My son, who loves rap, sat down with me over the holidays and showed me some YouTube videos of his favorite rappers. Although some of the visuals and music were truly inventive, the lyrics themselves were full of the same old misogyny that all women are subjected to. At some point, I finally told him that this was why I, as a woman, could not really enjoy the music. He paused, and admitted that he was also not comfortable with many of these rappers attitudes toward women and sex. Yet, he continues to listen because these guys are considered cool, or whatever, because they do what rock music used to do: challenge people who are easily upset. Yet, neither old male rockers nor young male rappers bother to challenge themselves and their worldviews, either. They continue to uphold the oppressive status quo toward women, without considering how women's oppression keeps society as a whole out of balance, and supports the very system they think they are rebelling against. Now, I know that a few rappers are more enlightened, but as long as the music industry keeps encouraging and protecting men with shallow ideas and values, misogyny and materialism are going to continue to be promoted in our culture.
175
Thank you.
Music is the most powerful form of propaganda, even more than film, for it is taken up and sung, again and again, by so many listeners.
28
@Allison Regarding those "old male rockers," try Listening to old metal... yes, there was a healthy dose of misogyny from many artists (often accompanied by confusing gender-bending outfits) but there are also many who spoke truth to power criticizing corruption, greed, capitalism, war, oppression, etc. Even those who some mock now (Ozzy, for example) put out some really scathing attacks on the powers that be in their heyday (War Pigs). The same can be said for many hip hop pioneers. Please don't equate these folks with the purveyors of "Everybody in the Club is at the club and we are gonna stay in the club till the next club" mindless drivel.
11
@Allison Great post. This is the reason to read the comments.
20
In 1962, Malcolm X declared that "the most disrespected person in America is the black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the black woman. The most neglected person in America is the black woman." As a young black woman living in this place called the USA, we have always been disrespected, unprotected and neglected and it takes place in many forms at work, school and everyday life.
Although I have not experienced the assault on my body, mind, emotional state that these women in 'Surviving R.Kelly' experienced, it still made me sad, upset, left me drained, watching each of the 6 episodes. As an undergrad student, I completed training and volunteered as a DV/sexual assault advocate. That work is hard especially when you are left with so many emotions while trying to help the victim go through the rape kit/SANE process. Working on the DV hotline is also challenging. We need to do more to protect women, especially black girls and women both here and all over the world.
I recall hearing relatives growing up in the South referring to a young, prepubescent girl as "fast." I always wondered what they meant by this? Sadly, there are people who will never believe a victim. Black men always want black women to hold them down but where are they now? Who besides other black women and some women generally who will speak up for us? I need to help others, especially young teenage girls. I will be an advocate, I am ready. Are you?
100
@Jersey girl
He's not guilty of anything. What ever happen to innocent until proven guilty?
1
@dennis
The rate of false accusations for rape is the same as every other crime, something in the single digits. Different studies have found rats of 1% to 10% of accusations are false. For arguments sake lets use 10%. There would be a 10% chance of him being innocent with one accuser. There are at least two women who have come forward publicly, meaning the probability that he is falsely accused is (1/10) x (1/10) = 1/100, or 1% chance. A backup singer of his claims to have witnessed him assaulting dozens of underage girls. Of course we can't assume that this particular witness is completely reliable, but given his involvement in child pornography and marrying a 15 year old we see a pattern which leads credibility to these allegations. With so many different sources making claims, the statistical likelihood that he is innocent becomes astronomically low.
25
@dennis
It's very hard to convict an alleged perpetrator if you don't take the victim/accuser seriously. The justice system (and the educational system, and the healthcare system, and...) often devalue young Black women and, hence, their accusations are often not fully investigated or prosecuted. We can't simply look at the outcome ("he's not guilty")--we have to see if the process was fair and just.
Also, please refrain from replying to such deeply thoughtful comments with "whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty?" as such cliche soundbites add nothing to the conversation.
37
Black commercial culture sells tons of records demeaning women, their videos have young nearly unclad ladies gyrating in a sexually provoking way, the clothing sold is designed to show off skin.
Then there are the videos of kids as young as 4 grinding each other as the kids smile for the camera and their moms post them in Instagram for likes.
This has to change.
Hard to have self esteem when the products for you, the videos of people like you, and music marketed for you are all selling a sexual image of you.
There is more to you than this. And until that changes, the image of you remains what is seen in music videos at BET.
105
@AutumnLeaf, Twerking toddlers. Aww, how cute.
9
Finally. Waiting for the larger publications to acknowledge this story. Only very few outlets covered this. This story is on everyone's radar in the hip hop and black community. A lot of people are talking about this, apparently not everyone though.
The sheer magnitude of his crimes have gone long ignored for a while and are shocking. This documentary made a lot of people aware of the severity of his abuse - aside from pee jokes. Really important that we take women of color seriously or else we let predators like him run about.
39
@Jesiah
I don't know how anyone can state seriously that R Kelly's actions have gone long ignored. His marriage to Aaliyah, the underaged and now deceased bride, was a huge scandal. She admitted she lied about her age at the time of their marriage and the marriage was then annulled. Kelly was later tried and acquitted on multiple counts of child pornography. The underage person said to be the victim in the urination video claimed she was not the person in the video. All of this was in the news. The tale of the so-called sex slaves was a regular feature on TMZ and in social media. An "escapee" made the rounds of the talk shows and was interviewed on TMZ. People were paying attention all right.
5
As a white woman who has suffered sexual trauma, I am deeply saddened to read this.
While I am not denying that black women and girls lack support in our society, I personally have never doubted any of R.Kelly's accusers nor felt any less pain for them than I have for any other woman or child subjected to sexual abuse. Further, the lack of support is felt among all races, religions and genders.
I thought that with the MeToo movement women were joining together to speak truth to power. Instead, I am told it belongs to black women and further, sexual trauma matters less if a woman is white and in "Hollywood."
This divisiveness is not how women will overcome abuse and inequality.
63
@T SB
I had the impression that the article wasn't claiming that white women accusations mattered less, but rather that black women accusations tended to be ignored particularly when comparing the two.
Though I found the title here to be a tad misleading in that respect, I think the view that is being espoused here is that MeToo ought to be about all victims of sexual assault and predatory behavior, no matter their race.
45
@T SB Yes, black women should be centered in the #metoo movement because the #metoo movement was started by a black woman to inspire dialogue in our community. What this means is that while the movement will support all women, it should center the women it was designed to serve: black women. This IS NOT the same as saying that your sexual traumas matter less. It IS, however, saying that you have far more resources that have already been created to help victims like yourself; resources and support that black women historically, institutionally, and culturally do not receive. So this particular movement started by us, nurtured by us, for us should continue to serve us.
When white survivors of sexual violence claim that black women receiving more societal support from the very movements we created is "divisive" that is yet another manifestation of how black women are erased from these conversations.
I really encourage you to unpack why you interpreted white women being included but not centered in this movement as being "divisive" or indicative of your assault mattering less. Our movements will not be effective until they center the most vulnerable instead of those with the most social power or privilege.
