Bill Cosby

Cos puts cause on record Move over, Dr. Dre; Dr. Huxtable is the next big-name rap producer. Bill Cosby will release Cosby Narratives Vol. 1: State of Emergency next month with Bill "Spaceman" Patterson. The motivational CD is a backlash against rap The Cos sees as "profanity for no particular reason, the misogyny for no particular reason. " All vocals, unfortunately, are provided by guest rappers, and the famous dad does not rock the mike. "People started speculating, is he going to rap about Jell-O Pudding Pops or what?"

Whether it is the harangues of Bill Cosby or the findings of a recent Pew Research Center study, I find the discourse about the purported values gap between poor and middle-class African Americans extremely troubling. It's disturbing because I don't think values are necessarily defined by education, income or social status. Middle- and upper-class blacks don't have a monopoly on values. Yet, a recent Pew report found that, by a ratio of 2 to 1, blacks say the values of poor and middle-class African Americans have grown less similar over the last decade.

A recent poll has found that 61 percent of black Americans believe that the values of poor blacks have become "more different" from the values of middle-class blacks in recent years. With the possible exception of Bill O'Reilly - who professed astonishment at the good manners of black patrons at a Harlem restaurant - no one should be surprised at those findings. There have long been two Americas - both black. One is inhabited by the accomplished, the educated, the pragmatic. The other is the home of the marginalized, the undereducated, the incarcerated.

EVERY TIME a one-horse town in the South offends, the Revs. Jackson and Sharpton get on their steeds and save the day. When the issue is easy, they bring national attention to the cause and stomp the rogue town into submission. It's shooting a mosquito with a howitzer. Wouldn't they be more effective with their impressive power in the black community to go into the inner cities and chastise their own for the drive-by shootings, lack of cooperation with police, dysfunctional families and gangsta culture?

I CONSTANTLY see on TV and read about the ugly side of teens taking the lives of others, mainly black on black. Being a father of six, I pray for my babies and everyone else's. All this gunplay makes the police and public more afraid. If something isn't done, people are going to start arming themselves against these violent teens. I understand the concerns of probation officers, social workers and police, since I used to work at the Youth Study Center. Your hands are tied because these teens think it's a game until, one day, they find themselves never seeing the street again.

Lori Rohrbach had all the comforts of a suburban public school education. She sounds almost embarrassed by it. "We had carpeted hallways," the 22-year-old Gilbertsville resident said with a quick roll of her eyes. "And four or five computer labs. " Odd as it sounds, it's why Rohrbach, a 2003 Boyertown High School graduate, wants to be a teacher - in a Philadelphia public school, preferably one in rough shape with students bearing rough edges. "I think they deserve teachers who care," the Temple education major said.

THE TONE of Damon Evans' letter suggests that Bill Cosby should keep his mouth shut as he indisciminitely forks over HIS millions to endeavors that those in political power - via our tax money - should already be doing. The school district has proven through recent news that it badly mismanaged funds from state and local taxpayers, so what the heck do you think is going to happen to Cosby's money should he contribute? The idea of running the guilt trip on blacks who became wealthy after growing up poor is as outdated as it comes.

Slow down on roads Your June 2 report ("At Corzine crash scene, it's still fast") on continued speeding at the location of Gov. Corzine's accident should be a wakeup call for all who drive. While we rightly mourn the several thousand soldiers who have died and thousands more who have been wounded in Iraq, we almost totally ignore the hundreds of thousands who have been killed right here at home in automobile accidents during the same period. In only one year, 2005, here at home, you state that more than 43,400 people died and 2.7 million were injured in car accidents, and "more than 30 percent of the fatal wrecks were judged speed-related.

The timing was perfect. Bill Cosby, the renowned comedian and purveyor of more weighty issues, took to the streets of his native town just at a time when Philadelphia was named number one for murder rate among cities with more than one million residents. Marching through West Philadelphia with Men United for a Better Philadelphia, Cosby preached love and affection for one's children, along with a degree of respect and discipline. He told people in a church to stop waiting for the savior to appear - to save themselves and their communities now. The figures released by the FBI were stark.

"The Coz," a United Nations official, a renowned neurosurgeon, and two spiritual people who have dedicated their time to helping others will offer their varied words of wisdom at local college commencement ceremonies this month. Bill Cosby will speak to Cheyney University's graduating class at 10 a.m. May 12 on the campus' Historic Quad. The comedian has drawn both praise and criticism in recent years for his "call-out" speeches. Cosby has toured the country leading events under the title "A Call Out With Bill Cosby.