Cosby foots college bills for top grads
SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts (AP) -- Comedian Bill Cosby, who recently said black children are "going nowhere" because they don't know how to read and write, is paying for the college education of two top high school graduates who support themselves.
Cosby, who lives in Shelburne, read a story in The Republican of Springfield about Loren M. Wilder and Jimmy L. Hester, who are also black. They went to three colleges in a tour arranged by Cosby, and selected Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia after visiting the campus on Tuesday.
"This is all about your careers, your lives," Cosby told the teenagers, who are black, as they traveled with him on his private jet, The Republican reported for Thursday editions. "The more you study, the better you do now, the more will open up to you later."
Wilder was 14 when his mother was jailed for dealing ****, and Hester left home at 15 after years of moving around and fighting with his mother.
Both moved from place to place before getting an apartment together this winter with another student from Putnam Vocational Technical High School.
Cosby was scheduled to honor a dozen high school students and graduates, including Hester and Wilder, on Thursday at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
"Fifty percent of African-American males drop out of high school. We're talking epidemic here," said Cosby, who has recently drawn both praise and criticism for his strongly-worded comments. "You've got kids who never get told how important it is to study. They've got the designer shirt, but no one's telling them to study. People have to start seeing the light."
"So to find two young men whose values are on the right side, it's refreshing," he added.
The teenagers said they were impressed by Cosby's generosity and the attention he paid to their story.
"Experiencing this with Mr. Cosby has been great," Wilder said. "Here's a guy who has millions of dollars and he's focusing in on the two of us. It's a good feeling."
I wonder what people have to say now. .....and this is something that he's been doing.
Bill Cosby is constantly donating...but for some reason, people act like that isnt enough and its his " responsibilty " to give away HIS MONEY and that he deserves no recognition.... :roll: People are never satisfied...They just wanna sit up and criticize and say " that aint enough. " If you ask me Bill Cosby and Oprah contribute to more black causes than anyone else, but sadly enough, people cant even appreciate that...smh
What people say is this, not that they don't do anything, people say that they constantly give to Morehouse and Spelman, but don't give anything to other HBCU's, especially smaller schools. Now is that true and do I agree, it is irrelevant.....but that is what people say. We know he gives big time money though
Bill Cosby is constantly donating...but for some reason, people act like that isnt enough and its his " responsibilty " to give away HIS MONEY and that he deserves no recognition.... :roll: People are never satisfied...They just wanna sit up and criticize and say " that aint enough. " If you ask me Bill Cosby and Oprah contribute to more black causes than anyone else, but sadly enough, people cant even appreciate that...smh
Bill Cosby is truly a gift from God and the epitome of what every young black male should strive to be: successful, responsible, and proud. I totally agree with all the statements he has been making recently and I'm glad that for once it isnt just white america making these observations, its one of our own saying this. What he did for those two boys is wonderful and I wish more people could give as generously as he can.
People need to respect all the good things that Bill Cosby and Oprah do. Its just that it's so many ungrateful summa mabiches out there........... ****... :evil:
oh yeah, that's real. I love me some Bill. That's my honorary daddy right there. He spoke at Howard last year about how our generation needs to represent, not forget the trials of our ancestors, and showed us clips from the documentary "Eyes On The Prize". He was just so cool and so real. Had us comin out of that auditorium feelin like we could change the world. Definately one of my favorite Howard moments....hands down.
Here Bill is inspiring the students at HU
He even brought my girls Debbe Allen and Phylisha Rashaad with him (HU alumni, HOLLA!).
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He even brought my girls Debbe Allen and Phylisha Rashaad with him (HU alumni, HOLLA!).