50
YES, YES, YES! I have witnessed with my own eyes the amazing work of these two women. Scheherazade was my grad student years ago in Chicago. Anyone who met her knew she had a purpose. Over several summers she brought her young women to my store front studio in Evanston IL. You could see the sense of hope and respect that “A Long Walk Home” had engendered in the eyes and art of these women. It was a pure reflection of the Tillet sisters, clear and simple. As I opened the NYT on my laptop this morning and saw their names on the front page, I feel a sense of hope I have I have not felt in more then two years.
78
R Kelly’s marriage to Aaliyah, when she was 15 (with her parent’s consent) was a dead giveaway. His leaked child pornography tape (in the late 90s/early 2000s) which he settled with the 14 year old victim, was another. I hope the remainder of his victims (and they are probably legion) will have the courage to step forward and bury this pedophile permanently.
153
@JM Hopkins
I've never heard that Aaliyah's parents consented to the marriage. Quite the opposite. The wedding was held in secret, Aaliyah lied about her age on the marriage record (saying she was 18 when she was in fact 15), and an associate of Kelly's obtained falsified identification documents for Aaliyah to support the lie.
The original Chicago Sun-Times article states in pertinent part:
"Sources said *members of Aaliyah's family became enraged when they learned of the marriage.* Documents show that shortly after the wedding, Aaliyah and her family persuaded a Michigan judge to annul the marriage.
In May 1997, ... Aaliyah filed suit in Cook County seeking to have all records of the marriage expunged because she was not old enough under state law to get married *without her parents' consent*."
https://web.archive.org/web/20080516005806/http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/kelly/939951%2Ckellya.article
20
R.I.P. Aaliyah
4
1) I am disgusted with the activist communities insistence that anything that negatively affects blacks needs to constantly be centered on to the
exclusion of other suffering that doesn't fit into their need to
constantly portray themselves are more long suffering than other races.
2) The claim that he got away with this because they were black is ludicrous since Cosby raped mostly white women and got away with it longer than R Kelly has been alive. Kobe Bryant's career didn't suffer from a rape allegation from a white woman. And Nate Parker was only acquitted of raping a white woman because they had consensual sex a few days earlier.
3)There is a manic drive by black activists to center the world around
black suffering. I am disgusted and contemptuous of this selfishness
and constant need to promoting ones race. It's ironic that in the age where everything is labeled a "white supremacy" there in open disregard shown to anything that can't be exploited for more black grievance mongering, it is a leftist pathology. Black activists seem to view themselves as a perennial social cause. I am sick of it and will direct my attention elsewhere. If is a fallacy to think that black problems will be solved when everyone is constantly centered on their wellbeing. They seem to be the only race who carries this belief.
8
I wonder if the vile language and culture of the rapper will now end. I doubt it they are treated like his and showed with gold.
5
The problem here is the uncomfortable intersection of race and gender. Black male artists have disparaged women in video and music for decades, but black women were reluctant to break ranks. Archive your own stories on this, NYT.
10
Black rappers using female's bodies as disposable human tissues is nothing new. Somehow they've avoided being called out on their deviant, predatory behaviour for way too long.
BTW, they've also abused white and other colors of women as well. Gang rape is not uncommon, it's considered almost normal.
8
In "Surviving R. Kelly," women stated that if his victims had been white girls, there would have been more support for the victims. I'm not so sure. In his police interview in July of 2003 (which was recorded on tape), when Kobe Bryant was asked about bruises on his accuser's neck, Bryant admitted to "strangling" her during the encounter, stating that he held her "from the back" "around her neck", that strangling during sex was his "thing" and that he had a pattern of strangling a different sex partner (not his wife) during their recurring sexual encounters. Those are his very words. Yet his powerful media machine was able to gaslight his white victim as a gold digging sexually promiscuous star struck femme fatale, slandering and harassing her until she was intimidated out of testifying. You can read the entire police transcript of Bryant's interview here:
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/crime/kobe-bryant-police-interview
11
Is the issue racism or the fact that African Amercian culture tolerates this behavior?
11
Great and important piece. Black women are better educated than black men, doing better in work and in the world, and showing the way toward a better way to be. If African-American women made it a systemic priority to fight misogyny and violence in the African-American world -- a world they could dominate -- they would find tens of millions of non-African-American financial, moral, and political allies. But if African-American women don't lead the way, don't expect white folks to follow.
10
..and yet a Judge just dismissed Ashley Judd's claim against Harvey Weinstein. the second of such acquittals against the disgraced mogul.
I believe he will serve no time and just like the Kavanaugh situation , Cosby was the scape goat to take the fall for the #metoo movements selective prosecution list. R Kelly will take up the headlines and deservedly so, and Weinstien Will be acquitted while all the attention is on Kelly and the Lynch Mobs will go silent, no outrage and relentless tantrums just like Kavanaugh, and Woody Allen, and Matt Lauer, and Charlie Rose, and Les, and Bill O' Reiley.
A joke.
and before some talking point ridden robot responds it's not about race, the article made it racial, not me, but the only race angle I see in it is who goes to jail and who gets to get off Scott free of jail and lynch mob justice .
2
Rap and hip-hop is a awash in misogyny and sexism, with eager participation by black actresses who debase themselves in videos, and with copious excuses from fans who love love love the vile lyrics. The only shocking part of this story is that it is just about R Kelly, and not a hundred other rappers and producers who create and sustain this culture. I am also endlessly surprised by liberals who lap up this music (because to criticize it is to be racist, of course), yet they claim to be repulsed by Donald Trump's treatment of women. "Grab 'em by the P_" would probably shoot to the top of the charts as a rap single.
14
Tillet and Tillet say: #MeToo Has Finally Returned to Black Girls. I say: what do you mean "finally" and "returned?" Sounds like back of the bus talk.
2
There's no mention of Drake in this article, or anywhere on the NYT. I guess call out culture only applies to people who aren't trendy and popular. There's no prestige in calling out Drake because so many people like him and will get mad. Watch this video of him kissing and fondling a 17 year old girl on stage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fp5b9dW1nrA
4
We are told that the media has focused on white Hollywood actresses. That is a serious accusation. And since the Weinstein case led the way, this newspaper is implicated. With all the abuse that black women suffer, why has the media focused almost exclusively on white victims? It sure sounds like the writers are accusing the media of racism, and rightfully so.
2
All good, but this doesn’t go nearly far enough. Why is pedophile Michael Jackson, who paid hush-money to the families of his victims of several occasions, still praised and his music played on radio?
3
Wow is this reality? Imagine taking what supposed to be a good movement and trivializing other women's plights simply because the color if their skin! Racism if I ever saw it. What white women are coming out with #metoo more often then black women? Boohoo. This is simply a result of probability. Almost seventy percent of the population is white, more if you include white Hispanics (trust me we are always discredited as white so thats more like 77%).
3
After running dozens of pieces demanding that Louis CK never work again, it is long past time that the Times gave voice to women demanding R Kelly be held to account. Why was Chris Brown not subject to a Ray Rice-level boycott after beating Beyonce?
