Pound Cake speech

Bill Cosby in 2006

The Pound Cake speech (or Ghettoesburg Address)[1][2] was given by Bill Cosby on May 17, 2004, during an NAACP Legal Defense Fund awards ceremony in Washington, D.C., to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision.[3][4]

In the speech, which was subsequently widely disseminated and analyzed, Cosby was highly critical of the black community in the United States. He criticized the use of African-American Vernacular English, the prevalence of single-parent families and illegitimacy, perceived emphasis on frivolous and conspicuous consumption at the expense of necessities, lack of responsibility, and other behaviors.

  1. ^ Tregaskis, Sharon (Fall 2008). "In Black and White" (PDF). Weill Cornell Medicine. p. 22. ISSN 1551-4455. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
  2. ^ Seal, Mark (July 6, 2016). "The One Accuser Who May Finally Bring Bill Cosby Down for Good". Vanity Fair. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference WashPost_2015-07-07 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Coates, Ta-Nehisi (May 2008). "'This Is How We Lost to the White Man': The audacity of Bill Cosby's black conservatism". The Atlantic Monthly. Retrieved February 24, 2011.