The occasion for this interview is the opening of her new boutique PB & Caviar, in New York's chic Tribeca neighborhood. It is the oddest public relations, marketing tactic I have ever witnessed.
Here's what she has to say:
"I always went to private schools - Bank Street elementary, Columbia Prep - so I was surrounded by people like me. Not so much African-American, but privileged. I don't really have a connection to other people who didn't have my lifestyle. But my dad is very into helping people from his own community in Philadelphia."What the hell???
Word for Word - Aug. 15
"I always went to private schools - Bank Street elementary, Columbia Prep - so I was surrounded by people like me. Not so much African-American, but privileged. I don't really have a connection to other people who didn't have my lifestyle. But my dad is very into helping people from his own community in Philadelphia." -- Bill Cosby's daughter Evin tells Media Take Out.
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"It was so sad to hear about Isaac Hayes. So musically advanced and timeless in his compositions, he was loved and appreciated by so many. He was an enduring symbol of the struggle of the African American man and was a shining example of soul at its best. God bless ... God bless and blessed Isaac Hayes." -- Aretha Franklin
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"I've been pregnant three times by way of bloggers. I've never been pregnant in my life. (And) anything that happens in my personal life is personal. I never actually put anything out there. Nobody's really known who I've dated." -- R&B Singer Cassie tells Complex magazine about rumors, insisting her and P. Diddy are not an item.
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"I'm changing my name because Master. P is who I used to be. I call it my childhood, and P. Miller marks my manhood ... People grow mentally and spiritually through life experiences." -- Percy Miller (aka Master P.)
"I'm doing very well. I feel real good... I thank the staff at 'Elvis Presley' and many, many thanks to my many well-wishers. It's great to know people care about you." -- Morgan Freeman
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"I am not homophobic. I'm not a gay basher. I didn't say anything that was negative, derogatory or malicious. I would never do a commercial if I thought it was going to offend anyone." -- Mr. T responding to allegations that a UK Snickers bar commercial he shot was homophobic.
"I think we have an outstanding candidate. We have the burden now to fully register and vote. There are still maybe 6 to 8 million Blacks unregistered who should not miss this hour, this opportunity. Now that we have a who, let's focus on the what." -- Rev. Jesse Jackson tells Essence magazine.
"Who could have sex the longest! I think that's an event I can do well in. And probably who could stay up the longest." -- P. Diddy says joking about his deal Olympic event.
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"This is not 1968 and the invasion of Czechoslovakia where Russia can threaten its neighbors, occupy a capital, overthrow a government and get away with it. Things have changed." -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on the Georgia-Russia conflict.
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And she doesn't stop there:
My own people used to say to me, 'You speak like a white woman,'" said the youngest daughter of Bill and Camille Cosby at her chic new boutique, PB & Caviar, in Tribeca.And that's her choice.
What does that even mean, anyway? Everyone has their way of speaking and living their life. No one should be judging and assuming that because I'm black, I have to speak in that hip-hop way. That's something I prefer not to do.
But it galls me that certain black people drone on and on about how some black folks teased them in school about "talking white." It happened to me. Frankly, I was repeatedly beaten in grade school because of it. But, I was also called a "n*gg*r" and had my nose broken by a white racist when I was nine. So what? Should I not be able to "relate" to black or white people because of some incidents decades ago? What a ridiculous idea.
How sad it is that Bill Cosby who has spent a lifetime on the forefront of Civil Rights battles has raised a daughter so completely out of touch with the full dynamic of the American "peoplescape." And she's proud of it!
Comments: (264)
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By: THE OBENSON REPORT on 8/14/2008 5:39PM
I also went to private schools, made up predominantly of whites, and lived in mostly white neighborhoods, etc... but it was for those reasons that I craved the familiarity of people who looked like me, not the other way around, as it appears to be in her case. My experiences made me want to get to know *my* people - black people - instead of shun them. I won't be making any trips to her store any time soon.
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By: Deb on 8/15/2008 7:22AM
That's what wrong with the average Black American now we wants to be something that we are not. If it was not for your father making things easier for you, you probably wouldn't have what you have.Think about what you say before you say it.
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By: Charden on 8/14/2008 6:20PM
I went to private schools where I was either one of two blacks or the only black. It didn't mean that I was out of touch with my community or my own identity as an African American. I do think (and hope) that Evin's statement is being misinterpreted because we are only getting bits and pieces of the conversation. We really don't know what this statement was in reference to. So, in all fairness to her, I think we should get the whole story or it should be dropped altogether. I am certain growing up in a home where her family has donated millions to education and the black community that Evin is not out of touch or doesn't have a desire to be in touch with her blackness. She is responding to black america's response to her being a individual formed by her experiences, not the mold some of us think we should all fit into.
This reminds me of Michelle Obama being accused of saying "This is the first time I have been proud to be an American or of America". The media failed to include the word "really" which would have given her statement a different tone. I swear I have a love hate relationship with much of today's media. SMDH!
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By: LACI on 8/14/2008 6:22PM
Come on folks, are we that surprised these comments came from Bill Cosby's daughter???? She is out of touch with average black folk. Pray for her, she really DOESN'T know any better. All that private school education and being around privileged people taught her nothing about tact or public relations. Tell your father to hire a publicist to speak for you!
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By: sexxydredd on 8/14/2008 6:48PM
I CAN'T BELIEVE WE HAVE PEOPLE WHO DON'T EMBRACE THEIR OWN RACE. WHO IS SHE? A NOBODY I BET BILL HAD TO HAND HER THE MONEY TO OPEN THAT LIL' FUNKY STORE NEVER HAD TO WORK FOR ANYTHING THAT WHY SHE'S TALKING.
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By: churnet Winborne on 8/17/2008 8:36PM
Just because Bill Cosby had money that doesn't make his daughter less black. That's what's wrong with Black people when God blesses us we look down on each other instead of lifting each other up that includes jealouusy and other things as well.
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By: Anna Jean on 8/14/2008 8:05PM
She hit the nail on the head, the only reason she fit in with that crowd is because of the money and privilege involved with being Bill Cosbys daughter. Evin should never have been interview in the first place, because she has nothing significant to say. Opening up a boutique is nothing new, nor does it take a scholar. But one thing she did prove is her father raised a smart ass fool....
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By: chouchou on 8/15/2008 8:21PM
She's lying. How could she said blacks told her she spoke "white" when she herself said she didn't grow up or associate with blacks. She's making it all up. Good luck honey.
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By: Mrs. RMM on 8/14/2008 8:17PM
Miss Cosby is not talking about race. She is talking about class. Those who are privileged live in a completely different world than those who are not. Her comments do not say that she does not relate to black people. Not all white people are privileged. We do not know what question, statement, or topic she was responding to. The media will try their hardest to make something out of nothing. Hardly anyone in the majority of most African-American communities care about her comments or boutique.
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By: t on 8/14/2008 8:39PM
Don't any BLACK folks shop at PB & Caviar. I work in Tribeca, and will spend my money at Whole foods.
Trying to be something your NOT!! Look in the mirror, your not WHITE even though you want to belong. Your a black women, who has had the privilege to live better than the masses. Why don't you do something uplifting rather than suplly the majority. Look in the mirror, SISTER....
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