4
Classic narcissism....bully and manipulate...like a page from a psychiatry textbook....When will people realize that much of our suffering is due to the fact that we put these people who are suffering from Axis II psychiatric disorders on a pedestal and worship them?
3
The irony that Tarana Burke founder #Metoo hashtag couldn't get her photo on the cover of Time Magazine along with Ashley Judd, singer Taylor Swift.
Now, R.Kelly is finally getting his just shaming and stars are falling over themselves trying to "dis"-own their adoration.
It shouldn't take *all this* to believe the voices of women of color who are assaulted and victimized.
7
Kelly got away with his crimes because people around him enabled his behavior. His entourage/managers procured minors for him to meet and justified their complicity by blaming the victims as wanting it. Adults who heard whispers of his misdeeds still gave him access to their daughters/young female relatives because they hoped to benefit from his fame, money and influence. Men, such as his own brother, saw nothing wrong with his predilection for young girls believing that he simply has a “preference”. Other celebrities shrugged off Kelly’s criminal acts: comedians joked gleefully about him having sex with/urinating on a 14 year old, collaborating artists weakly stated Kelly is victim of malicious rumors and many others simply treated the open secret as a taboo subject to be ignored in favor of radio hits.
Part of the problem is the very industry Kelly works in. Most R&B and hip-hop music today contain sexist/misogynistic lyrics. Disrespect of women is promoted and even glorified in R&B/hip-hop music where women are routinely called “b*tches,” “h*es,” etc. So it’s hypocrisy when the industry criticizes Kelly for his private conduct when that same industry celebrates his songs like Bump N Grind (“my mind is telling me no, but my body is telling me yes”) and Ignition (“girl let me stick my key in your ignition).” Kelly’s reckoning has to go hand in hand with a reckoning for the way the R&B/hip-hop glorifies the objectification and degradation of women.
29
The problem isn't R. Kelly. The problem is hip-hop culture as a whole, and the willingness of young women/girls/maidens, to participate in it as sex objects. Young people are being taught a warped, criminal set of values that will permeate their lives for years to come. It must be stopped. That is the only way to address these issues. Black macho culture has to change. Violence is not how to get your way, how to express personal power.
23
When will #metoo return for Karen Monahan? Keith Ellison is still 'the people's lawyer' in Minnesota. She was blatantly, systemically disempowered and pushed aside for the sake of his political power.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/30/us/keith-elllison-karen-monahan.html
2
Jailing R Kelly won't solve the hip hop scourge any more than removing Trump will solve the Republican scourge.
These societal diseases must be torn out by the roots.
7
This is an excellent op-ed by Salamishah and Scheherazade Tillet. I hope readers notice how this op-ed rebuts flagrant untruths put forward in a recent article by NYT editor Jessica Bennett entitled "I Am (an Older) Woman. Hear Me Roar."
In Bennett's article, she implied the #MeToo movement was the creation of white Baby Boomer women like herself. This was utterly false, and a textbook example of white Boomers claiming ownership of everything under the sun.
A recent article in The Economist noted that white Baby Boomer women are most hostile to the #MeToo movement:
https://www.economist.com/united-states/2019/01/12/what-group-of-people-is-most-hostile-to-metoo
In sum: I'm glad to see Salamishah Tillet and Scheherazade Tillet setting the record straight. #MeToo was founded by brave young women of color from the Gen-X, Millennial, and Zeta generations. It was not founded by aging white Baby Boomer women who shop at Whole Foods and watch Mad Men.
4
The fact is ALL women and girls are subject to sexual harassment and rape EVERY day, throughout the world and have been since the beginning of time.
The significance and discussion of whether to believe the victims only comes up when the accused is a celebrity. Women and children, whether black, white, brown etc etc, whose predators are not celebrities are disbelieved, ignored, and revictimized as a matter course. I think it weakens the story of all women to divide them into racial fiefdoms. The fact is, a black woman's victimization is no more or less grievous than any other race's victimization in this regard.
Let's stop this competition for I'm a bigger victim than you. It's stupid and self defeating.
19
And here I thought #MeToo was about all women, regardless of race.
7
Chance the Rapper, a man who makes his living calling women all kinds of horrible degrading misogynistic names is quoted about "the detriment" of women in a documentary about another man who abuses women?
What is wrong with this picture?
The hypocrisy is astounding.
7
Thank you for sharing your experience. Now how do we get the record companies and services like Spotify to take R. Kelly's music down? They're feeding him money and his fanbase's misogynist tendencies.
6
It's a sickening realization that the abuse of black girls and women is not taken serious until white media outlets (Lifetime) become interested. Sadly, Kelly has lasted so long because the victims deny his wrong-doing. The parents have signed hush money contracts at the risk of their children's mental and physical health. The older women who voluntarily entered into "relationships" with him convinced themselves that the past allegations were not true. To those in the industry who reject the abuse and try to justify separating man from artist, they are his accomplices. If not for the money he continues to make with record sales, the lure of attraction would be absent. No music equals no money. No money equals no celebrity. No celebrity equals no abuse. No abuse equals no issue. Plain and simple. It's not just a catchy slogan. Blacks lives really DO matter. By saying so does not minimize the lives of others, just levels the playing field of equality. This monster should be behind bars. What if the victims were your white daughters?
8
I remember seeing a Dave Chappelle skit maybe 20 years ago that depicted R Kelly urinating on women. It is truly amazing that people see any of this as new info.
2
I've never understood why rap has relied on the degradation of black women. It has always shocked me, not just for the lyrics and depictions of black women, but because black women themselves remained silent. I hope black women are more respected and honored in the future.
15
Unfortunately, even after years of news reports and hardly a secret of his treatment of women and girls he's never had a problem procuring them. People see this as knowledgeable consent. Hence, part of the problem of having the women and girls taken seriously.
4
Great article and an even better cause. Keep the pressure on. If you would, though, please shy away from parallels to the 1860s in regards to your plight; a black person born in the 1970s can't authentically empathize with Cassy or Emmeline, nor can an Irishman born in the 1970s authentically empathize with those who endured the famine; nor can a young Armenian living in Glendale today authentically empathize with their people's genocide. We shall't never forget, of course, but we live in the lap of luxury in comparison to those who came before us, and citing these horrors as a reason to hate modern-day descendants of those who perpetrated them isn't fair. That rant aside, this piece is overdue.
13
@Jake Cashill Yes, yes, yes. I’m totally with you.
1
Chances quote which is treated with approval by the article:
“Any of us who ever ignored the R. Kelly stories, or ever believed he was being set up/attacked by the system (as black men often are) were doing so at the detriment of black women and girls.”
I have no opinion on the merits of the accusations against Kelly. However, I do have an opinion on the attitude and position of Chance and of the author as expressed in that quote. I think Chance and the author's position are despicable advocacy of injustice because they contend that there isn't even possibility that the accusations against Kelly could be false. They not only presume guilt, they deny the possibility of innocence and false accusation in every case where a black woman accuses a male.
