Michelle Singletary hosted author Michael Eric Dyson for a discussion of this month's Color of Money Book Club selection -- "Is Bill Cosby Right? Or Has the Black Middle Class Lost Its Mind?" (Basic Civitas Books, $23.00)at Noon ET on Thursday, Nov. 17, 2005. .

Dyson, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, uses Bill Cosby's assault on the black poor when he received an NAACP award last year as a window on a growing cultural divide within the African-American community. Michelle writes that Dyson deftly demolishes the stereotypes Cosby let loose.

A transcript follows. .

Read Michelle's past Color of Money columns .

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washingtonpost.com: Read today's Color of Money column: An Alert to the Dangers of Student Debt

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washingtonpost.com: Welcome to Michelle and Michael and everyone out there today, continue to send in your questions and let's begin .....

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Philadelphia, Pa.: Would it be alright to state that statistically, Bill Cosby is incorrect, but there are instances when he is correct? It is wrong to think that one group is more materialistic than another. Yet, there are examples of children, and adults, of all income groups and races who shop according to brand names and designer labels. Such shopping has more of an impact when the family income is lower. When there have been cases in the press where young people have robbed others for their popular brand of clothing or shoes, or to obtain money to buy such items, then the problem does exist, even if it is not statistically widespread.

washingtonpost.com: The Color of Money: Debunking Cosby on Blacks (November 13, 2005)

Michael Eric Dyson: I think it is just fine to say that some of the things Dr. Cosby says are true of ALL groups and classes -- for instance, excessive consumerism. But if that is the case, to allege that only poor blacks have a problem is inaccurate. Next, as I show in my book, stereotypes of poor blacks lead to misinformation about their spending habits. Finall, there is little quesiton that mistakes made by the poor may deleteriously affect them in ways they may not for those with more resources. However, that is no reason to assail the poor because they seek to achieve the same level of comfort as others -- or because they want what others want. Overall, however, Cosby's framework simply distorts whatever good he might intend because it characterizes poor people in such negative fashion.

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Fort Washington, MD: Several years ago, a neighbor and her husband provided a lady who needed social services their telephone and car transportation to get the information and services she qualified for and needed. My neighbor was exhausted and frustrated by the circles they went thru. Over the course of several days, they had to wait by the phone, reschedule appointments, leave messages, miss messages because they were driving here and there, get copies, and do all of it and deliver it before 5 PM closing time. My neighbor commented that she and this lady could barely do it with a phone and car transportation and could not imagine how people did it who don't have a car, phone, and answering machine. It is always easy to kick someone when their down rather than reach down and give a hand up.

Michael Eric Dyson: Absolutely. The maze of technical and procedural difficulties that poor and working poor folk have to manage are bad enough, but the sheer level of bias against the less fortunate is overwhelming. Those two in tandem make the lives of the poor far more difficult than they need to be. And, as you say, it's easy to kick people when they're down; not to imageine what it's like to be without resources is hard for most of us, be we should try to do so. After Katrina, we should see that structural inequality and persistent racial oppression are very read indeed.

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New York, NY: Please help! I just dipped into savings to pay off a $4,500 credit card bill in one shot. Glad I'll avoid interest, but I'm disgusted that I let consumer debt get that high. I'll pay it off by my 30th birthday, in 7 months. Good present, right? And good lesson learned.

Here's my question: I was hospitalized last month, and it's been suggested that I need a vacation. (I'm way too stressed, work is awful, and it's been ages since I relaxed.) People say I can find a cheap getaway for under $500, but I can't reconcile accruing even that little bit of unexpected debt. At what point do you outweigh $500 more debt against real emotional wellness and mental health? What should I do?

Michelle Singletary: I know this is off the topic hey my chat, right?

Anyway, first NEVER EVER AGAIN deplete your savings to pay off credit card debt. I know you wanted to get rid of that but see now how that impacts your life. You know have NO cushion. Don't go into debt for the vacation. You'll stress out about having that debt and how much fun is that.

Take a free vacation. Find someplace where you live where you can take time off free. Go to Central park have a picnic. Go to a free concert. You don't have to pay to go away to have fun.

