{"id":30660,"date":"2019-11-30T14:21:50","date_gmt":"2019-11-30T22:21:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pocketwisdominsights.com\/pwicolab\/?p=30660"},"modified":"2020-03-30T16:37:53","modified_gmt":"2020-03-30T23:37:53","slug":"americas-voice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pocketwisdominsights.com\/pwicolab\/leadership\/leadership-co-lab\/leadership-co-lab-blogs\/third-party\/americas-voice\/","title":{"rendered":"America’s Voice"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Opening Insights: Power of the Mob<\/h2>\n

Prisons do not disappear problems, they disappear human beings.<\/em>
ANGELA DAVIS<\/p>\n

Great power, without discipline, soon spirals out of control. There is no greater example of this than the free of speech and free press that is central to America's ability to self-govern and protect the freedom of its citizens. When there are no checks and balances on power, the power itself becomes the authority. In this case, the people are no longer self-governing.<\/p>\n

Bill Cosby knows this well, as it is the power of the voice from the mob which landed him in prison. It was an angry mob and a mockery of the justice <\/em>system that put him there. A moral compass and the rule of law hold little sway over the mob. <\/p>\n

Those who stoke the fires in the mob know exactly what they are doing - seizing power. They steer an unstoppable juggernaut of idealistic emotional extremism. In today's national culture of political correctness<\/em> and thought police <\/em>enforcement of issue ranging from politics to sexual identity, Americans are fearful and are no longer their own masters.<\/p>\n

Americans know, that to speak up against the mob is to become one of its next targets. Bill Cosby's message of community and individual maturity is counter to the anger and hate culture of the mob, but that's not why he was destroyed.<\/p>\n

Informational Insights: Silencing Reason<\/h2>\n

The following article was published by NNPA Newswire, \"a trade association of the more than 200 African American-owned community newspapers from around the United States.\" It was written by Stacy M. Brown, Freelance Journalist and \"National Correspondent for Black Press USA; Sr. Writer for Washington Informer and Baltimore Times.\"<\/p>\n

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NNPA NEWSWIRE \u2014 He revisited his famous 2004 \u201cPound Cake\u201d speech and clarified that he probably should not have addressed that controversial dissertation to all African Americans \u2013 the residents at SCI-Phoenix make for the perfect audience, Cosby stated. Cosby said he remains concerned, however, for all of Black America.
 
November 24, 2019 \u2014 Bill Cosby breaks his silence, granting his first exclusive interview since beginning his sentence at SCI-Phoenix, a maximum-security Pennsylvania penitentiary near Philadelphia.
 
Today, in a special phone call with the National Newspaper Publishers Association\u2019s BlackPressUSA.com<\/a>, Cosby said he\u2019s spending his time helping to teach and encourage a large population of African American inmates \u2013 men he calls residents \u2014 via Mann Up, a prison reform program.
 
The 82-year-old educator and award-winning TV producer\/director\/comedian was sentenced to serve 3-to-10-years in Pennsylvania\u2019s prison system following his September 2018 conviction on charges of aggravated indecent assault.
 
Unless he receives relief from the state\u2019s appellate courts, Cosby said he fully anticipates serving his entire sentence, saying he\u2019s not guilty and will never admit to something he didn\u2019t do. Displayed remorse is generally a required prerequisite to obtaining parole or a shortened sentence.
 
During the exclusive interview with NNPA, Cosby was candid, vivid and outspoken.
 
Andrew Wyatt, Cosby\u2019s spokesman, was also on the call, where Cosby stressed that there would be no ground rules or restrictions. No topics were off-the-table for discussion.
 
Cosby received no special treatment from the facility for this interview. Because inmates are only allowed to remain on phone calls for 15-minutes, Cosby had to call back multiple times in order to complete today\u2019s interview.
 
\u201cI have eight years and nine months left,\u201d Cosby stated. \u201cWhen I come up for parole, they\u2019re not going to hear me say that I have remorse. I was there. I don\u2019t care what group of people come along and talk about this when they weren\u2019t there. They don\u2019t know.\u201d
 
He said his trials were a sham, unjust and not fair.
 
