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Pound Cake Speech

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Pound Cake Speech
Pound Cake Speech
In 2004 the coined “Pound Cake” speech by Bill Cosby at the 50th Anniversary commemoration of the Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education Supreme Court Decision shocked all of America, mainly the black community. In the speech, Bill Cosby States that the state of the black community is deteriorating, comparing his upbringing to the upbringing of children now implying that crime is running rampant in black America. According to him, parents now do not keep a watchful eye on their children comparing to his days as a youth when parents knew where, what, why, when, and how their children were doing whatever they were doing. While the speech was eye opening, it offered no feasible solution to correct the problems facing today’s black society, Bill Cosby was merely pointing out the obvious. Bill Cosby delivered the speech with only a style that he could have, with a few laughs but not taking away from the seriousness of the dire state of a lot of black communities. Bill Cosby states during his Pound Cake Speech are that parents need to be held accountable in African American communities. This is true, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (http://www.ojjdp.gov) has alarming numbers for black juveniles when compared to white juveniles ages 10-17. From 1980 to 2009, Asians, American Indians, and whites have all seen a averaged crime decline of 30 percent while African American juveniles had a 7 percent increase during this time frame. Cnn.com reported that nearly 72 percent of black women compared to 22 percent of white women have children out of wedlock. This is something that has to change. Both parents are essential to a child’s upbringing. There are two distinct methods of parenting that a mother and father together can offer. Education.com reports that children without a father in the home are five times likely to be poor and 7.8 percent of children in married couple families were living in poverty which often leads to crime.

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