Cosby vs. Cliff: The Reality of it All

I grew up in the '80s and one of the most influential television shows of my youth was The Cosby Show. Every Thursday at 8p.m. my family would gather around our floor model television set and see 30 minutes of a loving and caring family through the Huxtables.

It was one of the most powerful television shows in history for African Americans, as it painted us in a different and positive life. A doctor (Bill Cosby/Cliff Huxtable) married to a successful attorney (Phylicia Rashād/Claire Huxtable), all carrying for their five children. There were no financial struggles or living in the ghetto; there was no stereotype of a black male calling detractors jive turkeys. It was a show about family and about African Americans finally obtaining the dream Martin Luther King Jr. gave his life for.

But I say all that to ask this very pertinent question. For all the good this show did, are those works now tarnished or perhaps undone by the scandal the lead star Bill Cosby finds himself in now?  (I don't know the truth about the scandal, which is why I'm not going into detail about it. My heart goes out to any victims that have suffered from this. I have a daughter and I can only imagine how I would feel if something like this were to happen to her.)

The November issue of Ebony Magazine brings this point up and has caused Social Media to explode in debate.

I have two answers. Yes and no. One cannot deny the successful impact The Cosby Show has had on African Americans. My wife told me that it was a show that made her strive for greatness. It was honest and positive, something lacking from today's programming content. For those of us who experienced Cosby before the controversies set in - quite simply the answer is no. Nothing can take away the show's contributions to our lives.

I look at my friends and my outer circle. We're all college graduates and have successful careers. It can be argued at all of these people grew up being impacted or somehow influenced by the Cosby show in some shape or another.

But what about future generations? What about my pre-school age daughter and my toddler son? The answer is yes.That legacy will be tarnished for them.  I say this because if they were going to watch the show and ask questions about Bill Cosby then it would become tricky. The impact that my generation benefited from would be washed away entirely on my son and daughter's generation.

This is a sad situation and whatever the truth is, one thing is certain, nothing will ever be the same again.

Raven Never More: Coulter silences View co-host

Raven Symoné's comments about not hiring people with names like Watermelondrea continue to bite her in the butt. This time from Conservative firebrand Ann Coulter.

Coulter was a guest on The View and was being picked apart regarding her views on Immigration. Coulter was there promoting her new book,  Adios, America!

The unapologetic conservative went head first with a passionate fervor into her stance on Immigration and her support for Donald Trump, the anti-hero presidential candidate.After being grilled by several members of The View,  Symoné questioned Coulter and asked her why the staunch conservative makes a career off saying mean things about people. That's when Coulter fired back with the quote heard around 'Social Media.'

“Well, I’m at least talking about policy,” Coulter responded. “You have a position on what people’s names should be! I mean, Watermelondrea. I mean, you’ll insult people for their names, I’m talking about a government policy that affects all Americans, and immigrants, and the people living her. And it’s harming our country. So you don’t follow it.” 

And Symoné said nothing. Nothing. Absolute silence! What's even more interesting is the response on social media. As controversial as Coulter is - no one really stood up for Symoné. Most sided with Coulter.

And this brings me to my point? Are Symoné's days numbered on The View. Are the Watermelondrea comments a blow she won't soon overcome?  What do you think?







 Here's the video  below.

Raven-Symoné under fire for 'name' comments

Former Cosby Show child star and current The View host, Raven-Symoné is in hot water after she said she would not hire someone with a racially stereotypical name.

Here's what she said.

"Just to bring it back, can we take back ‘racist' and say ‘discriminatory,' because I think that's a better word," she said during the show. "And I am very discriminatory against words like the ones that they were saying in the video. I'm not about to hire you if your name is Watermelondrea. It's just not going to happen. I'm not going to hire you."

Social media did not take it well. For the better part of the day the former That's So Raven star was blasted repeatedly and roasted online for her comments; her name and her opinion.

Here's the video so you can check out the comments for yourself.

