FORUM
Emotional Evin Cosby
defends her father
Guest
Columnist
Evin
Cosby
I am the youngest of
five. I remember our fami
ly trips and moving to
NYC just so we could be
closer to my father as he
worked. From the time he
worked in Las Vegas to the
Cosby show in NYC, he
always wanted us to be
close, to be a part of his
whole life, at home and on
stage.
I felt loved and remem
bered loving the moments
that my parents shared
with us by exposing us to
all types of people from all
walks of life. We grew up
appreciating my father's
success because we knew
the prejudice and racism
he endured getting to
where he got and how hard
he worked for our family.
Because I loved my
childhood, I couldn’t wait
to have a family of my
own. I have two amazing
children who love their
grandfather. I already work
hard as a single mother,
with no full-time help, and
with a career in fashion
design, I am lucky that I
have supportive friends
that I call family because
my children and I need that
support.
The public persecution
of my dad, my kids’ grand
father, and the cruelty of
the media and those who
speak out branding my
father a “rapist” without
ever knowing the truth Mid
who shame our family and
our friends for defending
my dad, makes all of this
so much worse for my
family and my children.
When people are so
quick to cast hate, and
make accusations of hor
rific violence against my
dad, they are callous in
their carelessness about the
harm they are causing to
others. I thought when my
brother Ennis was mur
dered, that was the worst
nightmare of all time.
It’s so hurtful to this
day. I try to block out the
day he was killed, but that
pain has only worsened in
these last years. For some
reason, my family’s pain
has been a trigger for peo
ple to seize upon us harder.
On the same day that
Ennis was murdered, a
woman came out claiming
that my father had a “love
child.” She was arrested
for extortion. She was not
my father’s daughter.
On the day I gave birth
to my son, another women
came out, but that case was
dismissed too - the district
attorney investigated her
claims also and didn’t
press charges.
Two years ago, and
over 10 years later, several
women came out. Like the
woman from 2005, they
claimed to have been raped
and drugged.
But, like the one from
2005, their stories didn’t
match up.
Instead of going
through the criminal jus
tice system, these stories
never got investigated and
just got repeated. They
have been accepted as the
truth. My dad tried to
defend himself. His
lawyers tried to defend
him, but they all got sued.
People were constantly
reaching out to me about
why doesn’t your dad say
something. I kept saying
he’s trying, but die media
is only interested in the
stories of the women.
Friends of ours tried to
help, but the media would
n’t print what they said or
knew.
Our friends that spoke
up were pressured to shut
up. No one wanted to print
their supportive words.
We live in a scandalous
country where the more
sexualized and provocative
the story, the more atten
tion it gets, We get all sorts
of mixed up messages in
our society.
We are told that we
have fundamental rights to
be innocent until proven
guilty. But, if enough peo
ple think you are a bad per
son, you are branded a bad
person and the media just
reinforces that.
My dad, like anyone in
this country, deserves to be
treated fairly under the
law. My dad broke barriers
and raised the conscious of
America on important top
ics, especially for the
advancement of women.
On “The Cosby Show”
he only depicted women as
smart and accomplished.
On “The Cosby Show”
and on “A Different
World,” he took on then
taboo subjects like men
strual cycles and rape, and
even did a show on AIDS
before anyone else would
bring it up.
I am his fourth daugh
ter. He raised mer to go to
college, start my own busi
ness, and be my own
woman. He is helping me
raise my children and
teach them family values. I
know that my father loves
me, loves my sisters and
my mother. He loves and
respects women.
He is not abusive, vio
lent or a rapist. Sure, like
many celebrities tempted
by opportunity, he had his
affairs, but that was
between him and my
mother. They have worked
through it and- moved on,
and I am glad they did for
them and for our family.
The harsh and hurtful
accusations of things that
supposedly happened 40 or
50 years ago, before I was
bom, in another lifetime,
and that have been care
lessly repeated as truth
without allowing my dad
to defend himself and
without requiring proof,
has punished not just my
dad but every one of us.
They have punished
the talented people who
were still earning money
and feeding their families
from my dad's shows and
work.
I am pleased that final
ly we are seeing the whole
picture and seeing cases
and claims dismissed from
court. I just hope that those
who pre-judged my dad
are now willing to admit
that they were wrong.