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College Park, Md.: Cosby is right. And what he says about poor blacks can be equally said about poor whites. He said it to help not hurt for "a kick in the butt will send you farther than a pat on the back." I am white and used to teach drop-outs, most of them African American youth, and I can tell you that they reject anything to do with education or excellence. I think that you Michelle, who is an upper middle-class black woman, probably has had absolutely no interraction with poor African-Americans and probably will have nothing to do with them. You are so far removed from your poor black counterparts that I don't think you have any life experiences that would make you credible in talking about this matter - same for Mike Dyson.

Michelle Singletary: Oh really. You have absolutely no way of knowing how I live and who I hang out with. Hey why don't you look up the word "empathy." Many folks in my family are still struggling. I volunteer at my church working with people from all income levels. I'm exactly in the right position to talk about how Cosby lacked the proper empathy for the poor. I was raised by a woman with limited income and she taught me how to show compassion for folks. That's what Cosby lacked in his comments.

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Beltsville, Md.: I agree in most of what Bill Crosby said in his speech. I believe that some of us are not doing our part in trying to get ahead. You can't blame the kid because he/she was never taught right from wrong. I blame it on the parents and the generations before them. They are not teaching their children or holding them responsible for their actions. Children need guidance from adults or they will stray in the wrong direction.

There are those who would say that a parent can only teach what they know. I would have to say - open a book, seek help. There is always someone out there willing to help if asked.

After my parents divorced I grew up in the projects. I watched my mother struggle to feed five mouths. She did it and still kept us under control. I agree that the respect is no longer there. The way these kids speak to their parents was never done a few years ago and I am only 41 with two small boys. I would never ever speak to my mom or my dad in a disrespectful way and I demand the same from my boys

Michael Eric Dyson: There's little doubt that folk need to be responsible for their lives -- but they must have a way of exercising that responsibility in a demonstrable, useful fashion. Moreover, the obsession with personal responsibility obscures questions of social, moral and political responsibility. Let's not forget that ALL quarters of our society are responsible, not just the poor. Parents who are themselves the product of poor conditions may have little understanding of the means to better their situation, so we shouldn't judge them too harshly. If you have managed to do well, and your parents before you, despite terrible conditions, then you should work for a world where everyone enjoys the same opportunity. Hard work and discipline are critical, but they don't mean much if you don't have a way to show that you have them, or you don't live in a world that makes sure that you and your children have the opportunity to be supported through economic crisis. As for kids being different, every generation struggles with its own tensions between the folk who came before; I'm sure your parent's generation thought your generation was just as bad as you deem kids today. A little perspective, and humility, never hurts.

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Glenn Allen, Va: Are there any solutions to the questions that Bill Cosby raised as issues in the black community at large in terms of socioeconomic recovery? The Black Church has gone all out with Prosperity preaching and teaching that is all anyone cares about is me, mine, and I. I believe that we have lost that collective consciousness, for the lack of community not coming together to raise a child as the African proverb goes.

Michelle Singletary: Have you been in a black church lately? I have -- EVERY SINGLE SUNDAY. The black church has been and still is out there helping the poor. My church spends an amazing amount of money, time and people hours helping those less fortunate. When Katrina hit members of my church raised more than $200,000 for the relief effort.

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Laurel, Md.: Prof. Dyson, I have not read your book, but I recently read "Losing the Race" by James McWhorter, which examines similar issues. Like you, he teaches at a large prestigious university and his book is a combination of statistics and personal observations on the theme that contrary to our image of African-American university students who've been admitted under relaxed conditions are those whose life circumstances haven't afforded them the opportunities to shine as brightly as a similarly talented white student, he believes that the black students come primarily from solidly middle class families and that their barrier is principally their own attitude toward education.

Does this correspond to your own experiences or research?

Michael Eric Dyson: Prof. McWhorter used to teach at Berkeley; he now works for a conservative think tank in New York -- the Manhattan Institute. McWhorter's book is largely anecdotal, and as such, I have no reason to question the authenticity of his observations. But I can question the degree to which they are representative of most black students on college campuses. I don't think they are. "Relaxed conditions" prevail for many students -- white students whose parents went to a school who are admitted for that reason; students whose parents are big benfactors of a school; some athletes, and the like. Affirmative action is the attempt to find qualified black, and minority students, to attend college and university after a legacy of systematic discrimination; it is not about relaxing standards to let in sub-par students. It is true that some students who are admitted require work to bring them up to snuff -- for a variety of reasons, but that process of admissions is to identify students who will bring a benefit and advantage to the institution by their presence. If, when they graduate, they are performing well and bring honor to the school, then their admission is more than justified. Don't forget, President Bush was legacy admission, a "C" student, and now president. There's hope for us all!