Keeping Malachi

This past weekend my wife and daughter went to visit family in South Carolina, leaving me alone with my one-year-old son, Malachi. It's significant because this was my first time watching him by myself  over an extended amount of time.

In the past, I have watched my daughter, Grace, who is 4, with my son for an entire weekend, and I have even traveled with both of them by myself. But to keep my son... with no other sibling as a playmate (distraction)... for a weekend -  well that was a task in itself.

When I first pitched the idea to my wife I said it would be a breeze. I joked to her, I'm gonna 'learn em' about what a man does this weekend.  But nothing could be further from the truth.

My brave proclamation was shot down almost immediately, when Malachi refused to eat the specially prepared breakfast I cooked for him. He began pointing away from his food and at the chocolate muffin bread my wife baked prior to her South Carolina sojourn.

Malachi eat your biscuit and eat your eggs. He began shoeing my hand away after each attempt. Then the tears came. After the tenth attempt and tears from both of us, I caved in and gave him the chocolate bread.

Since it was raining we were mostly confined to the house for the whole weekend. Malachi began a 5-room reign of terror, where he began emptying out the contents of the desks and cabinets in various rooms.

No, that belongs to your sister I yelled! No, that's your mother's crochet yarn, you can't play with that! Not the iPad! That's expensive!

After he calmed down a bit, then it was time for a nap. Malachi did not want to sleep. I put him in his crib thinking he would cry himself into his mid afternoon slumber, but instead as soon as I left the room I heard a huge thud! Malachi had jumped out of the crib and was on the run.

I gave in and let him stay up. We listened to music; played in the rain; played ball; caught colds; and watched wrestling on the WWE network! In that time I think he bumped his head 5 times, fell about three, and kneed me in the groin six times.  He even learned how to cut the vacuum on.  Oh and he kept refusing to eat his food!

Suffice to say when his mother and sister came home I was extremely happy. And I discovered it wasn't me 'learning' Malachi how to be a man, but the other way around. Yup. I'm a better man because of this weekend. Thanks Malachi.

Oprah Develops Megachurch Drama

As Oprah Winfrey is continuing her push into developing scripted programming for OWN, her next foray is sure to raise a few eyebrows. You see this time it's going to be a drama with the backdrop being a megachurch. The name of the show is called Greenleaf, and follows the lives of a prominent African-American family in the ministry.

 Doesn't sound too bad right? What could be so controversial or eyebrow raising about that? Well once I read a brief summary of the show, I had to pause and just shake my head.

Here's a brief description:

“Like so many megachurches in America, Greenleaf World Ministries is more than just a house of worship. It’s a home. It’s the center of the community for the thousands of predominantly African-American members who attend services there.  But beneath its steeple lies a den of iniquity — greed, adultery, sibling rivalry and conflicting values — a multigenerational matrix of deception that involves the church’s founding family, but also extends to the congregation and prominent members of the Memphis community and beyond. Yet, amidst all of the mayhem and deception, the power of something greater persists, calling everyone to conscience for their sins.”

 Greed? Adultery? Just wow!

I'm wondering how this will be taken, particularly by fellow Christians. I'm going to go on record and say I'm not in favor of the premise behind the show.  I know that I'm going to sound a bit hypocritical here, because I have watched dramas like Empire - which takes on some of those same themes - but just in the music industry.

Perhaps it's because of my faith; perhaps it's because my wife has worked at a church in the past; perhaps because I think it's OK as long as these themes are discussed somewhere else; whatever the reason might be, there's something unsettling to me about a show that portrays the church in a negative light. Somethings I feel should be left alone. Church scandals...meh, I'll pass.

But apparently, it seems like Winfrey is really getting behind this one. She will even have a reoccurring role on the show. The ensemble cast also includes Keith David, Lynne Whitfield, Lamman Rucker, Deborah Joy Winans, Tye White, Kim Hawthorne and Desiree Ross.

Greenleaf is slated to premiere in 2016. Sorry, I don't think I'll be tuning into this one.