2
@Errol So how many corroborations and witnesses does it take before you are willing to believe women?
8
Finally women of color having their voices being heard. This comes to show that the #MeToo Movement doesn’t discriminate and all people regardless of backgrounds and circumstances should be heard and understood equally.
8
@Jenny G.
The question is whether or not the African American community will listen.
1
Really, we are going to fight over who “owns” the “#me too” movement? This isn’t a competition to win the title of “most egregiously wronged”. As women, we all need to stand up for each other.
17
@Born In The Bronx
Why can't we be honest about the history of the MeToo hash tag? Tarana Burke's Metoo movement brought awareness to domestic violence in low income communities and support to its victims. Alyssa Milano hijacked the hashtag without even asking permission or being honest about its source until social media forced her to acknowledge Burke. It is unfortunate that Milano chose not to stand up for Burke until pressure was brought to bear and we should not shy away from what actually happened. If women cannot respect each other, how can we expect men to respect us?
7
Misogyny in rap music refers to lyrics, videos or other aspects of rap music that support, glorify, justify, or normalize the objectification, exploitation, or victimization of women.[1][2] It can range from innuendoes to stereotypical characterizations and defamations.[2]
Content analyses have found that approximately 22% to 37% of rap lyrics contain some misogyny, depending on subgenre.[8][9][10] Individual artists have been shown to use such lyrics more or less frequently.
Wikipedia
26
@R. R. The author quotes Chance the Rapper at being upset about R. Kelly abusing women yet he himself calls women horrible degrading misogynistic names in his raps.
Why would they quote this guy of all people? Can't they find any rappers who are not misogynistic?
5
All of the pain, neglect, abuse we have given them
through many years in many places
stains the memories of our rallying cry,
"With liberty and justice for all!"
Too much have we asked of black women.
There is no liberty when you are treated like a thing.
There is no justice when you are unseen and unheard.
There is no truth when you are gaslighted.
They learn and laugh and love as well as any of us
yet they are not accepted like you and I.
For every time, my fellow man, that you and I have not been believed in, they have been disbelieved thrice.
When they are victims, they are treated as criminals.
This cannot be allowed to stand. Too much have we asked of black women.
Listen to them.
Listen to our sisters and mothers.
Listen to our lovers and friends.
Listen to their stories, and believe them.
Cherish them as people, and as equals. We need to ask more of ourselves.
We need to respect black women.
31
Thank you for publishing this piece, NYT. We need to hear more of these voices and we need to listen to them.
31
Sexual assault of black women is different. Assuming the assault is by a black man, he is likely to have been a victim of racial prejudice. When both the woman and the man have been the subject of prejudice, it is harder for the black woman to go on the offensive. Blacks tend to be a victimized population. And it is difficult for one victim to seek redress against another. White women don't face this dilemma, and so it is easier -- though surely not easy -- for them to go public.
14
@michjas I assume you are being sarcastic. Kelly's fans and colleagues knew about him for decades and gave him a pass. Dave Chapelle is the only exception that comes to mind.
14
Black Male Privilege is somebody always eager to drag up a ridiculous excuse for horrible behavior.
4
Thank you Professor Tillet and Ms. Tillet for this great article and for your brave, potent and essential work.
13
Thank you! for using "young women" rather than "girls" when it's age-appropriate. We Second Wave Feminists knew that how we think is influenced by the words we use, and fought to not be called "girls". That wisdom seems to have disappeared.
21
This problem has many facets. The media treats black offenders (e. g. Kelly, Cosby) with soft gloves, benign racism lessens empathy for black victims, and black culture is insensitive to the plight of black women. So everyone who is directly or indirectly not part of the solution needs to be objective, empathetic, and helpful.
15
There is not one nation, society or culture on the planet that values and keeps safe girls and women from males such as Robert Kelly, whether the males are rich or a peasant, stranger or known. It's worse among groups that throughout history use oppressive religions that don't just fail to value females, they devise ever new ways to devalue and degrade females.
The concurrent overvaluing of that group's sons, brothers, fathers, uncles and total stranger = the belief in the care and tending and protection of all males, no matter how vile and vicious, is the twin evil that allows misogyny to flourish. Devaluing females and overvaluing males is certainly not the exclusive domain of blacks and browns around the world, but that's where one tends to nearly always find those two pathologic sicknesses together. It is always a tragedy for girls and women, not just as victims and potential victims but as victimizers caught in the culture that demands they perpetuate their own abuse, trauma and demise. No one on the planet does well until misogyny is called out and rooted out. Until then, the human race is simply a dismal predatory failure devoted to harming half of all humans, with rewards galore for doing so.
15
@Maggie Agreed that value is everything, but I am not so sure about your domains. We see this in white "Christian" domains too.
7
I agree with the authors' assertion that black women do not receive the same level of media coverage and outrage as white women in similar situations. This inequality is certainly not new: Dave Chappelle had an old stand-up joke in 2004 regarding how differently Elizabeth Smart and a young kidnapped black girl were portrayed in the media. There is certainly some truth in the idea that R. Kelly's choice of victim has enabled him to avoid the spectacularly sudden collapses of other entertainers.
However, as other commenters have mentioned, there have been multiple media frenzies regarding R. Kelly's conduct over the years. His child pornography trial was not swept under the rug; it was consistently front-page news. And his career did suffer for it-- though again, not to the full extent of others we have seen recently.
The truth is that R Kelly continues to produce music because the man's thronging audience continues to purchase tickets. And in the pervasively misogynistic world of hip-hop and R&B, how can we say that R Kelly stands out? In a way, it's almost refreshing. At least, R Kelly isn't like his comrades who spew hatred towards women and proclaim it to be an act.
R Kelly's been keeping it real since the 1990's, and it's not the media's fault that we've been dancing along.
30
Brava to the authors and others in their community for being willing to call out a prominent member of that community for his misdeeds. If #metoo is truly going to take wing among girls of color, there will need to be a lot more of that courage. Truly random sexual assaults are rare; most victims are assaulted by someone they know -- neighbors, students in the same school, relatives, coworkers, members of their own community. Given how segregated most American communities still remain, it stands to reason that the vast majority of sexual harrassment and assault against women of color is perpetrated by men of color. If these men are protected by unwillingness to expose a member of their community (especially a prominent one) to prosecution, nothing will change.
30
Years ago, many of us saw R. Kelly for what he is: an opportunist thug who thinks it is his right to molest and assault others. Kelley has been accused of imprisoning women in a sex cult.... and yet fools buy his records and enable him to continue to be a predator.
39
What "spectacular fall"? His music is still available on spotify (I just checked a minute ago). His concerts are continuing as well. You can by tickets right now to an event on April 12, 2019. Here's the link:
https://app.ticketlabel.com/en/events/303:R-Kelly-Live-Meet-and-Great--
Has *ANYTHING* significant happened?
41
Let's not forget that from Mike Tyson to R Kelly their strongest loudest defenders were young black women and black clergymen. A group of clergymen tried to buy off Tyson's accuser so a prominent black man would not take a public fall. That was over 25 years ago. R Kelly has being doing this for decades and also had the support of those same two groups until very recently.
