Come on, People: On the Path from Victims to Victors

Like the old adage goes - "the truth hurts". And whenever someone is presented with the truth, he/she has two options: 1) either accept the truth, learn, take action and change on it; or 2) ignore the truth, stay in denial, do nothing, blame others and live with your present and future circumstances. Unfortunately, black America has opted for number 2 for the past 25 years and what we're witnessing now is the devastation that black families and black communities is suffering as a result of ignoring hard truths about ourselves for far too long. And this is exactly the point that Bill Cosby and Alvin Poussaint is addressing in their compelling new book "Come On, People". First off, let's make it clear that this book is in no way an attack on the poor. But it is an attack on poor habits, poor thinking, poor decisions, poor parenting, poor self-control, poor self-image, poor grades, poor ambition and other self-destructive behaviors that are running rampant within the black community, especially poor black communities. This book is essentially an analysis of the self-imposed problems facing African-Americans today (notwithstanding the evils of racism and discrimination that continue to exist) and what we (African-Americans) can do for ourselves to make our own lives, families, and communities better, safer and stronger. It is a common-sense approach to eradicating the cancers that are killing us from within (violence, crime, drug use, out-of-wedlock births, fatherless-ness, etc.). The "messengers", Cosby and Poussaint start off by presenting some alarming statistics about black men in America. You'll have to read the entire book to get the full gist of them, but as a black male myself, here's one example that I personally find the most vile among them all: "94% of all black people who are murdered are murdered by other black people". Any intelligent, reasonable African-American has to speak up and ask "why are we killing ourselves and why aren't black "leaders" saying anything about it?" [I'm sorry, but racism doesn't make you kill your "homie" over some sneakers, Ipod, leather jacket, his girlie or some other dumb reason.] The authors go on to identify the root cause of some of these statistics and bring to light the real truth, unapologetically and without placing all responsibility on white people. And while not intended to be the panacea to all of our problems, they offer some practical, positive steps or suggestions that everyone can take to move "from victims to victors", regardless of household income, education or family background. These include strengthening our communities, teaching/nurturing our children, ending domestic violence, being financially responsible, entertaining ourselves with positive books, music, movies and media, caring for our health (before we get sick) and other important things. Each chapter also has real-life examples and success stories dubbed "Call Outs" and "Life Lessons" from various black entrepreneurs, doc

As a white native of the Appalachian coalfields, an area plagued with the same problems that are destroying inner-city black families, I hear in Cosby's words advice that many of my friends and family members also need to hear. Cosby speaks about the need for positive male role models, the abandonment of the community, the price of violence and personal foundations (either good or bad) built during childhood. With staggering statistics and clear, rational arguments, Cosby presents an undeniable thesis that points a finger directly at irresponsible behavior as the root of most of our problems. Cosby's greatest frustration with black America comes from embracing the "victim" label and the continuation of self-defeating (and often stereotypical) behavior. As examples, he sites the use of the n-word, self loathing parents who spew hatred for their own race in front of their children, and support for criminals. The biggest credit paid to Cosby should be the high road he takes in this book, which comes directly on the heels of a three year stretch where he has routinely been mocked and attacked for his beliefs. One would expect others like Bill O'Reilly or Michael Moore in a similar situation to spend the first few chapters railing against their critics and answering any counter points against their arguments. But Cosby seems more interested in getting out his message than protecting his image, so he's all business in this work, even it provides more fodder for his critics to use against him.

