Bill Cosby Joins Alumni and Others at the College to Deliver a Message

Known worldwide for his wit and humor, entertainer Bill Cosby came to Community College of Philadelphia last February to deliver a serious message.

Donning a Community College of Philadelphia sweatshirt, Cosby urged about 2,500 people of all ages who gathered in the College Gym to remedy the cancer of violence that has claimed hundreds of lives in Philadelphia by administering the anecdotes of education, good parenting, loving others and caring for the city's neighborhoods.

"See, that's what Community College of Philadelphia is about. What were you and what do you want to become? We've got it for you,"

Cosby said.

Sharing the stage with Cosby was Antoinette Jackson Aziz, a graduate of the College, who now is executive vice president of the Ex-Offenders Association of Pennsylvania. She told of turning her life around after she had been incarcerated for a time and then released.

"I ran to this school right here, Community College of Philadelphia,"she said,adding that after receiving her associate's and bachelor's degrees, she is now working on her master's degree. "I encourage everyone here who is surrounded by the wrong people, find the right people."

The event, which was sponsored by the College's African-American Men's Book Club, was part of a series of appearances Cosby has made in various cities as part of the Save Our Children tour. Joining Cosby on the stage were members of Men United for a Better Philadelphia, the Exhoodus Tour and Project L.I.F.E.

Cosby said that many children and teens are carrying so much emotional baggage from dysfunctional home lives, witnessing murders, sexual abuse and a variety of other societal ills that they need psychologists to help them understand how to cope with life. But more than anything, Cosby said, knowing that someone loves you and cares enough about you to not want you to end up dead is the key.

"You've got to find love, true love," Cosby said.