It has been way too long for this moment, but there's plenty of blame to go around. Starting with the music and culture that enthusiastically endorses misogyny and sexual assault.
72
Kasey (Kasaundra Johnson) was 11 when a white judge emancipated her, set her up to leave home, where her alcoholic mother and she (starting at 9) were mass raped on the first of the month by a line of dozens of men every month on the first when her mom’s welfare check arrived. He got here rolled in a distant school, Queen Anne HS, where she graduated at 15 and went to work for the V.A.
There have been such judges who cared. But the, at that time corrupt, police department had not cared. It was easy for them to verify. The line of men was there for hours every first. And I could have told you so many more cases from the Neighborhood House youth I tutored. (It also was true for many Asian and Native girls.
And when she was found in the late 1970s in a submerged auto at the bottom of Lake Stevens WA, there was no investigation. Yet the woman prison inmates knew that she was kidnapped and tortured for days as a lesson to her husband in prison.
Kasey had no interests in Snohomish County. Shortly before her murder, she did not know how to drive. I doubt that she even had a license, nor a car.
One can argue about age, but never about intimidation for sex. This man apparently is a sadist/masochist with an inadequate personality that absorbs others’ personalities by dominating and taking over or submitting and surrendering his into theirs. That is the real issue.
3
Watching "Surviving R. Kelly," I was shouting Hallelujah. As a white woman and lifelong advocate for sexual assault survivors, it has been nearly impossible for white women to be heard when advocating for black female victims because of the very real history of white women falsely accusing black men of sexual assault. Any woman calling out male predators is gaslighted, but white women calling out serial black predators like R. Kelly are gaslighted as having a racist agenda to reinforce the false stereotype that all black males are sexually aggressive. I am thrilled that the long years of hard work, sacrifice and courage of black female activists have finally broken through all the noise and is resonating with a critical mass in the black community. This is a great day for humanity and a long time coming. Know that white women activists are celebrating your progress with you.
41
@Amy Luna
If you’ve been a lifelong advocate for survivors, then maybe you should spend some time in a felony courtroom at 26th and California or any Cook County suburban district court. It’s the rapists of Black women who are being charged, not those who have raped white women. Speak with the advocates at Rape Victim Advocates in Chicago.
1
Thank you to the authors for their important work and thoughtful article, which I learned a lot from.
10
It's passed the time time to open up the # metoo movement to include black girls, obviously. And it's time to organize a boycott against RCA records ala the Grab Your Wallet campaign that successfully brought down the Ivanka Trump brand. Once supposedly valued at $100 Million, it no longer exists. How much support would that amount of money be as a start to help abused and molested young black girls around the country.
11
Was #MeToo away from black girls and women when "it" was instrumental in making Bill Cosby the first high-profile man to be held accountable for rape/abuse/assault of victims including black women?
I agree with so much in this, but more was done to investigate R. Kelly, over the years of allegations,- than was done to investigate our MeToo gold standard, Weinstein- who seemingly got decades long protection- even as "big (white) stars" reported his assaults. Law enforcement and the mainstream seems pretty disinterested in the prolific underage relationships of Woody Allen- incl. his secret relationship with the teen daughter of his life partner.
The mainstreaming of the movement has been recent and its victims diverse- NPR host, Hockenberry, had at least two women of color come forward, and other WOC writers have made public allegations against men in positions of power over their careers.
I mean yes, Hollywood actresses dominate- but that leaves 99.9% of American women out.
In evaluating coverage and the movement- I think we need to look at both the race of the alleged victims and the alleged perpetrator to get a better picture of what biases are at play.
11
@dennis Yes, you are right! Why are women often presumed guilty (i.e., you were dressed inappropriately, you gave the wrong signals, why didn't you just do X, etc.)? There is a long history of people presuming that women are at fault. I'm so glad that there is finally a shift in the balance!
16
I am surprised that the authors have not pointed out that many black women are accused of racism when they criticize black men, and this has been going on a long time. Look at what happened to Alice Walker and the Color Purple - she was treated as a betrayer to black men. Anita Hill. Both authors should read - https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/15/opinion/russell-simmons-black-women-metoo.html
and stop blaming the "white" establishment for silencing black women.
63
@Lorry your comment is interesting. Today I have been wondering about the family of the 7 year old girl killed in Houston. They so clearly identified the shooter as white and suggested a hate crime. The two suspects arrested are not white. Although this case still needs to play out, I’m wondering if the same psychology is at play and they feared implicating a black male.
5
Its not suprising that Black Women have suffered at the hands of the usual suspects. White Supremecists, Southern Democrats, Government officials and racists.
What is more painful, is the supposed liberal allies in Hollywood, going all the way back to how Josephine Baker couldnt get a gig in the United States only to flee to Paris who appreciated her talent and made her into a star. In 1934 Cabin in the Sky, a Lena Horn scene was deemed offensive for the simple reason that a black women singing in a Bubblebath (fully covered) was offensive and unamerican
Lest we think our Hollywood Allies have seen the light... even today Black Woman are ignored by them in the most public and humiliating ways yet. In both Film and TV The Black Male lead goes from Caucasian Woman to Caucasian Women without even considering a Black Woman. What message are they sending? and we receiving? That Black Woman are regarded as not worthy, even to Black Men. This unftly seems shows in the brainwashing of so many of our Black Millionaires and success stories
The More things change...
10
@dennis - not a thing, that's why the accusations are refrred to as allegations.
A bit off point, but it's hard for me to take seriously anyone who enjoys his/ this type of music. It's so degrading to women, there's no way it doesn't desensitize and affect the behavior of a measurable segment of society.
34
Everybody complains that #MeToo is too white. Perhaps it's because white people are doing most of the work? White actresses have been spilling the beans about everyone, while black actresses have been mostly quiet. Self loathing white men breathlessly whine about how sexist they are, while black men close ranks. Where's the discussion? When are we going to start seeing articles in major newspapers, written by black people, about misogyny in black entertainment and black people's failures in taking responsibility for it? One user below mentioned that a R. Kelly concert he went to was mostly attended by black women. How about writing an article criticizing them, instead of criticizing white women for reporting their rapists?
50
@TomMoretz white people are not doing most of the work. You see the faces of the white woman doing the work. Tarana Burke is a black woman who was the founder of the MeToo movement and from whom white woman "borrowed" the phrase. Perhaps you should have more conversations with folks in the black community, or with black academics, or directly with the people doing the work. They exist, I have an entire community of folks who do this work and we are talking about it. You are commenting on what you see through white eyes in white media. There was no criticism in this article of white women reporting their rapists, you missed the entire point which is that people don't listen to black women and don't care about black woman's stories. See the example in the article of the HBO response to a young black woman looking to tell her story. The conversation is about how to be more inclusive to make sure ALL woman are protected. READ! READ! READ!