Dr. Bill Cosby and Dr. Alvin Poussaint have penned an instant classic that every American, regardless of race should race out to purchase, read, and apply. As a middle-age white male, I fondly remember listening to the wit, wisdom, and humor of Bill Cosby on a 78 (a record for those too young to know). The joy he brought me as a youth is nothing compared to the joy he is bringing a race and a nation today as he and his co-author definitively address the "Path from Victims to Victors." In 288 pages of tightly-written, well-crafted material, Cosby and Poussaint address, in turn, the topics of: "What's Going on with Black Men," "It Takes a Community," "We All Start Out As Children," The Media You Deserve," "Healthy Hearts and Minds," "The High Price of Violence," and "From Poverty to Prosperity." Simply reading these chapter titles demonstrates that "Come on People" holistically addresses the social ills of a people, wisely looking both at individual responsibility and societal/cultural influences. From the very beginning, their words are riveting. "For the last generation or two, as our communities dissolved and our parenting skills broke down, no one has suffered more than our young black men. Your authors have been around long enough and traveled widely enough to, to think we understand something about the problem. And we're hopeful enough--or desperate enough--to think that with all of us working together we might find a solution" (p. 1). Indeed, "Come on People: On the Path from Victims to Victors" is the single best modern book providing a solution to the problems facing a race and a nation. While an honest book, it is not a negative book. That is, it looks honestly at the negative factors influencing people today, while looking beyond the negative to positive answers and practical solutions. Reviewer: Bob Kellemen, Ph.D., is the author of Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction .

I saw the Cos and Dr. Poussant yesterday on "Meet the Press" speak truth to power with limited commercial interruption just before church and headed to Boox-A-Million right after services to get this for myself. This is a much-needed modern manifesto on the internal probelsm of Black America (and to a large extent, America as a whole); Drs. Poussant and Cosby not only talk about the problems we all know about, but also some solutions and examples of people who have overcome these things. The story about the boy casually coming home to a shack to find his mother dead and going to fix himself some lunch unfazed is astonishing. They debunk the current bunk about the "n word" being a term of "endearment," noting that when these same fools who say "what's up my (n word)" also use that same term when shooting at each other. They also talk about something I've discussed frequently when I was a newspaper and radio commentator, the hateful slavery-bred practice of Black parents making uneccesarily negative statements about the Black race in the presence of their children, thus instilling and continuing the inferiority complex. They do not deny the need of the fight against external forces. I've never understood why so many people feel that that it's an "either or" fight for Black self-improvement or against white racism. I've always felt we needed BOTH the "Booker T and the WEB" approaches, and the Cos and Dr. Pouissant acknowledge this. In the past, too many African-Americans feared that candid discussions of such matters would give ammunition for white racists to destroy us (as if other races were prefect angels). We need to get over that because that "head in the sand" approach caused us to ignore this problem for too long and was one of the factors that got us into the current mess. This book should go a long way in helping to kill this destructive mindset. If there is one weakness in the book, it is in presenting pre-civil rights movement-era Black communities with rose colored glasses. It is true that for the most part, the oldschool Black communities tended to have more of an extended family spirit (and some still do today), but they were not perfect. We must admit that the imperfections of these communities played a considerable role in creating the destruction that we see today. However, this minor flaw does not distract from the overall good this book has to offer. Incidentally, the book wisely avoids petty detours by not bothering to mention a certain publicity-hound "intellectual" who has tried to gain cheap fame and bucks by deliberately distorting Dr. Cosby's message to make it appear that Cos hates poor blacks and propping himself as their would-be savior. This shameless self-promoting gasbag who is badly in need of Metamucil is deservedly ignored here as he hopefully will be for a long time to come. To Drs. Poussant and Cosby, keep speaking truth to power! The people are listening and the revolution to take back our people and

Black activists can get thousands to march on Jena, but you never hear of them getting thousands to march on Baltimore or Compton where daily you hear of blacks being victimized by other blacks. It is as though the infrequent white on black attacks are all that troubles the black community rather than an epidemic of black on black crime. One can not really blame Sharpton or Jesse Jackson as the media are obsessed with only certain aspects of the black community, mostly when they are victims of whites. But those thousands who march have to then have to head home and hide behind locked doors and you can be sure the doors are locked not because they fear cops or Lacrosse players. It is a sick situation that boggles the mind. Finally we have some very respected black leaders coming out and saying that simply thinking of yourself as a victim does nothing but keep you down. The old methods of protesting to prop up the images of celebrity activists have clearly not worked. Unless the authors' advice is taken, we will see another generation of black americans live in poverty and hopelessness while their few celebrity leaders are wined and dined by the power elite who seem content with the current situation as long as they continue to get free votes. This book is very powerful and also very couragious. You will likely see both authors attacked because they have the nerve to not follow the party line. Well ask yourself, who benefits from the party line? Only those who get political advantage from it.