But for the ancestors looking out for me, I’d probably have a few restraining orders filed against me too. All of them would have been filed by the man who beat me for 6 years. There is the time I cut up his clothes. The time I fought a woman he was cheating on me with (he beat me up in response. I was pregnant.) That’s the thing about abuse. Be it sexual assault or domestic violence, it changes you in ways you never imagined. Then one day you’re calmly lying beside him describing in detai[...]
R. Kelly is a rapist. But you know that. Thing is, you often don’t even dispute it. You just counter by pointing out that white male celebrities have raped women too. As if there should be equal opportunity to rape. Because the only thing I glean from argument is that is that you feel Kelly should be allowed to continue raping freely because white male celebrities have done so. R. Kelly is a rapist. But you know that. You’re just more interested in pointing out that some of hi[...]
If you’re an 80s baby (or late 70’s), chances are you grew up watching The Cosby Show. And if you’re a Black girl, chances are that Rudy Huxtable was your real life cousin in your head. She was a Black girl just like us. And she was on TV. Saundra and Denise were cool but my brown skinned self just didn’t see myself in them. Plus they was too old to relate to. Saundra’s Princeton experience wasn’t nowhere on my radar or the radar of anyone I knew and Denise was just all over the plac[...]
Nate Parker's most recent response to the rape charges he faced 17 years ago was viewed by some as redemptive and by others as an attempt at damage control. I fall into the latter category. Quite simply, Nate's response in Ebony came off as contrived, contradicting and inauthentic. Might I have been more receptive had this been his first response? Possibly. Because let Nate tell it and I'm supposed to believe that over 17 years, not only did he not even think about remorse or accountability, he[...]