38
@TomMoretz A Black woman started MeToo. White women, especially Hollywood actress co-opted it to suit their own purposes. Lady GaGa has been very outspoken about sexual abuse but had no problem working with R. Kelly.
Facts. Their very helpful.
15
@TomMoretz
Its all about the money. He was found not guilty.
3
Good. I know there is a tendency by all minorities to defend everyone within the tribe. The feeling is that bad behavior by one discredits the whole group. However, assault is assault, rape is rape, misogyny is misogyny and abuse of power is abuse of power. No excuses.
47
I'm sorry but I really don't get this. Each time a famous black man is accused or rape or assault or harassing or demeaning women the first people who come to his defense are black women. When Mike Tyson raped a young girl black women and black church women were on the front line of protecting him. And trash like Kelly are known offenders for a long time and are still defended and protected. And when black women stop appearing in so called music videos demeaning themselves and other black women I'll listen. Meanwhile I'm surprised this was in the Times it's so ridiculous.
44
You need to get to know a better quality of black women and black men. And to read the literature by them. Iceberg Slim level is not adequate.
17
@eve The same could be said for white women as well. Brett Kavanaugh defenders come to mind as do the many white women singers, actresses and backup dancers etc. Ashley Judd giggling with Weinstein after he allegedly assaulted her. Lady Gaga Believe it or not rape does happen to average everyday black girls and women. How is Kelly still defended? Did you miss the photo at the beginning of the article?
5
When will other still-widely-praised perpetrators of misogyny get their fair share of boycotts and condemnation? Richard Pryor, Chris Brown, Dr. Dre, Xxxtentacion, used women as disposable punching bags and casted aside like yesterday's trash. I don't understand how women (or supporters of human rights for in general) can support them. The denial and hypocrisy there is disturbing.
30
Isn't #MeToo a twitter thing? Were black women who used the hastag not getting enough likes? Hopefully this will change that.
2
Ill be frank here, I don't think that this will make a lick of difference. There will be a few days of attention, op-eds, and Twitter activism. In time Trump will say he likes Popeye's Chicken and the media will swivel to that for a day or two with articles ranging from why does he hate KFC, or how dare he eat fried chicken.
R-Kelly might be taken down, put in prison, and generally shunned, but that will not alter the culture of how this happened. There will be another R-Kelly, and another, and another.
As long as people like R-Kelly are viewed as something to be emulated because he is wealthy, successful, and gets a lot of female attention, men will try and emulate him.
My fiancée is a black woman, granted we are Canadians, but I feel acutely when a woman who looks like her suffers. As much as I want to think that this op-ed and documentary will help, I hold no hope of that. I can only hope I am wrong.
20
@Mark F
You are wrong. You obviously haven't watched the documentary. His concerts have been cancelled, big radio stations won't play his music and he's been taken down or downgraded on the most popular music streaming services. In other words, he's finished.
10
@laura corn
They should stop playing Elvis, Jerry lee Lewis, and the Beatles. What ever happen to innocent until proven guilty?
@laura corn
You have obviously have missed the argument he made. He said "R-Kelly might be taken down, put in prison and generally shunned," but there will be another R-Kelly to take his place.
2
So if a white woman were to start a movement only for other white women who have been harassed that would fly with women of color? As if one race can lay claim to that.
19
@Margo Channing, Right, as if one is better or worse.
Sexual assault is sexual assault is sexual assault.
12
@Margo Channing
Well, white women did start a movement for them alone when Alyssa Milano hijacked Tarana Burke's MeToo hashtag. If Milano had truly wanted a movement for all women, she would have joined with Burke or been open from the outset about her actions.
1
If people gave up their putrid intersectional opression narratives, we wouldn't have jumped from accusation to someone being setup by the system - its insanity - its ouroboros, the snake eating itself. Such narratives have lead to the denouncement of songs such as "baby its cold outside", but somehow people like R-Kelly can sing undeniably of misogynistic and hedonistic topics. Your systems of oppression narrative is not only failing to eradicate but actually manufacturing oppression. It's just not helpful to literally anyone.
22
If Black women who are sexually assaulted and abused are ignored, then how is it they are validated by the criminal justice system more than other women? If you go to a felony courtroom in any major city, you are going to see many more Black men than white men charged with sexual assault, and their victims are usually Black women. Ask anyone in law enforcement in a large metropolitan area. It’s actually white women, usually assaulted and abused by white men, who are not validated by the criminal justice system.
In addition, R Kelly was not convicted in 2008 because his victim refused to cooperate. If she had, then he likely would have gone to prison.
7
R. Kelly unfortunately has a deeper history in our culture from slavery unto today.
The sexual demand for vulnerable female slaves, racially exploited black women, defined the subjugation of blacks, in the white conquest of the Americas. When you hear Senator Elizabeth Warren’s attempt to claim Native American tribal ancestry, based on family lore of a Cherokee female, you find the same claim echoed hundreds of times by other whites, and none of them ever consider how such a Native American female (and the ancestor is always a female) became available to their white male ancestors. It’s astonishing, the pervasive denial in general American culture of the extensive concubinage and outright rapes, historically the means by which some Euro-Americans came to acquire African, Native American, Filipino, Inuit ancestry.
When most Americans discovered that white supremacists like the late Senator Storm Thurmond (Rep.-SC) had raped a girl and fathered a black child, the attitude of most was indifference. But Thurmond was the history of white rape as Europeans explored, conquered and settled the continent. It explains the pattern of our gender politics today, in the abandoned children of American fathers in nearly every country we have sent our military, in our foreign tourist destinations, in the thriving prostitution market along our Mexican border, with its thousands of blond and blue eyed abandoned Mexican waifs. R.Kelly did not come out of nowhere.
20
the fact that it is noon and there are only 34 comments on such a pervasive issue proves not only the authors point but how deeply embedded in our culture racism and misogyny are...America has a lot of work to do mostly by men...fyi I am a white male (if that matters).
14
"It’s also where 22-year-old Rekia Boyd was killed by an off-duty police officer in 2012."
It blurs the essay to include Rekia Boyd's killing, which occurred when an off-duty police officer, by some accounts drunk, allegedly got into an argument with a group of people in a park and shot at the group. That has nothing to do with the charges against R Kelly of rape, statutory rape, power abuse and sexual violence.
Yes, intersectionality means that black women's "experiences do not neatly fit into a single-issue narrative of gender or race." But that doesn't mean that an essay on sexual violence and exploitation can range at will into irrelevant matters. It still weakens the essay's impact and ability to persuade.
27
This hurt.
But just deleted "I believe I can fly" from my phone. Also going to try to stop signing it with my kids...
10
@JP
Add Elvis, Jerry lee Lewis, and the Beatles to the list. All of them did the same. What ever happen to innocent until proven guilty?
3
I'm trying to discern the meaning of the tagline, "Let's keep it there." I agree completely with the authors' assessment that black women's voices have been frequently muted, whether young or older, muted, dismissed, never seen to be credible or deserving of attention, squashed, it's counterintuitive and counterproductive to act like there's only so much space to allot to this issue and it has to be struggled for and divvied up. That's a regressive proposition if we want to truly end sexual violence, harassment, and domination of women on the basis of their sex.
