NEWS14 Carolina Cosby Offers Inspiring Message to Women at Bennett August 24, 2010 GREENSBORO -- Bennett College for Women held an empowerment seminar Tuesday in hopes of inspiring some young women to be their very best, and while the message was important, the messenger is one these ladies won't soon forget. "You're not children anymore," Dr. Bill Cosby told the group. "This should be where you put yourself in and you go from the cocoon to either a moth or a butterfly." Cosby was invited to the college to share his message of academic excellence and civic responsibility. "It means the world. It means everything to have someone who is so well-respected and so funny lay out the realities for our young people in this first week of classes," said Dr. Julianne Malveaux. For decades, the actor, comedian and Emmy Award winner has traveled the country sharing his message of the importance of education. It's a message that these women say they won't take for granted. "We, as women, we have to stay motivated, continue even when things get in our way. We continue to go and press on," Shavionne Smith, a first-semester student at Bennett, said. Smith says the message from Cosby along with the comradery among her peers is the boost she needed to kick off her college education. "Sometimes I struggle in my school work and I see that other young women are pressing forward to graduate so it inspires me to keep moving forward," she said. While Cosby's message on education has gained popularity, a few years ago he was criticized for being too harsh on the black community, but he stands by his beliefs. "The anger that came back from the people had to do with a wake-up call. When you wake people up, they don't seem too happy, especially if you tell them that it's something that they have to do," said Cosby. Cosby says there's work to be done and a message to share, one he hopes will help these women become leaders of their communities. "I want them to feel a spirit that they are strong, they belong and they can," he said. SANDRA M. PHOENIX Program Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org www.hbculibraries.org 404.592.4820 1438 West Peachtree Street NW Suite 200 Atlanta, GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (Lyrasis) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org Honor the ancestors, honor the children. Register now http://www.hbculibraries.org/html/meeting-form.html for the October 24-26, 2010 HBCU Library Alliance 4th Membership Meeting and the "Conference on Advocacy" pre-conference in Montgomery, AL. The Pre-Conference and Membership meeting are open to directors and other librarians.