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New York, NY Again: Yes, it's your chat -- so here's my follow-up question! I thought I did the right thing, according to your advice. If I DIDN'T use savings to pay it off, I'd have been paying off $4500 with 22% interest for 7 months... much less fiscally responsible than paying myself back for free over 7 months, I thought. Am I wrong? I still have an emergency cushion, just not enough for a down payment for a home. (And by the way, a picnic? Is not a vacation! That doesn't take away a year's worth of stress in my neck.)

Michelle Singletary: All I'm saying is it takes time to get out of debt and you don't want to spend down your resources to the point that you can't afford a $500 vacation or something else you "need." What I preach is to pay down debt as fast as you can but don't deplete or nearly deplete your savings to do so.

Now for the vacation. Remember what got you into trouble. Spending money you don't have, right? That's what you are trying to do again. I believe you when you say you NEED a vacation but the fact is you can't afford to "pay" for a vacation. Now is the time to practice what I call "financial intergrity." Do what yo ucan afford. If you have charge that vacation you can't afford it. And I have vacationed many times in my home. I shut the phone off. Don't tell anyone I'm home and relax.

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Rockville, Md.: Hello Michelle. Love your chats.

I guess I am what is considered black middle class - I grew up in Bethesda, Md., in the 1970s. Bill Cosby WAS right. I have grown weary of seeing and hearing black Americans decry their state but refusing to do anything about it. For many, it's not that they can't...they just WON'T.

They won't take an entry level job because....They won't work extra hours because....They won't stop their kids from swearing because....They won't talk to their children's teachers because....

When Mexican President Vincente Fox said that people from his country would take jobs that blacks in the U.S. would not, I thought that would be a wakeup call for black leaders. Black apathy is getting international attention. But no, instead, they verbally browbeat him for saying what was true.

Rev. Al Sharpton's speech at Rosa Parks' funeral was the first indication I've seen - other than Mr. Cosby - that someone is actually paying attention and finally realizing that personal accountability is not an option.

Michael Eric Dyson: The movement for black freedom -- including the civil rights movement -- IS a self-help movement: black folk were helping themselves. We did, and do, take responsibility for our lives. It is a caricature of black folk to suggest that all we do is sit around and bellyache about our condition rather than act to change it. But it takes two wings to fly -- social/moral/political responsibility, and personal responsibility. Most black folk have ALWAYS seen that as necessary, and certainly our leaders and thinkers have as well. Black folk work hard, and deserve to have access to good jobs they made possible by their labor, often unpaid, in this nation. We shouldn't celebrate the fact that Mexican American workers are exploited, and take sub-par waged jobs to make it, to prove that blacks are terrible because they refuse the conditions of economic injustice. That's a morally muddled arguement.

Michelle Singletary: Amen brother!

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RE: Empathy: If College Park Md knew ANYTHING about you or had ever read your columns or chats, he/she would have known you are well qualified to respond to Cosby's comments. It's sad they chose to attack you, instead of your arguments, in order to father perpetuate a racist stereotype. Bravo to you for standing your ground!

Michelle Singletary: Thank you my friend. Seriously after reviewing and recommending professor Dyson's book I've never received so much hate mail. I mean someone actually used the "N" word. People I spend week after week after week showing, tellng and fussing and pleading withe people of all colors to do better with their money. But the one week I suggest that we show some compassion for the poor folks insult me like they live with me. I grew up lower income. I have known hunger. I have struggled. But I also know how hard it is to climb out of poverty. Yes folks need to practice personal responsiblity but as a society we also need to help them find their way to prosperity. That's all I'm saying. That's all Dyson is saying. And NOBODY and I mean NOBODY had pulled themselves up by their own bootstraps. Somebody helped you even if it were your mama feeding your crying, bratty self. I know I wouldn't be were I am without the support and help from a lot of folks.

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Washington, D.C.: Michelle, your column on student debt was well-done, as usual. I have always turned my nose up at student debt, and can't imagine why my friend picked a private school over a public one when he could have saved so much more in debt. However, I've come to recognize that my perspective comes from having parents who saved for my education since before I was born, and it is entirely due to them that I will graduate with a Master's and no debt.