Of course, it's ultimately necessary and crucial that white people, all white people, make the active decision to place the fight to end racism, in all forms, blatant and nuanced, front and center as part of any political or private agenda. It's up to me, as a white woman, to make sure that I hold not just myself but everyone I encounter, accountable, and that means not just speaking up, but acting out, every day in every way. No passes for anyone.
Voices of black women who have been sexually harmed, in any way, cannot be muffled. At the same time, women of all colors must recognize that this is a battle we can unite around to ensure that the degradation and rape and subjugation of all women is damaging to each of us. This is, indeed, a long road. Misogyny is a tall tree with deep roots; it's been growing forever and it won't come down easy. We should be unified in the pursuit of pulling it out by the roots.
15
How did this editorial managed to get published in the New York Times? Dr. and Ms. Tillet are certainly entitled to their opinions, but the column is predicated on conjecture, anecdote, and in some cases blatant misrepresentation.
R. Kelly's accusers have never been ignored: he was aggressively prosecuted for years and only managed to escape jail time in 2008 on a technicality. The trial was a tabloid sensation and the allegations against him were widely reported. The prosecutor in that trail, a white male named Richard Devine, pursued the charges doggedly for six years.
Perhaps equally important, R. Kelly became a pariah in the music world shortly after the 2003 allegations against him emerged. Jay-Z abruptly cancelled their "Best of Both Worlds" tour and stopped promoting an album he made with Kelly, presumably at a great financial loss; collaborations with prominent recording artists more or less ground to a halt. To claim that Kelly's accusers have been ignored, and that Mr. Kelly has enjoyed a flourishing career in the interim, is a willful misrepresentation of the facts.
Side note: I went to an R. Kelly concert in 2011 and about 75% of the audience was young-ish black women. (I say that without judgment because, to be fair: it was a great concert.) So before Dr. and Ms. Tillet try to cast this as an issue of the White America callously ignoring the accusations of young black women, please consider who's been lining R. Kelly's pockets all these years.
126
@Michael They aren't saying it is an issue of white america ignoring young black women. Given that they highlighted quotes made by Chance the Rapper (a black man), their contention is EVERYONE ignores the accusations of young black women.
32
For starters, how about not referring to all females as b's & h's?
I hate this label. It is unacceptable and disrespectful. No, it is not OK to call women horrible things and make it normal. Ever.
142
@lin
That stuff sells, and its all about the money. Sad world we live in. They should stop playing Elvis, Jerry lee Lewis, and the Beatles. What ever happen to innocent until proven guilty?
1
How can any organization whose goal is the eradication of harm , or sexual harm to women , or black women focus on the individual abuse and or crimes of R Kelly and ignore the degradation of women and black women as whores and the widespread harm Rap Music videos and lyrics have done to the Black Community and our youth by promoting sex and promiscuity .
The harms of R Kelly or any individual certainly pale to the widespread and negative influence " Rap " has had on first marginalizing dark skin and African looking women in favor of fair complexion women so light you don't know what they are from its inception , and of course in its latest forms the raunchiest , boldest sexual lyrics and images that promote treating girls and women as throw away sex objects for men to pull a train on with no morality or thought whatsoever .
No scientific research is needed to prove watching and listening to these lyrics and images constantly has had an affect on young people having sex at ages as young as 11 and 12 years old and have degraded women as bad as anything in our history . If you truly want to help Black Women start protesting the harm that has been " Rap Music "
92
To keep things in context, have you listened to classic rock? Not exactly much better...
8
@Cat M See my comment above. Many, many speakers of truth to power among the old rockers (lots of drivel too, to be fair).
3
@VB
There are some rap artists who stand up for women and responsible, loving sexuality. Protesting harmful rap music should go hand in hand with promoting and praising the good stuff.
8
Thank you for this, and for all of the work you do.
21
Let’s see, a black man victimizes black girls and his black fans refuse to believe them (or believe them and don’t care). And somehow this is due to “intersectionality”?
90
@Max. Intersectionality is not a new idea. The framers understood it but didn't feel the need to coin a term. The framers understood that each individual is the highest resolution in terms of divisions of grievance groups. What they understood that the person who coined the term did not understand, is that the more you divide people based on the intersecting groups, you will eventually arrive at the individual. So from an intersectionality perspective, social justice is wrong because it focuses on groups, whereas the conclusion of any intersectional analysis is that the smallest group that can have grievances is the individual. Anything short of ensuring individuals' civil liberties over groups' is tyranny.
13
@Max
Somehow it seems to be partially the fault of white people.
13
@Max Let's see... a dude reads this article about trauma and despair in young women and thinks-- how can I make this about me?
22
Thank you for the refusal to give up that has finally brought attention to these issues, and the unique vulnerability of black women and girls. Now is the moment for real change.
9
There should be a long look at certain aspects of the hip hop and rap music industry. So far they've received a misogynistic free pass and get out of jail free card. Dig deeper here with this.
206
@jm
Excellent point. Assuming the allegations of Surviving R Kelly are true (as they seem to be), Kelly was living out the power fantasy depicted in countless hip hop videos.
The man as totally dominant over multiple nameless women, who are slavishly adoring and whom he sexually objectifies. The women accepting their role without a peep, as if it were a given.
That's the sadistic fantasy. That's a large part of what sells the music, to white and black men alike. And for decades black women have largely failed to challenge it, apparently because many of them believed a history of slavery and continued racism give black men a pass on sexism and misogyny.
37
@jm yes - i am a long time hip hop fan but this story caused me to do a double take at the artists I consider legend. Hip hop has had a long lasting pass when it comes to mysogny it's time to bring the movement to the entire culture and industry.
27
Don't count on it. While timely, this article does all kinds of verbal gymnastics in an effort to maintain the PC party line that hip hop is a sacred cultural resource.
36
Say it. Say it. Say it. This is a brilliant melding of herstory and the activism it can inspire. Thank you for reminding us of the long, twisted and often ignored history of how race, class, gender etc. intersect and limit cross identity change. Until white women ( I am one) and white men own that the door opens, the walls come down only when WE recognize our skin privilege/access to power, change will not happen as quickly as it must. It is incumbent upon all of us who have “access” to follow the example of and work alongside activists who have been exposing wrongs and demanding change in places too many of us over look, or worse, render invisible.
20
Good suggestions. I hope we are at a turning point in the struggle for Black women's freedom.
8
Black women were critical in leading the charge against Cosby. But sure just ignore that.
38
@Mark
Yes, black women were critical in that regard but not for the reason you probably think. Without the black woman accusers, the white women would not have believed (what a novel idea!) and dismissed as whites trying to bring down a black icon.
7
@Mark So were white prosecutors, but the article ignore that, too.
2
Violence doesn't know what color you are and it should never matter, but it has.
Lack of wealth or status is the lurking elephant in the room.
Hard enough for celebraties of color to count, what chance do people of obscurity have?
