On Friday I received a copy (via Facebook) of the current
Ebony magazine copy noting the cast of “The Huxtables” on the cover only this
cover was a bit different. It was made
to appear as of this picture was in a glass frame where the glass had been
shattered. Of course this was in direct
response to the scandal surrounding actor/comedian Bill Cosby. Seeing the cover is quite jarring. As the cover made the rounds on the pages of
various friends I noticed that the responses were mostly the same…OUTRAGE at Ebony. Comments like “disgraceful”, “they did not
need to do that”, Ebony is no longer relevant”, etc. You
see the black community is very protective of our icons or those that we feel
the rest of the world is judging harshly or treating unfairly.
This controversy took on a head of steam earlier this year
when comedian Hannibal make reference in one of his appearances that Bill Cosby
was a rapist. The media began to see
this has a real story. Women began to
appear out of nowhere. Each week more
women came forward all with the same story of being drugged and potentially
sexually assaulted. This was very hard
to believe about a beloved public figure that has been admired throughout the
years. The question in everyone’s mind was “Why didn’t any of these numerous
women go to the police to report the presumed sexual assault?” I was
truly skeptical and stood is disbelief.
However, several months after constant reporting a deposition taken
under oath which was discovered where Bill Cosby spoke about giving drugs to a
woman. At this point many, as well as
myself, began to believe that Bill Cosby was guilty on some level. As this continued to go on the black media
remained silent until now where Ebony spoke out loud and strong with this most
recent cover.
Personally I am torn. While I do not know if Bill Cosby is
guilty or innocent and I still have some doubts because I don’t think this
situation is as black and white as it seems I do think the cover is very responsible.
Too many women kept silent for some
reason and we may never know that reason but this can’t be a coincidence or
fear. Surely there were several women
that had enough courage to feel wronged and report this to the authorities. I do
feel there was intercourse with most of these women but the looming question
that may never be answered is was it on some level consensual? The
high possibility that something took place between Bill and some of these women
can’t be overlooked. The following
questions seem to loom overhead: Were the drugs taken or given willingly or
unknowingly? Is this just a means for
financial opportunity or notoriety? What
every your stance regarding this issue, the black media cannot look the other
way. Looking the other way does nothing but
hinder the possibility for a viewpoint that is not being whitewashed. Ebony has a responsibility to women as well
as the rest of the community to publish an article on this situation. Therefore, I find NOTHING wrong with the
cover. The fact that the black community
continues to give a pass to those who may in fact be guilty of something egregious
is not a good look. I am disheartened
that we also judged Ebony very negatively for the cover. We often get mad at the white media when they
cover our stories and don’t do them justice, however, when Ebony (black media)
takes the bold and possible uncomfortable stance of reporting on those touchy
circumstances within the black community they get vilified for doing so.
We can’t have it both ways.
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