Bill Cosby defends remarks on parenting, children and blacks

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (AP) _ Bill Cosby defended his controversial comments on blacks, adding that the music industry is ``glorifying the wrong things'' as he spoke about parenting and children

Thursday, July 29th 2004, 6:09 am

By: News On 6

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (AP) _ Bill Cosby defended his controversial comments on blacks, adding that the music industry is ``glorifying the wrong things'' as he spoke about parenting and children at a college conference.

Cosby, 67, made headlines in May when he criticized some blacks for their grammar and accused them of squandering opportunities the civil rights movement gave them. Then earlier this month, Cosby said blacks should not blame whites for their problems and urged them to re-examine their own lives.

``I'm going to keep on saying what I've been saying,'' he said Wednesday, speaking to a group representing 118 historically black colleges and universities nationwide, the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education.

On Wednesday, he said the music industry glorifies music that demeans women, praises life in jail and uses profanity.

He said college educators should prepare students to help poor blacks from backgrounds of violence and single-mother households.

Instead of joining the Peace Corps and going to Africa, ``go across the street into the projects. These are people who need to see another picture, a brighter picture,'' he said.