23
@Dan
"People of Obscurity" has potential as a "thing," though it will need fine-tuning to improve the acronym. Viewed cynically it's a publishing/tenure opportunity, but more sincerely it's a concept the time for whose articulation may have come.
2
I have always wondered why black women seemed to not have had a #me too issue. I wondered were they just protecting black men. All the news seemed to be about white women or white gay men calling out white guys. I wondered if black women were just not attacked because they were stronger than white women. I have read enough books to know that isn’t true but hadn’t seen any high profile cases where black women were the focus. It is important that all women come forward or we wil never route out this injustice. Don’t be ignored.
21
@David Gifford
Black women are abused/assaulted in similar proportions to white women. Sadly, black women are shamed into silence when we are abused. That shame usually comes from OTHER BLACK WOMEN. At age 35, I shared with my mother that I had been molested since the age of 7 by my stepfather. She did not speak to me for nearly a month. When she finally broke her silence, her exact words were "after my prayer and fasting, I forgive you."
206
I’m so sorry you had to go through that and not have the support and validation of your mother to help you through.
28
@David Gifford
"I have always wondered why black women seemed to not have had a #me too issue.
Bill Cosby's case involved many black women, did you miss that extremely high profile case?
Did Anita Hill, rightly lauded as one of the most powerful trailblazers and leaders against sexual harassment, escape your awareness?
Legendary Tina Turner's survival of assault/rape/domestic violence....?
This is not about the strength of women (even with your racial stereotyping). This is about the weakness of men and people in positions of power.
19
I apologize if I speak out of ignorance but truly want to know - while the media and law enforcement most definitely haven’t taken black women seriously, in instances like R. Kelly, how often are black men shutting down the conversation because of the multitude of false accusations due to racial bias? I’m thinking of another such person, Justice Clarence Thomas who said his judicial hearing with Anita Hill was akin to “Emmett Till”. That shut things down quickly among a mostly white Senate and silenced Anita Hill, another black woman.
109
@LB I should add: in fact, are black men using the system that has oppressed them to silence black women? I think so.
63
@LB - Clarence Thomas was never accused of anything more than crude language. Which you have conflated with actual sexual assault here. Thomas never said he was treated Akin to Emmett Till - He said it was a High Tech lynching; no physical violence but a destruction of his character. Your comments here prove him right. Anita Hill never silenced, Joe Biden choose not believe her or weight her comments. She continues to speak publicly to this day.
5
@LB That's a complicated question. Yes, there are some black men who do this. Clarence Thomas is a great example, but the white male senators do not get a pass for backing up his nonsense. They did so because they did not value the lives of women, or of black women. Taking racism seriously means taking seriously the experiences of black women. Taking sexism seriously means taking seriously the experiences of black women. Backing Anita Hill would have also been an act of anti-racism. In fact, believing Anita Hill would have been more anti-racist (not to mention anti-sexist) than believing Clarence Thomas. The former had credibility and supporting witnesses who were never permitted to testify on her side.
19
R. Kelly is black and his victims were black. Race is not a factor in his crimes whatsoever, and yet somehow people are trying to blame this (like all ills in our society) on white racism. Nice.
87
@Jon Race is a factor in so far as it affects the efforts of law enforcement to do anything about it. Law enforcement has been weak in protecting white women from sexual violence, but it's been weaker with respect to black women.
Is that because law enforcement takes the protection of black women less seriously? Is it because black women have less power to demand such protection? Is it because of push back from the black community when a black man is accused of such a crime?
Answer (d) All of the above.
22
@Jon The piece opens with a quote from Chance the Rapper, a black man, on how he didn't believe the accusers because they were black women, and then how he wasn't the only one. Race is a factor in why these women were *ignored* by persons of all races, and that is the point of the article - how #MeToo is finally reaching a segment of the population that needs it.
18
@Jon And some white people can't listen to even the smallest amount of grievance without throwing a hissy fit. Nice.
20
No surprise here. Black women are more likely to be the victims of violent crime, rape and murder. If they go missing it doesn’t grab national headlines and there’s no massive search for them. Its heartbreaking that black women are marginalized and treated like they’re invisible. Instead of #metoo their mantra should be #iexist.
21
I think that focusing on African American women in the #metoo context is a great step forward and I applaud it.
But to do so, we have to acknowledge that the vast number of perpetrators are black men. I don’t think the slavery/slave master comparison in this article is as on point, because from the evidence I’ve read, the “white powerful man/weaker African American woman” is a small sliver of the overall violence and abuse African American women suffer through.
Rather, it exists in a pop-culture focus on the African American community on sex, violence, calling women “b*tch, or other derogatory words.
We need to change the acceptance of promoting that kind of language - because even if it is viewed in “a larger context of culture or history” it doesn’t change the fact that these words promote acceptance of the meanings behind them
147
@Hunter R.
This is one of several areas where black women and white men may find it beneficial to look more closely into their "diagonal" relationship.
4
@Hunter R. This article IS acknowledging Black men as perpetrators - hence their mention of "Surviving R. Kelly." But all men are perpetrators, regardless of their race, and centering this conversation on yourself, a presumably non-Black man, is NOT moving the conversation forward. Also not helpful - stereotyping the Black community's culture as one of sex, violence, and name-calling. You have a lot of educating to do.
5
Hear, hear. This is crucial, critical work. And it shouldn’t take a high profile documentary, but it does. Onwards.
19
As a 55 yr old white father I can tell you that I care and I’m hopeful that the younger generations are less color biased. I know my children are basically colorblind, you never hear any of the off handed remarks about race that were common in my youth. I think it is familiarity. Our lives were very segregated in all things, including media. Now, black and Latino and Asian, and gay voices and role models are available and celebrated. Some where out there a kid exposed to racism at home is going to come across Insecure on HBO and realize he has more in common with Issa then his parents. I’m hoping, maybe, foolishly, that this Trump era is a death rattle before the younger kids start voting and taking power. I do know that nothing is easy, so keep pushing, keep fighting.
89
Billy,
I’m sure you mean no harm describing your children as “colorblind”—I get what you mean—but I’d like to see people become color-aware: aware of inequality, inequities and danger that non-white people endure.
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@Julia Chance, and I'm sure you mean no harm by encouraging Billy to see the upside in being 'color-aware.' I think it's a difference of how high you each are raising your sights. Near-term, the responsible adults of the world need to be cognizant of the inequality, inequity, and dangers created by the social construct of Otherness.
But we need to be careful that in doing so, we are not enforcing and perpetuating divisions within the human race. Because in the long term, the solution is the one Billy seeks. Equality, equity, safety and respect will come about only when we stop placing so much significance on Otherness--yes, maybe even stop perceiving it. When the next generation sees injustice or violence, I don't want their first question to be (as it too often is now), "Was the victim someone like me, or the Other? Is the problem theirs or mine?"
Applying the point to this article, we need to understand NOW that black women's stories have been discounted. In the FUTURE, we need to give every report of violence equal respect. We need to react in the same way to all injustice.
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No, he just knows his own kids better than you do.
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