Debt for one's education can be an excellent investment. Especially if you are going into a high-paying field like medicine or the law. I feel very strongly for those who have to go in debt for much lower-paying careers. As someone in one of those fields that will never make you rich, I understand how difficult it would be to pay for debt.

Michelle Singletary: Really good point.

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Seaford, DE: I have only skimmed this book because I somehow missed the first announcement and thus only got it a couple days ago. Like Mr. Cosby's comments, it seems to me it's long on rhetoric and short on solutions to the problem.

My husband and I volunteered at SOME and at various homeless shelters in and around Washington for over 20 years before retiring to Delaware. We are among many, many dedicated volunteers, but don't feel we made much of a difference in many lives, even though we on occasion took people into our homes and often spent our own money on food and medical care for them. The typical client, for want of a better term, had no people or money skills, no education or training, no life skills such as punctuality or civility (saying "please" and "thank you," for example). And this is not a Ronald Reagan fantasy -- we once had a 22 year old who was pregnant with her 9th child by goodness knows how many men, 6 of whom were in the DC foster care system. I could go on and on, but you get the general idea. In your opinion, is there any realistic chance of bringing order to his chaos anytime soon?

Michael Eric Dyson: I'm sure you must get the irony of reporting that after SKIMMING a book you suggest it is long on rhetoric and short on solutions. READING is fundamental!:-)

I do offer solutions, but let me say, the point of the book, in large measure, is to show that the framework that Dr. Cosby offers is distorted because it refuses to engage the actual lives of the poor, and to take into account the work of people who have dealt with the poor over decades, and have studied them. That is crucial.

As for the condition of poor folk with multiple children, and the chaos it breeds -- and from which it grows -- I think we have to humanely, and with compassion, intervene and offer many kinds of help. First, we've got to make sure they are offered decent food and housing so that when they go to school they can study and perform. If we could do just that, we'd be way ahead of the curve. Then, we've got to make sure that once they get prepared, opportunities exist for them to forge ahead, sans the obstacles that are well chronicled for even the black middle classes. And finally, it is a good thing that you volunteer -- but if you're wearied from helping, imagine what it means to actually BE in the condition of the folk you're aiding. After Katrina, we've got to be even more committed to solving these problems.

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RE: Don't forget, President Bush was legacy admission, a "C" student, and now president. There's hope for us all! : Doesn't that illustrate the point. He's gotten fairly far by being rich and from a privileged family. I would be willing to bet that most poor people - regardless of race - would never be let in any university as a legacy admission.

Michelle Singletary: And you would be right!

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Key West, Fla.: Michelle, you are so far removed from the problem I don't think you can see clearly. Cosby is right - and unless it changes he will continue to be right. Don't confuse empathy with blind ignorance. We have problems and unless you have a solution empathy is just misguided. Volunteering is great but don't use it as a crutch to make yourself feel better thinking you are helping the problem when you are just satisfying your own guilt about this lethal situation.

Michelle Singletary: Oh please get real. Everyday I help by doing what I do. I refuse to let folks like you tell me what I'm doing with my life. I'm doing my part to make a difference. For example, I helped send a black student to college. Didn't really even know the girl. didn't get a tax break for doing it. Just knew she needed help going. Not bragging but really, really pissed at people turning this into you're not black enough or in the "hood" enough to know the problem.

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Washington, D.C.: I am a progressive African American woman who is in tune with the vast majority of Mr. Dyson's opinions. However, I often find myself observing behavior from my fellow African American women and men that dismays me. Behavior that can be classified as just plain rude, indecent and ignorant. Quite frankly, this behavior gives racists fodder for their arguments. When is it ok to just admit up to our community's negative traits?

Michelle Singletary: Really. Have you taken notice of how other non-blacks act? By any chance have you heard of Enron, World Com ... Blacks don't have a monopoly on poor behavior. Look at the front pages of the Post, your home town newspaper. Acting out isn't a black thing.

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Hampton, Va.: Dr. Dyson do you believe Mr. Cosby's comments have done more to divide African Americans in this country and also where was Mr. Cosby after Hurricane Katrina?