\u201cIt\u2019s all a set up. That whole jury thing. They were imposters,\u201d Cosby stated.
 
\u201cLook at the woman who blew the whistle,\u201d he said, alluding to the potential juror who overheard a seated juror proclaim before the trial that, \u201che\u2019s guilty, we can all go home now.\u201d
 
\u201cThen she went in and came out smiling, it\u2019s something attorneys will tell you is called a payoff,\u201d Cosby stated. \u201cI know what they\u2019ve done to my people. But my people are going to view me and say, \u2018that boy looks good. That boy is strong.\u2019 I have too many heroes that I\u2019ve sat with. Too many heroes whom I listened to like John Henrik Clarke, Kenneth Clark, and Dorothy Height. Those people are very strong, and they saw the rejection of their people. This is political. I can see the whole thing.\u201d
 
\u201cI am a privileged man in prison,\u201d he stated.
 
During the call, Cosby referred to his small cell as \u201cmy penthouse.\u201d
 
He revisited his famous 2004 \u201cPound Cake\u201d speech and clarified that he probably should not have addressed that controversial dissertation to all African Americans \u2013 the residents at SCI-Phoenix make for the perfect audience, Cosby stated.
 
Cosby said he remains concerned, however, for all of Black America.
 
\u201cThey are under siege. This thing with the drugs and the different pockets of the neighborhoods where it\u2019s going on. When you look at what drugs are doing\u2026 things that make these people drive around and shoot into crowds,\u201d Cosby said.
 
\u201cThe insanity of what is the cause to the brain by all the drugs these people are dealing with. It\u2019s exactly what I warned them about in 2004. They\u2019ve thrown education out the window.
 
\u201cThey\u2019ve thrown respect for the family out the window, and they\u2019re blaming each other for what\u2019s going on. There is post-traumatic stress syndrome, and there are also bad manners.\u201d
 
While inmates who spoke to NNPA Newswire said they were saddened to see an icon like Cosby imprisoned, each said they believe he\u2019s serving a higher purpose. Cosby agreed.
 
\u201cI don\u2019t belong to the Mann Up Association, but it\u2019s a privilege to come in and speak,\u201d Cosby stated. \u201cI never wanted them to lord me up (be put on a pedestal). This is a great privilege.\u201d
 
A weekly highlight for Cosby since his incarceration, has been the reform program, Mann Up, where he is often the featured speaker. The program serves to encourage and empower African American men to strive for self-respect and dignity, and to put their family first.
 
Anthony \u201cBenny-Do\u201d Sutton, Tyree Wallace, Robert Groves, and Michael Butler, each spoke from SCI-Phoenix to NNPA Newswire about the program and Cosby\u2019s influence.
 
\u201cEvery Tuesday, Mr. Cosby and I sit down and talk before the other residents come in and he explains to me what moves I need to make so that Mann Up can be a success,\u201d stated Sutton, 56, who has spent his entire adult life in prison.
 
\u201cHe says to always remember to work as a team. We are all in this life together and Mr. Cosby is a political prisoner and he tells us that we\u2019ve got to save our babies. We can\u2019t be out there killing our children and our women,\u201d Sutton stated.
 
Wallace, who has served more than two decades in prison, said Cosby has also opened his eyes because of his authenticity.
 
\u201cThis powerful man, one of the best comics, a legend and here he is with us,\u201d Wallace told NNPA Newswire.
 
\u201cMr. Cosby comes into the room with his fist in the air and all of these men rise up and applaud him. He gives us so much wisdom and the Mann Up program is the perfect vehicle. He told us a story about his mother, and how she would have him clean the hallways after guys would go and urinate. He said he\u2019d ask her why he had to clean it, and she told him that you have to clean where you live,\u201d Wallace said.
 
Groves and Butler echoed their peers.
 
Both have served more than a dozen years in prison and said Cosby\u2019s presence has helped them to see their lives differently.
 
