Cosby received an award at the celebration of the 50th anniversary commemoration of "Brown v. Board of Education" ruling—a ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court that outlawed racial segregation in public schools. Later, in May 2004, he made public remarks critical of African-Americans who put higher priorities on sports, fashion, and "acting hard" than on education, self-respect, and self-improvement. He pleaded for African-American families to educate their children on the many different aspects of American culture. In the Pound Cake speech, Cosby asked that African-American parents teach their children better morals at a younger age. As reported in "The Washington Times", Cosby "told reporters during a special session of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's 34th annual legislative conference" that, "Parenting needs to come to the forefront. If you need help and you don't know how to parent, we want to be able to reach out and touch you." Richard Leiby of "The Washington Post" reported, "Bill Cosby was anything but politically correct in his remarks Monday night at a Constitution Hall bash commemorating the 50th anniversary of the "Brown v. Board of Education" decision."