Dr. William H. Cosby, Jr., Ed. PhD knows...
While at a multiracial gala dinner in Washington, D.C. commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision, Cosby targeted under-educated lower-income blacks as the source of various social problems. Among his comments:
Quote:
"People marched and were hit in the face with rocks to get an education, and now we've got these knuckleheads walking around...the lower economic people are not holding up their end of the deal. These people are not parenting."
And he mocked the way some blacks name their children:
Quote:
"Ladies and gentlemen, the lower economic people are not holding up their end in this deal. These people are not parenting. They are buying things for kids - $500 sneakers for what? And they won't spend $200 for 'Hooked on Phonics'...
"With names like Shaniqua, Taliqua and Mohammed and all that crap, and all of them are in jail... They're standing on the corner and they can't speak English. I can't even talk the way these people talk: 'Why you ain't.' 'Where you is.' ... And I blamed the kid until I heard the mother talk. And then I heard the father talk ... Everybody knows it's important to speak English except these knuckleheads ... You can't be a doctor with that kind of crap coming out of your mouth!"
Bill Cosby was decrying the state of language among uneducated people, and pointing out that poor language skills are what holds them back.
What's both tragic and weird is that there is a sector of the general population that actually takes
pride in their poor language skills, while it simultaneously blames "The Man" for their lack of successful and long-lasting employment.
Well the most unfortunate name is Simion, it's supposed to be a variation on Simon, but it comes out spoken as Simian. I feel weird when I meet someone with that name (always black so far), and I have to say it. I explained it to one guy I worked with, but he already knew and said most people aren't smart enough to make the connection.