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: (265)
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By: Diane on 8/14/2008 8:40PM
I don't really want to judge Ms. Crosby too harshly because I don't know her and only part of her alleged comments were printed. I understand in part what she has NOT said. In other words, if being Black means that I must not aspire to be fully educated or proficient in the English language and must limit my jargon to 'hip hop' or a diet of daily 'cuss' words than I want no part of Black culture. If being Black means I must reject the music of Beethoven, Brahams and Chopin and limit myself to Michael Jackson, Tupac, Biggie and rap and hip hop artistes, as good as they are, than I reject 'being Black'. If being black means that my sole focus is on 'bling bling', how I look, that my make-up is 'on right' while my inside is hollow, and my thoughts bereft of ideas, than I too, like Ms. Cosby reject 'being Black'. If being Black means I must have no goals for tomorrow, I just exist in the here and now, gang banging, going nowhere fast, having 7 or 8 children for 12 or 13 different men, bring them up in the projects, priding myself as being a single mother, then I too, reject all that is Black.... However, if I am goal focussed, creative, organized, privileged or not, morally sound, rejecting mediocrity, embracing the positives that came out of Slavery and not carrying the past as an albatross around my neck and making silly excuses for my lack of ambition, non-achievement then I'm truly in touch with my black self and embrace all that is BLACK!! This I think is what Ms. Crosby may have meant but did not express. Diane
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By: Desiree on 6/21/2009 2:00AM
I agree with you, Diane. The media "conveniently" edit out key words and take pleasure in instigating (negative) comments and inciting people. It's done time and time again. Until we know the WHOLE story, Ms. Cosby shouldn't be judged by a one-sided story. The best and most recent example is when it was widely reported that First Lady Michelle said she is "not proud of her country or to be American". So many anti-Obama people jumped on that bandwagon quick, fast and in a hurry. She was explaining how blacks have been treated like second class citizens for many years, the playing field is finally starting to become level and she is proud of that. But, is that how the media portrayed it? No, of course not! It's not 'newsworthy'. Let's hear the whole interview with Ms. Cosby; examine what question was posed to her that elicited her response and then decide whether to dislike (or disagree with) her or refuse to patronize her boutique.
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By: leigh on 8/14/2008 9:43PM
I looked her up because I saw a glimpse of the boutique in the news and I like to support our people when I can...but since she is talking about class, i probably will not have a interest in her or her boutique now since she is such a closed minded person. There a lot of people who grew up in very poor areas and around drug,sex,murders but manage to be able to make something out of them selves and also can associate with anyone regardless of class. Meaning shes very ignorant "her daddy word" if she can only talk to people with money.
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By: Not So Fast... on 8/14/2008 8:41PM
@Diane You're joking right? She said exactly what she meant. How you get all that out of what she said I have no idea.
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By: diane on 8/14/2008 8:46PM
correction to No. 11, 'than' should read 'then'
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By: Diane on 8/14/2008 8:53PM
My point precisely, we always have 'no idea/s' Let's get some ideas before we're re-enslaved. Diane
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By: Deborah on 8/14/2008 9:40PM
Is that the same daughter that was on drugs in a "hip hop" way?
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By: Ann Wood on 8/14/2008 9:56PM
She is only mirroring the words of Vanessa Williams years ago and Tiger Woods. It must have something to do with their hang outs. Her father has fought for civil rights for years. You can only teach your children so much. When they call her a nigger again she will be surprised. Someone white killed her brother, do you see how mixed up she is? She said she was called a nigger, and punched in the nose and it was no big thing? Doesn't that sound like some of the regular youths today, that say everything is okay, we should stop looking back to the 50-80's. Parents can bring up their children and the child will act as if they werenot in the same houssehold. Love her and all of them. Look at Ms. Vanessa Williams. she had to come back to the place she said she and her family didn't teach her that she belonged.Just pray that she doesn't get hurt. I'm quite sure her father is so hurt that she made a silly statement like that.
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By: Ann Wood on 8/14/2008 10:09PM
I can believe she said such a thing. As much work as her father has done for the civil rights and trying to wake up Black America, I know he said to her "why would you say such a thing. She is misguided like Vanessa Williams , was many years ago when she and her family stated that they didn't consider themselves Black back then. These people are confused. Blackness has nothing to do with the color of the skin, or where you grew up. She was small when her father also had to be called a nigger, and she even states herself, so what which shows how out of touch she is. A lot of people her age and a little older are saying it is okay. You can stop talking about the civil rights movement. Until they understand what the fight was about, it will never be okay. The "Thug Life has set us back 100 years, and now we have those who like the whites say "what are you talking about". As long as these attitudes are excepted we are still lost. The fact that jobs and housing still suck as long as they can put on a show and not look in the mirror we as a race of people are lost. Divide and conquer.
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By: ronaldmurphy on 8/14/2008 10:18PM
WHO CARES?
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