Echoes in Eternity

Bill Cosby first gave the Pound Cake speech in May 2004 at an event marking the 50th anniversary of Brown vs. Board of Education. It's a powerful indictment of the black hip hop culture, but should also serve as a challenge to all Americans (especially parents) to fight back against the moral and cultural decay occuring in this country.

People getting shot in the back of the head over a piece of pound cake! Then we all run out and are outraged: “The cops shouldn’t have shot him.” What the hell was he doing with the pound cake in his hand? I wanted a piece of pound cake just as bad as anybody else. And I looked at it and I had no money. And something called parenting said if you get caught with it you’re going to embarrass your mother." Not, "You’re going to get your butt kicked." No. "You’re going to embarrass your mother." "You’re going to embarrass your family." If you knock that girl up, you’re going to have to run away because it’s going to be too embarrassing for your family. In the old days, a girl getting pregnant had to go down South, and then her mother would go down to get her. But the mother had the baby. I said the mother had the baby. The girl didn’t have a baby. The mother had the baby in two weeks. We are not parenting.
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What’s the point of giving them strong names if there is not parenting and values backing it up?
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Therefore, you have ... these sweet beautiful [children] born by nature -- raised by no one.
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When you go to the church, look at the stained glass things of Jesus. Look at them. Is Jesus smiling? Not in one picture. So, tell your friends. Let’s try to do something. Let’s try to make Jesus smile. Let’s start parenting.