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*Bill Cosby will speak at Xavier University in Cincinnati Thursday on the topics of parenting, education and social responsibility following the cancellation of two scheduled appearances in 2002 following race riots.
The 68-year-old entertainer is in the midst of a nationwide tour, titled “A Call Out With Cosby.” Xavier will be the tour’s 19th stop, reports the Associated Press.
"He seemed to have quite an insight on the challenges that we face in Cincinnati," said former Mayor Dwight Tillery, president of the Center for Closing the Health Gap in Greater Cincinnati, one of the program's sponsors.
In 2001, rioting broke out in the city after an unarmed black man was shot and killed by a white police officer trying to make an arrest. Cosby cancelled his appearance the following year after activists called for a boycott of the city and sent letters to entertainers, asking them to stay away until local politicians agreed to pay more attention to police, racial and economic issues in the city.
Cosby's publicist, Joel Brokaw, said Cosby wasn't supporting the boycott, but "felt it was both inappropriate and insensitive to come into Cincinnati and do comedy when there were so many serious issues."