From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Cosby, Williams must dig deeper to address ills
By WILLIAM JELANI COBB
A few months ago, a black professional friend spoke of wanting to sink through the floor while riding on a busy train with a young black man who was spewing profanity-laced rap lyrics at the top of his lungs. My friend's concern was not so much about that young man's future as it was that he, master's degree or not, could still be tainted by association in a society that is still largely organized around skin color.
My friend's comments came to mind recently when journalist and Fox News commentator Juan Williams came to the Atlanta History Center to discuss his new book, "Enough: The Phony Leaders, Dead-End Movements and Culture of Failure That are Undermining Black America — and What We Can Do About It." For the better part of an hour, Williams delivered a shotgun-blast critique of the black poor, charging them with lapses that result in criminality and disregard for education among other moral failings.
In many ways, Williams' talk echoed the brand of fiery condemnation that Bill Cosby has become famous for in the past two years. Williams' book (like Cosby's town hall tirades) has gained a degree of credibility in some circles simply because the author is voicing sentiments that are widely held but seldom spoken in public. But the fact that these are seldom-spoken views does not establish them as accurate or true.
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