The Cos Takes On Ebonics

While some academics have tried to convince folks that urban slang constitutes a different language, and should be encouraged, Bill Cosby feels otherwise.

The Cos was speaking at a dinner commemorating the 50th anniversary of Brown v. The Board of Education of Topeka Kansas, the Supreme Court decision which struck down segregation in schools. His hosts, NAACP President Kwesi Mfume and Howard University President Patrick Swygert were unprepared for what followed:

“They’re standing on the corner and they can’t speak English,” Cosby said. “I can’t even talk the way these people talk: ‘Why you ain’t.’ ‘Where you is.’ … And I blamed the kid until I heard the mother talk. And then I heard the father talk. … Everybody knows it’s important to speak English except these knuckleheads. … You can’t be a doctor with that kind of crap coming out of your mouth!”