Cosby recalled entering Temple University as a young man in the 1960s and his desire to become a teacher.
 
\u201cI\u2019m not a psychiatrist, and I\u2019m not a psychologist. I\u2019m an educator, and what I look forward to is talking to this group of 400 or so men. Some of them here are in their 70s, in their 50s, their 40s, 30s, and 20s,\u201d Cosby said.
 
\u201cI tell them what I know and what I feel. I feel that everything that I said in 2004, there is a light [behind it],\u201d Cosby stated.
 
\u201cThe mistake I made [in 2004] is making it sound like all the people were making the infractions, and that\u2019s not true.\u201d
 
Cosby stated that he believes he\u2019s in the right place at the right time because he\u2019s spent his life and career trying to reach African American men.
 
\u201cI\u2019m looking at a state [Pennsylvania] that has a huge number of prisons, and the one I\u2019m in, thankfully, has the largest population of African Americans,\u201d Cosby stated.
 
\u201cThese are guys who are also from Philadelphia, where I grew up. Many of them are from the neighborhood. Michael Eric Dyson said \u2018Bill Cosby is rich and forgot where he came from.\u2019
 
\u201cThat\u2019s not true. I\u2019m not calling him a liar; I\u2019m saying that\u2019s not true. What I\u2019m saying is that it\u2019s not the same neighborhood as it was when I was coming up.
 
\u201cThe influx of drugs and what they\u2019ve done with their own history. If they would pay attention to these things and put education first and respect for others first\u2026it\u2019s almost insane to hear someone say they don\u2019t know how to be a father.
 
\u201cAs I said earlier, the revolution is in the home, and we\u2019ve got to put it there. Marvin Gaye\u2019s \u2018What\u2019s Going On,\u2019 is very prophetic in that too many of us are dying in these neighborhoods. Too many of us dying and, another quote from the song, is \u2018we\u2019ve got to find a way.\u2019\u201d
 
It\u2019s easy to see the devaluation of the Black family by others, Cosby stated.
 
He said the shelving of his iconic \u201cThe Cosby Show\u201d is proof that those in power have long conspired to remove anything positive from the Black community.
 
\u201cWhen \u2018The Cosby Show\u2019 came on with the Huxtables, just think about it. While it was running, other networks and even the media were doing jobs on trying to belittle whatever it represented,\u201d Cosby stated.
 
Then, with \u2018A Different World,\u2019 they really ramped up the rhetoric. \u201cWhile new shows were coming and we had gone off the air \u2013 this is the worst time in the history of television \u2013 I remember hearing shows coming on advertising saying this is not \u2018The Cosby Show,\u2019 which is an indictment in itself.
 
\u201cThey did not like what \u2018The Cosby Show\u2019 looked like for us, and many of us traded into it. Now, look at what has happened. They\u2019ve taken everything that I\u2019ve done and swept it into a place where it would not be shown.
 
\u201cThank goodness for TV One and BET, but we\u2019ve got to respect ourselves. We\u2019ve got to have a very, very strong respect for our history.\u201d
 
Behind the steel walls at SCI-Phoenix, Cosby said he\u2019s at peace.
 
His fellow residents often ask about his contemporaries like Richard Pryor, whom Cosby once encouraged to use profanity because it fit Pryor\u2019s act.
 
\u201cIt\u2019s a huge smile in my spirit. I can\u2026 use their own profanity back at them. I\u2019m saying things to them like, \u2018how many times if you have a lamp, do you rub it, give it three wishes. And, how many times can you say mother f\u2014-r and things will come true?\u201d Cosby stated.
 
\u201cSometimes, you have to turn on the conjugation of things like slang. You speak it in the home, and that\u2019s what I said in 2004. It was the shock of hearing, \u2018Where you is?\u2019, and \u2018Where you at?\u2019 and then hear the parents say it too.\u201d
 
Cosby believes he\u2019s reaching his fellow residents.
 