Michael Eric Dyson: I believe that Dr. Cosby's comments are rooted in a fundamental ignorance of the lives of the poor. I know as well that his remarks have given support to those far right-wing critics looking for justificaiton of their beliefs in black face or throat. Cosby didn't create the divisions in our black world -- he revealed them. His caustic and sometimes cruel remarks reflect a bitter divide between the "have gots" and the "have nots," and it will only get worse unless we get involved and offer critical insight. In may case, I wrote the book to offer principled defense of the poor who are voiceless in this conversation -- nobody from major media is asking them what they think about Cosby in a way that respects the strong opposition to Cosby. As for Katrina, Cosby visited evacuees in Houston, and he participated in at least one fundraiser. But obviously, Katrina didn't change his vicious views of the poor -- he went right back out and continued what I call his "Blame the Poor Tour" across the country. I think it is sad that after Katrina revealed the structural inequities that prevail, Cosby couldn't, like Oprah Winfrey, who is far richer than Cosby, offer spritual and financial support for the poor, and work to expose how poverty and class gang up on folk of all races, but especially people of color, across the land.

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Chicago, Ill.: Michelle,

Kudos to you for taking on the the "Cadillac Queen" myth, redisguised as the consumer-driven poor, black youth. Honestly...

But to my question. I was laid off 5 years ago, with one year of unemployment, two years of severe underemployment, and two years of well paying contract work (in which I was able to pay off debt accrued in the other 3 years). I am now reemployed, and am facing the decision whether to purchase my first home (Chicago prices are very high), or continue paying low rent and jump start my retirement savings at the full contribution allowed by my company.

I am close to 50 years old, and my income is middle class (50K), not upper. I have a 5% down payment for a home purchase.

Thanks!

Michelle Singletary: Can you try to do both. Homeownership is the way to wealth in America. But it's also critical for you to start saving retirement. Be sure to check out any first-time homeownership programs. And maybe, just maybe there is a relative or close, close friend you go team up with to buy a home. Good luck

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Silver Spring, Md.: Mr. Cosby seems to have forgotten rule number one: We don't talk outside the family.

Michael Eric Dyson: My disagreement with Dr. Cosby is not talking outside the family -- it's failing to recognize the poor as a family deserving of serious love and support, and sure, discipline and critique as well. But why start with the poor? Why not criticize the atrocious habits of some rich, wealthy and well-to-do black folk? Why not criticize black churches that preach prosperity gospel messages and leave behind the poor? Why not speak against governmental officials with power who refuse to use it to help the rest of their brother and sisters? Why not speak about corporate blacks who seal the door behind them, for fear that others will get in? My Bible read, "to whom much is given, much is required." Jesus' harshest words were reserved for those who had means, capital and influence, but who squandered it. Let's remember that.

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Bowie, MD: Michelle, I'm not qualified to comment on racial spending practices, but as to criticism of middle and upper classers of lower class spending habits, isn't it axiomatic that, the less you have, the more careful you have to be in your spending decisions? For example, while I think spending $500 on a pair of shoes is obscene for anyone, it's a lot less obscene if you have a six-figure annual income than if you're just squeaking by.

Michelle Singletary: You are right but if it's hard for people with means to not succumb to marketing pressures think how hard it is for people with less and who want so much for their kids. I'm certainly not saying its right and I've spent the entire time I've written my column showing people how to avoid the pressures to buy what they can't afford. But I do understand how it happens for the poor and prosperous.

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Black or white with no green:: It seems the poor make bad choices about spending because they don't have money - or when they do it's spent for instant gratification. Maybe it's a fast pick me up to get those car windows tinted, a new tattoo, or hit the slots. This cycle won't be broken until we have a massive education program on how to handle money. The problem extends up into the middle class who are spending on vacations and big cars now instead of a 401K. We're too much of a material goods right now society!

Michelle Singletary: You are so right. It's a problem at all levels. Regularly I get mail from folks who earned six figure salaries, spent wildly and then ended up in bankruptcy or near it. But that's my job -- to educate and inform.

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Boston, Mass.: Michelle, as a regular reader of your columns and these chats, I have to say that this is one DEPRESSING chat. Who are these people? Why are they so angry about the idea that we should treat the less fortunate with compassion? And to suggest that you are somehow too affluent to comment on the problems of the less fortunate is just beyond me. But above it all, I find the racial attitudes expressed here so, so upsetting. It's just so ugly.

But then again, I'm just a white, upper middle class professional, so what do I know? Well, my grandmother was a housekeeper and my grandfather was a janitor; my parents were able to get scholarships through the Catholic Church to become professionals, which is why I am one of the "over privileged." But I never forget that but for the grace of God, go I, when I see the poor of our nation suffer.