Evin Cosby, Bill
Cosby’s youngest daughter,
writes this unedited com
mentary as an NNPA
Newswire exclusive.
ill Cosby
What Black leaders can learn
from the O’Reilly debacle
Former
Fox News
Channel
anchor Bill
O’Reilly, the
man whose
lofty ratings
were respon
sible for the
growth of the
network, is no longer on the air.
Revelations that $13 million had been
paid, either by O’Reilly or the network, to
women who said they had been sexually
harassed repelled millions, some of whom
protested outside Fox headquarters and
took to the airwaves with their complaints.
But it is unlikely that protests or com
plaints moved Fox to separate themselves
from O’Reilly. Instead, it is most likely
that the network severed ties with
O’Reilly, because advertisers did not want
to be associated with a program anchored
by a man who seemed to find nothing
wrong with sexual harassment.
More than 52 advertisers pulled ad
spots from “The O’Reilly Factor” pro
gram, in the wake of “The New York
Times” article about the payouts. They
included Advil, Mercedes, BMW, Jenny
Craig, Hyundai, Allstate, Lexus and H&R
Block. The O’Reilly Factor was the high
est revenue-generator in cable television,
bringing in about $120 million in the first
nine months of 2016. The O’Reilly Factor
dominated the 8 p.m. weekday hour, draw
ing more viewers than any other cable net
work.
Don’t cty for Bill O’Reilly. He is leav
IJulianne
Malveaux
Guest
Columnist
O'Reilly
ing Fox News with “tens of millions of
dollars” in a settlement; be concerned,
instead, for the women who have had to
put up with his odious behavior; be con
cerned for those who didn’t come forward
to get paid because they were afraid for
their jobs, or because they feared they
would not be believed; be concerned for
the black woman that O’Reilly allegedly
called “Hot Chocolate,” grunted when he
saw her, and behaved so badly that she
was frightened for her safety. Why didn’t
she leave? She valued her job. She didn’t
know if she could find another one. An
African-American woman who heads a
household, on average, has just $4,400 in
liquid assets, compared to $20,519 for
white women. With such a tiny cushion,
an African-American woman is likely to
think twice before airing a sexual harass
ment complaint.
African-American women are also less
likely to be believed than white women
are, at least partly because of the way the
world views black women. So, right on,
to the sister who called the Fox Hot Line
to report that she was being harassed. She,
and many of the other Black women who
have protested the culture of sexism at Fox
need to have champions that are as vocal
as the champions Megyn Kelly and
Gretchen Carlson had. Indeed, one might
look at the fact that Megyn Kelley pushed
Tamron Hall off her perch as the only
Black woman anchor at the Today show as
evidence of how much more highly valued
White women are than Black women.
What did we learn from O’Reilly’s
ouster, though? We learned that advertis
ers are controversy-averse. They don’t
want to be associated with an accused sex
ual harasser, especially when the accusa
tions are persistent and are backed up with
numerous settlements to women who have
experienced harassment. Advertisers saw
their brands tarnished, and their consumer
base angered, by O’Reilly’s behavior. Too
many of the companies that abandoned
O’Reilly’s show have increasing numbers
of women in senior management, in
advertising, and on their boards.
While Roger Ailes, now himself dis
missed from Fox for his harassing behav
ior, described O’Reilly’s antics with “Bill
will be Bill,” increasing numbers of
women (and some men) in charge find
Bill’s behavior, not only odious, but also
illegal. Increased sensitivity to issues of
sexual harassment helped make it clear
that O’Reilly’s behavior was simply unac
ceptable.
What would it take for advertisers to
draw the line on racial discrimination
and/or discrimination against African
American women? Racial discrimination
does not cause the same repugnance that
sex discrimination does. Indeed, compa
nies that engage in widespread race dis
crimination might even get high fives
from consumers who might like to prac
tice racism themselves. The only way that
African-Americans could spark an adver
tiser exodus, on par with what happened to
The O’Reilly Factor, would be to either
work with partners who would put their
feet down strongly, or to boycott the goods
and services that a discriminating compa
ny provided.
Unfortunately, there are few African
Americans who would emulate those who
boycotted busses for 381 days in
Montgomery during 1955 and 1956. It
seems unlikely that a critical mass of
African-Americans would inconvenience
themselves to punish a discriminator.
African-American leaders would do
well to study the O’Reilly case and to ask
what it would take for us to send as strong
a signal about race discrimination as the
O’Reilly dismissal did about sexual
harassment. Many thought O’Reilly was
invincible, but he wasn’t. Race discrimi
nation isn’t invincible, either. We just
have to decide what we want to do about
it!