\u201cI\u2019m reaching them because they want to be reached. They\u2019re in prison. I don\u2019t forget a saying, one I quoted or read in a book, which says, \u2018I don\u2019t know the secret to success, but I do know the secret for failure.\u2019 You can\u2019t please everybody. I have a feeling that these people [Mann Up participants] really want somebody. They have rappers here who are strong and spirited people. They don\u2019t just blame people; they say, \u2018we\u2019ve got to do it.\u2019\u201d
 
Cosby has also served as a voice of reason in prison.
 
\u201cI heard a guy say to someone that if someone did something he didn\u2019t like, he\u2019d go out and get all his boys and they\u2019d kill the fella. I said, how much sense does that make? You call your boys, and they want to kill him,\u201d Cosby stated.
 
\u201cI said to look at all the people you\u2019ve got involved, and when you get caught, you are all going to jail, and you got one dead fella. \u2018Call if off,\u2019 I told the guy. I said to him that you need to call your friends, too.\u201d
 
Cosby often tells his fellow residents about an epiphany he had while serving in the Navy, which has allowed him to remain in good spirits while behind bars.
 
\u201cI got a wife, family, and friends who are so happy that I have something. I go into my penthouse and lay down and start to think about how I can relay a message and give it on Saturdays (during Mann Up sessions) so that they would hear it and feel it,\u201d Cosby stated.
 
\u201cThis Saturday, I gave a talk dedicated to women. I told the story of my wife, who said to me when she got back home after bringing our 43-year-old daughter back home dead from the hospital. It was the most difficult thing she\u2019s ever done in her life, to sit there and watch her daughter die,\u201d he stated.
 
\u201cFrom there, I went into the fact that mothers have something that we all have, which is a navel. We have to respect our mothers and our women. We\u2019ve got to stop buying drugs. If you have no buyer, you can\u2019t sell,\u201d Cosby stated.
 
After calling back a third time to complete the interview, Cosby said he needed to express the critical role the Black Press has had in telling his story.
 
\u201cSixty-five years from now, they will be quoting what you\u2019ve written about your fellow journalists. [Wyatt] has information on how these people have rejected the truth. You have the information too because you were in that courtroom,\u201d he stated.
 
\u201cI\u2019m a privileged man. You talk to [NNPA President and CEO] Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., and he will tell you that there is a history of Black political imprisonment in America, and it\u2019s repeating itself in some kind of way.\u201d   <\/p>\n

https:\/\/blackpressusa.com\/nnpa-newswire-exclusive-bill-cosby-speaks-from-prison\/<\/a> <\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This article originally appeared in NNPA NEWSWIRE: NNPA NEWSWIRE EXCLUSIVE: Bill Cosby Speaks from Prison<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Possibilities for Consideration: Because they Could<\/h2>\n

Those in control of America's voice through online media expression, education and government-led initiatives used the power of the mob to silence a man who spoke up for something that flies in the face of a control agenda. <\/p>\n

Bill Cosby didn't want to be placed on a pedestal. He knew that the moment he was raised above those with their messages of hate, he would become a threat. He asked us to be accountable for our actions, to grow up and take care of each other. He asked that we stop using drugs and violence as means to an end. If people did as Cosby asked then they wouldn't be so impressionable and the mob voice would lose strength.<\/p>\n

Even though Cosby's message of love and personal responsibility is counter to the mob's agenda, that's not why they put him away. Power corrupts and power became the authority. That power sought to destroy a man just to see if it could, and to see if Americans would do anything to stop it. Now, Cosby's name is destroyed and he's spending his golden years in a hard place that just makes people harder. Americans did nothing to stop it and that makes us partly responsible.<\/p>\n

Despite the volume, intensity and reach of the mob's voice, it is still a minority in the thinking of Americans. What social media and news networks show us are only hand-picked pieces of the truth. If we buy it all, without holding them accountable, then we deserve what we're getting. <\/p>\n

When the mob leads America, we cease to be Americans, which means we cease to be free.<\/p>\n

Add Your Insight<\/h2>\n

Take a moment and examine\u2026<\/p>\n