Michelle Singletary: God bless you. I needed that! I've been depressed since I wrote that column. And it really is sad the level of hatred people have for the poor.

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Atlanta, Ga.: Dr. Dyson, I am curious to know whether your book has been the impetus for serious dialog with Dr. Cosby, and others of like mind (both yours and Dr. Cosby's), concerning your differences, or are you stalemated? Incidentally, I have not yet read _Is Bill Cosby Right?_, as I am in the midst of _The Michael Eric Dyson Reader_. Your work is riveting and compelling, Dr. Dyson, better than any novel.

Michael Eric Dyson: Thanks for your kind words. Dr. Cosby has no interest in speaking with me. In fact, he has been quite explicity, even rudely so, in dismissing me and the need to talk. It's ironic that Cosby can exist and thrive and work in an entertainment industry that has been quite racist in the past -- and he has helped defeat some of that through his incredible work on the small screen -- and in a society that has been so disrespectful to black folk, and yet he can't sit down and talk with another black man who disagrees with his attacks on the poor? That very mean-spiritedness reflects a fundamental problem: if we can't ourselves embody a love ethic toward one another, even when we disagree, then how can we preach uplift and correction to the poor? We are stalemated, to be sure, but not because I don't desire to sit at the table of brotherhood with Cosby and hash out our different views and move forward with helping poor black folk.

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We shouldn't celebrate the fact that Mexican American workers are exploited, and take sub-par waged jobs to make it, to prove that blacks are terrible because they refuse the conditions of economic injustice. That's a morally muddled arguement. : Why? Because they actually want to work, even in undesirable circumstances? Obviously they aren't too good to take even the most menial jobs.

Michael Eric Dyson: If willingness to take bad jobs was the litmus test of great character -- then working for FREE in slavery for 300-plus years should have proved our character to the world. But I won't celebrate the economic exploitation of Mexican workers who are forced by racism and ethnic discrimination to take jobs that they shouldn't have to work. When Bush suspended the Davis-Bacon Act during Katrina -- allowing corporations to make big money off of workers by paying them beneath minimum wage -- it was roundly condemned as unjust, and he had to rescind his executive order suspending the act. It is equally unjust when applied to Mexicans. It is a false argument to apply that to blacks as well.

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Vacation, HERE: For the person who needs to get away but can't afford it: tell everybody (EVERYBODY) you left town. Then go find a national park--most places have one or several nearby. Free or cheap admission, maybe learn something, maybe get a day of nature and fresh air. It's not a week in Tahiti but it might help.

Michelle Singletary: Good idea.

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Harrisburg, Penn.: Is it just me or do some of the people writing in today seem inherently racist? What's with all the stereotyping? Since when is it OK to make mass generalizations about any one ethnic or socioeconomic group, even if you are a member of that group? If you want to help, or do something about the problem besides griping, do it. If you just want to complain about "lazy/poor/black" people do it in the privacy of your own living room. Giving lip service to a problem does nothing. Either get off your duff and volunteer, work to make legislative changes, become a social worker, or help your neighbor.

Signed, a middle aged white woman in central Pennsylvania!

Michelle Singletary: And no it's not just you!

But thanks for your heart and wisdom!

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Chicago, Ill.: It seems to me everyone at sometime in their life make bad decisions about spending money. Who really needs 3 homes, 6 cars; etc.

Michelle Singletary: True that!

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Dr. Cosby is wrong because: Criticism is good. But aimed at a group of people, it's just a witch hunt.

You can draw a line around any group of people, and find something that some of them are doing wrong. For some of those individuals, it might even be constructive to hear it. But taking potshots at a group of people who are down, even if a few of them have it coming, misses more than it hits, and just makes people defensive. It doesn't add to the discussion, it creates a red herring to distract from the discussion.

Michelle Singletary: I couldn't agree more.

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Herndon, Va.: I don't think this is what you mean, but it seems that you are saying "Other people/groups do worse things than poor blacks, so don't criticize poor blacks".

Michelle Singletary: What I said and meant is there are a lot of people doing bad things -- not just blacks. And some of those people doing bad things have ruin the lives of many. Many, many people lost their jobs and entire retirement savings because of some greedy, low-down corporate executives.

