not being able to simply look at the camera and say the words of that other ‘Bill’: “I have never had sexual relations with those women”].
One must admit-it is admirable: his tenacity and insistence upon doing all that it is he does while still fighting the good fight that he’s always fought (and believed in).
However, no matter what, (our how many headlines, and Twitter trending blasts etc.), as the mounting allegations keep pouring in, “I have never had sexual relations with those women” is always going to be the “Bill Cosby Speaks” most people are waiting to hear [whether he be in Selma or otherwise].
On the bright side, fortunately, all the good that he still insists on fight for-all is not falling on deaf ears: there are still issues requiring awareness and solutions—about as much as in his personal life, the same is true: issues requiring answers.
While I can’t say for certain I’m interested in him telling me jokes right about now…the FACT of the matter is: He has always championed education. So in my opinion, his speaking today is NOT a deflection of his situation. So, (in considering the fact that he is not a convicted man as yet) I’d listen to him speak to me on education today. Yeah, that-I would listen.
