One of the first well-known inductees into the H.O.Y.R. (Hatin’ On Your Race) club was Bill Cosby as he continues to tour the country and simply states what we read in our newspapers, watch on the evening news, or what is celebrated in Hip-hop culture. Apparently there is some limit out there of just how much a person can publicly condemn some of the self-destructive behavior that is found (but not exclusive to) in the Black community as folks like Cosby has been repeatedly accused of “beating up” on poor Black folks (mind you, these same “poor Black folks” have paid to have him come to their events and have traveled on their own dime to hear what he has to say).
I have not really been following the press surrounding Oprah Winfrey’s new school in South Africa as I just thought it was gesture on her part. This morning however, I came across an interview (via this post) she did with Newsweek magazine where she made the following statement that is sure to give her a speed pass to the H.O.Y.R. club.
“Oprah also knows that some people will complain that charity should begin at home, even though she has provided millions of dollars to educate poor children in the United States, especially via her Oprah Winfrey Scholars Program. But she sees the two situations as entirely different. “Say what you will about the American educational systemâ€â€it does work,” she says. “If you are a child in the United States, you can get an education.” And she doesn’t think that American studentsâ€â€who, unlike Africans, go to school free of chargeâ€â€appreciate what they have. “I became so frustrated with visiting inner-city schools that I just stopped going. The sense that you need to learn just isn’t there,” she says. “If you ask the kids what they want or need, they will say an iPod or some sneakers. In South Africa, they don’t ask for money or toys. They ask for uniforms so they can go to school.” (source)
Typically, I would highlight a line or two in a quotation, but in this case I think that all of it needs to be taken in context. If you sort through most of the criticism that is thrown to people like this, you will find that the one thing missing is little or no mention of the millions of dollars that folks like Oprah and Cosby have invested to fix the problems they are addressing (did you know that back in 1971 Cosby did an album warning kids about drugs? See “Bill Cosby Talks to Kids About Drugs”. Was this and example of him “beating up” on Black folks by talking about the problem by having a few Black kids on the cover of this album?). To read about how Oprah’s has addressed some of the problems that affect the undeserved here in the US, click here. You won’t hear any testimonies of folks who have actually been helped by their charity ($20 million to Spelman college, “$1.3 million gift to Fisk University in 1986; another $1.3 million divided equally among four other Black universities–Central State, Howard, Florida A&M and Shaw–in 1987; and $1.5 million divided between Meharry Medical College ($800,000) and Bethune-Cookman College ($750,000) last year.” [source] from critics . All you will see is a knee-jerk reaction anytime these individuals say anything critical about the Black community. Where a person cannot be accused of being a racist, there is always classism.
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