RICHMOND ? Bill Cosby spoke bluntly to students at Richmond’s mostly black public schools yesterday, urging them to dedicate themselves to graduation, not gangs, and to control anger that threatens to derail their dreams.
Mr. Cosby toured four schools with former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder, who is running for mayor. But instead of talking politics, Mr. Cosby stuck to his no-nonsense message to inner-city black children that at times has made him the target of criticism.
“Study. That’s all. It’s not tough. You’re not picking cotton. You’re not picking up the trash. You’re not washing windows. You sit down. You read. You develop your brain,” Mr. Cosby said at Fred D. Thompson Middle School, where 65 percent of the 700 students meet low-income criteria for free or reduced-price lunches.
There and at George Wythe High School, the 67-year-old actor and comedian implored black teens to begin studying in groups, and urged girls not to allow themselves to get pregnant and boys not to compensate for love they lack at home with gangs or sex.
“I’d like to tell you I don’t think things have changed since I was 14,” Mr. Cosby said. “There are still old people who drink, do drugs ? who will stop and take the time to tell you don’t be like them. Have you heard them? Pay attention to them.”
Contrast that with the messages that other black leaders are sending to their young people.
Go Cos!
