Bill Cosby asked to come to Baltimore, as soon as possible, to talk about how lucrative the construction industry can be.

Thursday, he grabbed a microphone and told hundreds of Park Heights residents they have no excuse — not even dropouts, single mothers or drug addicts — to be unemployed.

“It is said algebra comes from Africa,” Cosby said. “How come we don’t want to study it? It’s in us. We are geniuses. We just need to be rubbed. We need to be nurtured.”

Cosby spoke at a block party celebrating the culmination of Operation Protect, a six-week crime-reduction and community cleanup program, and traded the podium with Baltimore City Community College President Carolane Williams.

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Pumping his fist into the air to “We Can Make It If We Try,” Cosby said community college could offer anyone subsidized skilled labor training. Construction, he said, pays up to $30 an hour and almost guarantees a job after graduation, he said.

Known for racially and politically charged remarks, Cosby called Mayor Sheila Dixon a strong woman and said the city needs her.

“I knew a black mayor would understand that we as a people are strong about education, that we as a people are strong about putting our children first and loving our children,” he said.

Dixon had urged Cosby to visit Baltimore for an event in February, organizers said. Instead, Cosby asked whether he could come sooner.

The mayor, noting her diploma from city schools, also emphasized education.

“The commitment we made to Park Heights isn’t about bricks and mortar, it’s about taking personal responsibility for our lives, for our children’s lives, for our grandparents,” Dixon said.

For the past six weeks, city agencies have been working with Park Heights residents to clean dirty lots and alleys, remove graffiti, repair street lights, fill potholes, board vacant houses and bait for rats. Police have set up traffic barriers in the community and beefed up foot patrols.

Park Heights resident Jacqueline Harris said the efforts have produced a noticeable improvement. But, she added, she’s not sure it will last.

“People used to hang out on the corners and in front of the stores,” Harris said. “If it keeps up, Park Heights will be a safer place to live.”

 jmalarkey@baltimoreexaminer.com