Dr Bill Cosby spoke to an audience at the 50th Anniversary Commemoration of the Brown vs.Topeka board of Education supreme court decision. Cosby’s purpose was to inform his audience of the shortcomings of the African-American community and persuade them to better themselves.He began his speech by acknowledging the sacrifices that were made for civil rights. He then compared those achievements to the devastating and poor statistics of school dropouts and bastard children found in the African-American community today. Cosby proceeded to attack the lack of parenting that occurs in lower middle class environments that, he says, leads to incarceration. He also addressed a lack of accountability in the community by saying “God is Tired of You”.
Cosby chose to address his audience directly by using words like “you”and “we”. He made jokes throughout his speech to keep his audience engaged and used a level of diction that was accessible to his audience. He employed several calls to action, in which he encourages African-Americans to “Take the neighborhood back”, by dressing more conservatively and speaking proper English. He spoke about the illiteracy that is prominent amongst black athletes and multimillionaires, who found success despite their obstacles.
Throughout his speech Dr. Cosby reinforced the message that the state of the black community is not due to what outsiders have imposed, but what black people have done to themselves. The tone of Cosby’s words was sincere and passionate. His word choice reflected his passion accurately. He infused religion when condemning actions and used more crude terms to describe actions that he felt were most distasteful.
Cosby finished his speech on a strong note. He condemned the African-American community for failing to raise their standards and be appreciative of opportunities that past generations afforded them. He revealed