Noted author and humorist Bill Cosby recently took historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) to task for not making their alumni give back.
Cosby was the keynote speaker during the Oct. 7th dinner session of the three-day, ”Straight Talk Symposium — Securing the Financial Future of North Carolina HBCUs and Their Communities,” sponsored by several foundations, including the North Carolina Institute of Minority Economic Development, the Johnnetta B. Cole Global Diversity & Inclusion Institute, and the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.
Cosby chided Black university officials for “begging” their alumni to contribute to their institutions, saying instead that administrators should “make them feel bad,” and demand better support from past graduates to insure a good education for coming generations of students, The Wilmington Journal reported this week.
“Do things with pride, and a sense of history,” Cosby told college presidents and administrators in attendance. “How dare you, dare you, think that you’re not worthy to raise money for your school.”
The conference focused on ways to secure the financial viability of HBCUs — many of which are struggling to stay open during tough economic times amid a worldwide financial crisis. But participants also discussed ways in which Black institutions of higher learning are closing the racial achievement gap, addressing high dropout rates and leveraging community resources.
Notable guests included the James B. Duke Professor Emeritus of History John Hope Franklin, and Dr. Johnnetta Cole, president emeritus of both Spelman College in Atlanta and Bennett College for Women in Greensboro, N.C.
Cosby, who holds a 1976 doctorate in education from the University of Massachusetts, spoke intimately and at length about the declining state of Black America, and the desperate need for HBCUs to reclaim their historic sense of mission and purpose.
