Bill Cosby moves from the room to the culture. He demands an end to obscene lyrics that degrade women, that endlessly recite the "N-word." When white ladies offered a similar message more than 20 years ago, they were excoriated by Hollywood glamorosos as do-good censors. Here's Bill Cosby 20 years on: "The N-word is a vile symbol of our oppression by slave masters." It's no more acceptable for blacks to use it than for whites. He tells of a friend whose record producer asked him to write rap about rape. "You're talking about my mother," the writer said. "Well," the producer responded, "if you don't want to write it, then I'll get somebody else who will."
Gangsta rap may make a young black man feel tough, Bill Cosby observes, "but not so tough he can walk through prison walls." It can "jazz" young men into sexual passion, but it can't make them good fathers.
It has not been easy to say such things in public without inviting sneers and scorn, and Cosby and Poussaint have taken their share of ridicule and disdain. But they sound like grown-ups with common sense, offering advice to children that will ultimately turn into dollars and cents. They prescribe teaching standard English as a first language, even suggesting that blacks watch "My Fair Lady." Speaking properly lends confidence and competence. The new path requires a fundamental change of the walk and the talk, of attitude: "Blaming white people can be a way for some black people to feel better about themselves, but it doesn't pay the electric bills."
Art and morality are often at odds. Artists push the envelope of civility and decency. But we live in an age where the mark of the lowest common denominator misleads the most vulnerable among us. "Come On People" isn't just about blacks. It's a cry for all of us to get our act together. It's about time the culture grew up.