By Lewis Diuguid, Kansas City Star Editorial Board

Actor and comedian Bill Cosby made headlines in 2004 when he slammed “some” black people for how they talk and for squandering opportunities.

Cosby took the stand of conservatives at ceremonies for the 50th anniversary of the 1954 Supreme Court Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education decision ending legal segregation. I wrote columns afterward criticizing Cosby’s simplistic view.

Since then, however, I have read the new book Cosby co-authored with Alvin F. Poussaint, "Come On People: On the Path From Victims to Victors." I found that our viewpoints are not dissimilar.

First of all, Cosby clearly states the complexities of the problems facing black America and recognizes the ghostly, but all too real, hands of slavery, racism and discrimination that stretch from the past.

“Black families have to come to grips with the legacies of slavery and segregation, which continue to burden them. This is particularly true for families who suffer the double whammy of being black and poor in a society not thrilled with either. These twin handicaps make it more difficult to leap over the hurdles on the track to success.

“The high poverty rates of black people owes something to the aftershocks of slavery and segregation. When slaves were emancipated, they were virtually all poor. They never received the promised forty acres and a mule. Most were left destitute, far behind even their poor white countrymen in a ravaged postwar countryside.”

Recognizing that detail lends credibility to Cosby and his book. It paints a vastly different picture from the one conservatives promote, saying racism and discrimination don’t exist, and the problems blacks face are of their own making.

Cosby and Pouissaint go on to say other important things:

“As history has shown, we are a resilient people. We overcome. In the face of all the obstacles that even the most challenged of our children face, we continually come across stories that give us cause to smile and to hope.”

The struggles of black people since slavery have always been about resisting oppression. African Americans often correct other black people whom they see living down to stereotypes. The goal is for everyone to succeed. Cosby and Pouissaint’s book make that clear. They offer self-help directives for African Americans, too. But their instructions could benefit whites and other people of color as well.

“Properly understood, the village is everyone,” the book says. “We’ve got to see ourselves as part of the village. We can no longer just say, ‘I’ll let the rest of you handle it’ because if each individual lets someone else handle it, no one handles anything.

“Ask yourself: If Rosa Parks had apologized, stood up, and sat in the back of the bus, would we have had a Montgomery Boycott? Would we have had a Selma? Would we have had the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965? Are we waiting for one person to make the move instead of moving together?”

Part of that forward movement involves re-engaging parents in the tough job of parenting. The book promoses two-parent unity, men changing diapers, fathers and mothers cuddling and encouraging children and protecting babies.

Cosby advocates turning off the TV, reading to kids and spending quality time with them. Adults must listen to kids and not use foul language. Children need limits, and adults must do as they instruct kids to behave.

The advice in the book is valuable. Our nation would be a better place if everyone heeded what Cosby shares.

Lewis W. Diuguid is a member of The Star’s Editorial Board. To reach him, call 816-234-4723 or send e-mail to .