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COSBY SPEAKS AT PRISON GRADUATION: Comic entertains men who earn GEDs at Connecticut institution.
*Comedian Bill Cosby had inmates at Connecticut’s Enfield at Willard-Cybulski Correctional Institution laughing out loud during the graduation ceremony of 27 men who had earned their high school equivalency diplomas or GEDs.
The entertainer, who received a GED after dropping out of school in the 10th grade to join the Navy, spoke in tough love tones while giving out advice as the ceremony’s keynote speaker.
Cosby, 70, urged the inmates to make contact with their children to fill the hole left by their incarceration, reports Hartford’s Courant.com.
He urged the inmates to work on homework and academics with their children once they are released.
"I want your children to fall in love with you not because of sneakers, not because of an iPod, but because of algebra," he said.
Cosby also emphasized personal responsibility, reminding the inmates that at some point in their lives they did something stupid to land them in prison.
"Obviously, you weren't too bright," he said, but added, "what you did was stupid ... you're not stupid."
Cosby also advised the graduates not to slip back into old habits once released from prison, stating: "You can't be with the boys anymore."
He acknowledged that the inmates may have grown up in broken homes or abandoned by someone important in their lives at some point along the way.
"All of you who have been abandoned, it's not your fault," he said.
"It's not your fault. It's not your fault. You have to move on."
After the speech, Cosby told reporters he "damn near broke" down while listening to the speeches of six graduates who preceded him in the ceremony.
The 70-year-old comedian, a Massachusetts resident, agreed to speak when he received a letter from the principal of the prison's school.
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