Julianne Malveaux is an author, econ
omist and founder of Economic
Education. Her podcast, “It’s Personal
with Dr. J” is available on iTunes. Her lat
est book “Are We Better Off? Race,
Obama and Public Policy” is available to
order at www.julidnnemalveaux.com at
Amazon.com. Follow Dr. Malveaux on
Twitter @drjlastword.
As you read this, our
• world stands at a cross
roads. As you read this, 20
million people stand at risk
of starvation at the hands
of what has the potential to
become the worst humani
tarian crisis since World
War II; famine in South
Sudan and impending
famine in Northeast
Nigeria, Somalia, and
Yemen.
Ouf country has a
moral responsibility to
address this issue head on.
For famine to be
declared, two children
younger than 5 years old in
every 10,000 people have
to die due to malnutrition
and one in five families
have to have insufficient
food to sustain themselves.
Waiting for famine to be
Famine in Africa: Will Trump act?
declared to act means
you’re already too late.
Famine has already
been declared in South
Sudan, where hunger is
expected to spread to 40
percent of the country’s
population in the absence
of humanitarian aid. The
country’s man-made
famine is a result of violent
conflict in vast swaths of
the country. Despite prom
ises of access for relief
efforts to these areas by the
South Sudanese govern
ment, humanitarian organ
izations remain unable to
gain access to provide
urgent vital assistance in
the form of food, water and
shelter in many locations.
Somalia, Nigeria, and
Yemen are all on the brink
of having famine declared.
More than half of
Somalia’s total population
of 12.3 million are experi
encing acute food insecuri
ty and are on the brink of
death from starvation as a
result of drought. Due to
conflict with Al-Shabaab
terrorists, humanitarian
access remains an obstacle
in providing the country’s
6.2 million people experi
encing acute food insecuri
ty with the aid that they
desperately need.
In Northeast Nigeria,
terrorism by Boko Haram
has resulted in widespread
displacement and a grow
ing humanitarian crisis.
Over 50,000 people in the
region are at risk of
famine. In addition, count
er-insurgency operations
against Boko Haram by the
Armed Forces of the
Federal Republic of
Nigeria in Adamawa, Yobe
and Bomo states have led
to population displace
ment, limited access for
relief efforts and have pre
vented farmers from
accessing their fields, lead
ing to significantly below
average harvests.
In Yemen, agriculture
production has drastically
declined due to conflict,
insecurity, high costs, and
sporadic availability of
agricultural inputs. Two
years of escalating conflict
have left 18.8 million
Yemenis in need of some
kind of humanitarian or
protection support. Seven
million women, children,
and men could risk famine
in 2017.
In each country,
whether it’s existing
famine in South Sudan or
the brink of famine in
Somalia, Nigeria, or
Yemen, the particularly
disastrous characteristic is
that these situations are
either caused or exacerbat
ed by man-made crisis.
You wouldn’t know
that this was occurring
though - other than a
largely lackluster state
ment about South Sudan
on “Face the Nation” in
early April by Ambassador
to the United Nations
Nikki Haley, the adminis
tration has been quiet
about the impending disas
ter in Africa and Yemen.
When asked about the
implications of the admin
istration’s budget proposal,
Ambassador Haley called
for “smarter spending”
when it comes to foreign
and humanitarian aid.
Smarter spending is, of
course, necessary, but, in
the face of the president
proposing cuts of nearly 30
percent to foreign aid and
diplomacy efforts, it’s hard
to imagine that the appro
priate amount of aid and
assistance will be provided
to these four countries. At
a fundamental level,
President Trump’s
America-first budget
would forego international
diplomatic leadership and
ignore the impending cri
sis. Foreign aid is an
investment, and it makes
our country and those
overseas fighting for us,
dramatically safer. With
leadership comes responsi
bility. Providing aid is a
moral imperative.
Despite the lack of
coverage in TV media on
the issue, we are at a cross
roads. Congress has the
decision before them to
either continue America’s
legacy in ending famine
now, or forgo our diplo
matic leadership in the
area entirely.
Congresswoman
Karen Bass represents
California ' s
37 th Congressional
District. She is the 2nd
Vice President of the
Congressional Black
Caucus and she co-chairs
the CBC’s Africa
TasItforce.
v