They are a longtime odd couple, Bill Cosby and Harvard\u2019s Dr. Alvin Poussaint, and their latest campaign is nothing less than an effort to save the soul of black America.<\/p>\n
Mr. Cosby, of course, is the boisterous veteran comedian who has spent the last few years hammering home some brutal truths about self-destructive behavior within the African-American community.<\/p>\n
\u201cA word to the wise ain\u2019t necessary,\u201d\u009d Mr. Cosby likes to say. \u201cIt\u2019s the stupid ones who need the advice.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n
Dr. Poussaint is a quiet, elegant professor of psychiatry who, in public at least, is in no way funny. He teaches at the Harvard Medical School and is a staff member at the Judge Baker Children\u2019s Center in Boston, where he sees kids struggling in some of the toughest circumstances imaginable.<\/p>\n
I always wonder, whenever I talk to Dr. Poussaint, why he isn\u2019t better known. He\u2019s one of the smartest individuals in the country on issues of race, class and justice.<\/p>\n
For three years, Mr. Cosby and Dr. Poussaint have been traveling the country, meeting with as many people as possible to explore the problems facing the black community.<\/p>\n
There is a sense of deep sadness and loss \u201d\u201d grief \u201d\u201d evident in both men over the tragedy that has befallen so many blacks in America. They were on \u201cMeet the Press\u201d\u009d for the entire hour Sunday, talking about their new book, a cri de coeur against the forces of self-sabotage titled, \u201cCome On, People: On the Path From Victims to Victors.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n