Ok, so maybe I’m a little late but I recently read 2007′s New York Times Bestseller Come On, People by Bill Cosby and Alvin F. Poussaint, M. D. and I promise this is a must read for every African American growing up in the Third Millennium. From my  expericence, the book was on target with alarming statistics such as

          -drop out rate greater than 50% in many {African American} cities (including Baltimore where 75% of   black males do not graduate high school

          – divorce rate 60%

          -70% of babies are born to single mothers

         -Homicide is the number one cause of death for black men between 15-29 years old (more than 75% are committed by black men:(

         – Life expectancy for a black man at birth is 65

Basically, the list goes on. I read some reviews about the book, mostly negative, and I thought of my favorite quote which is often abridged but states in its entirety “Experience is a good teacher, but it takes a fool to learn by experience alone”. And since we did not first hand encounter slavery it is easy to take our freedom for granted. Some thought that Dr. Cosby was “race bashing” or “talking down on all blacks” but he was speaking facts, “general knowledge” and yes, the truth hurts. Look around, you will see that something is wrong. Just ask the black males, who have increasingly become uninterested in raising a family as a two (biological) parent household. Cosby says that single parent homes are the predominate reason for today’s poverty and high mortality rate and incarcerations.

 Let us be reminded of that which we came as African Americans and don’t forget the stats! This book is for that African American that feels helpless, that fails to realize not helping yourself is not helping your children or their self-worth/esteem. This book is for that drug abuser that receives 5 seconds of a high in exchange for a healthy, prosperous life. Oh yea, it’s painful and the title is definitely insight for the tone of the book and the entire book is worth highlighting. Bill Cosby is still that father figure that I loved imagining was my dad (no offense Larry) except the joke is over. Don’t sleep on the book people, class is in session.