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Emerald Story:
COSBY A BLACKENED LEGACY
In December 2015, Cosby was arrested and charged with the aggravated indecent assault of Ms. Constand. The first trial for the criminal caseended in a mistrialdue to a deadlocked jury.
The second criminal trial featured five other women testifying against Cosby. They were brought in by the prosecution to establish that Cosby had a history of sexual assault.Cosby’s testimony from the civil case was also used against him. Bill Cosby juror Harrison Snyder stated that Cosby’s words were the most convincing evidence against him.“In the deposition, he stated that he gave these drugs to other women.” Mr. Snyder said in an interview with ABC News.
It took the jury fourteen hours to find Cosby guilty on all counts.
Cosby’s legacy has been blackenedby this conviction. He has been ousted from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Yale has rescinded his honorary degree. The Cosby Showhas been taken off the air by every television network. The disgusting sins of Cosby will be what he is remembered for first and foremost. They cannot be and should not be forgotten. But the good shouldn’t be forgotten either.
Cosby carefully protected and crafted an image of himself for the public. He wanted to be known as “America’s Dad”. That image is not who the man is, but it did inspire generations of people to work hard and to better themselves. People looked to Cosby for advice. That image changed the television industry.
In 1984, The Cosby Show broke new ground by casting aside racial stereotypes and showcasing an affluent black family. Its success showed that audiences could acceptblack casts. Its influence is felt in today’s sitcoms likeBlack-ish, Dear White People, and Atlanta. These shows could not exist today if not for the strides that The Cosby Show made during its run on NBC.
Cosby’s legacy is a complicated one. He is both Cliff Huxtable and a convicted sexual predator. Those two parts of him are inseparable from one another.