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Montgomery County: Right On Michelle & Prof. Dyson:

I never could understand people not wanting to help those less fortunate--even if for no other reason than enlightened self-interest. Wouldn't it be better to spend money on low-cost high quality daycare so parents to could finish their education or work to support their families instead of blaming teenage mothers. Same for the educational systems--wouldn't you rather have a well educated potential workforce than barely literate underclass who cannot hold complex jobs? Every one who got "somewhere" did it because someone or some institution helped them. Get with the program people!

Michelle Singletary: Amen, again.

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Boston, Mass.: Go and help the African American communtiy. Tell them education is key; it's free, for God's sake. African American students, continue to falter academically - below whites, Asians, and Hispanics. You give a good talk, but words of sympathy are empty. Make your empathy, a word you seem to take off on, and let it become action. Go to schools and tell the students how you became successful. And you, Michelle, need to show some empathy. Cosby has helped A LOT of people with their education . What he is trying to do is wake people up. You need to do your share and stop this nonsense of your thinking that you care about blacks when you know very well you would never marry a poor black man. So stop acting like you care.

Michael Eric Dyson: First of all, don't have historical amnesia: it was against the law in this country to get an eduation. Sure, that's been over for more than a hundred years, but habits that are deeply ingrained, and cultural barriers that are erected, don't fall so easily. I encourage you to read my book. Black parents spend MORE time encouraging their children's education than WHITE parents. Furthermore, what psyhologist Claude Steele calls "stereotype threat" operates here. When even middle class black students are told that they are being tested against white students, they don't do as well on standardized tests -- because it's been ingrained in their minds that they are inferior. But when white students are told that they are being tested in comparison to Asian students, they don't do as well as when they are told they're being tested against blacks and others, because they've been told that they are not as smart (white students, that is) as Asian students. So context is critical. I DO spend my time sharing with the folk I want to reach how I do what I do -- by God's grace and the work and will of poor folk who wanted me to reach my perch and not forget them and leave them behind. I am the life-rope that many poor black folk prepared to help them -- the least I can do is not to forget my purpose. That purpose drove me as I became educated, and it's a purpose that continues even today. I know it's the same with Ms. Singletary and the great and amazing work that she does.

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Washington, D.C.: I once read an aticle (although I now forget where...possibly the Post) claiming that many lower-class youth just don't see a good future for themselves. Thus, the focus for some youth becomes acquiring material status symbols that they believe will make their life better in the short run. Did you see this in your research?

Michael Eric Dyson: If a young person thinks they'll be dead by 25, they may try, as 50 Cent's alubm, and movie of the same title suggest, to "Get Rich or Die Tryin." But material acquisition is an AMERICAN trait. Even Cosby himself was supreme pitchman for American conumerism and materialism; he hawked Ford, Coca-Cola, E.F. Hutton -- and he wore expensive designer sweaters. He sold the dream of American capitalism to millions, including those poor blacks he now condemns for taking the message to heart. At the least, that's contradictory; at worst, it's downright hypocritical.

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Arlington, Va.: Professor Dyson,

Have you read Patricia Hill Collins' book, Black Sexual Politics? There seem to be some common intersections there. Comments?

Michael Eric Dyson: Yes, Prof. Collins' book is a skillful, sharp and insightful look at the ways in which arguments about gender are racially inflected, and have many contradictory elements involved. She also understands the assault on black women as the peculiar carriers of the virus of social and moral decadence, and how that is perpetuated across the culture. One of the things we can't miss is how Cosby's assault on poor blacks was profoundly gendered -- it had as its target black women: they are, according to him, more promiscuous, less responsible, they raise horrible children and give them awful names. I think Collin's book is a great primer on how these issues should be teased out and explored.

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Michelle Singletary: Well, it's time to go. It's been interesting. Thank you all for participating, even the folks who sent hateful, vile, evil comments that I REFUSED to print. This has been a tough topic but one I'm glad to have addressed. But it's all good. I've got another cheek.

But will be glad to get back to regular boring personal finance like 401 k plans :)

Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.

Michael Eric Dyson: I am greatful to have been asked to participate in this chat. I thank Ms. Singletary for her stamina and charisma, and her willingness to take on a difficult subject. But we must be more loving and affirming of each other even as we disagree; hateful, spiteful commentary has no place in this debate, which is why I opposed Cosby to begin with. Thanks and again, and have a blessed remembrance of your blessings during this time of year when so many have so little. All the best, Michael Eric Dyson.

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