Step in the Name of Justice

*editor's note: I decided not to add a photo to this post because I will not have that predator’s face in this blog space.

If you weren’t outraged by the time you finished watching “Surviving R. Kelly,” I wonder what else you were paying attention to while you watched.

Chance the Rapper said it best while being interviewed stating he simply “didn’t care what the accusers said. BECAUSE they were Black women.” This is not just a problem within the Black community but, in a larger context, within this country as a whole. Black Women are the least valued women, the country, potentially even the world, over. We loved for our innovative fashion, our hair, the culture we possess and the way we flaunt it, but let the slightest malignant occurrence happen to us and suddenly, only the scarecrows are paying us any mind. No one cares. How a community by and large can turn its back on one of its strongest standing pillars is unfathomable to me. From community members to the police, those who are supposed to serve and protect to even family members, the believability of Black women is constantly and without fail called into question before she is ever believed. The callous way Black women are treated is simply appalling. If you’re not speaking out, then what exactly are you doing? Now that the #MeToo And Times Up movements are gaining momentum and showing a real ability to produce results and repercussions for sexual abusers, it’s time a listening ear was finally turned to the women who have been warning the world for OVER 25 YEARS about this sick predator. This is different from Bill Cosby in so many ways. Women are being brainwashed and held away from their parents and families for years at a time. Women are being shuttled around the country with no idea where they are headed. Some would refer to this as sex trafficking. And why won’t anyone say anything? So you can continue to “step in the name of love” at your family reunion? Yes, he’s a musical genius (except for that atrocity “I Admit”), however he is also a pedophile. As unfortunate as it is to realize, the two can coexist quite happily it would seem. Not only is Kelly a pedophile, he is one who has gone unchecked for so long he’s been able to modify and enhance the way he attracts and holds Black girls and women. A predator with the ability to change and “upgrade” his patterns is even more dangerous than he was initially. While watching the documentary you can see a clear trend. From attracting your girls at concerts and shuttling them around until they get tired or leave or their parents get them out, to “hooking” girls in at the very cusp of adulthood so the moment they hit 18, they disappeared almost entirely. This is evidence of a pattern evolving. People saying those young girls asked for it, seem to have never been in a seemingly up-front situation that quickly turned compromising. As a young woman, no matter how you’re dressed or what your body shape is, you should not be made to feel and indeed are not guilty of being attacked or chosen for sexual assault or trafficking. To be a “fast lil girl” as some women of the beauty shop and salon variety would say, does not mean becoming the prey of a sexual predator is at all deserved. The onus needs to be moved from the victims to the perpetrators.

There has been an public outpour touting John Legend as “brave” for speaking out against R. Kelly. The only reason this should be seen as courageous should be in the context of those who have said nothing, those who have done nothing, those who have remained silent. Yes, we can commend Mr. Legend for speaking out and using his platform but at the same time, what are the rest of your favorites? Male or female, where is the outrage? Even his elder brother excused away his behavior as his “preference.” You do not get to elect “girls under the age of 18,” or young girls period, as your “preference” when you are a fully grown adult who ought to know better. Whether or not you can read is of little consequence. Those in his camp who supported and assisted his efforts these past 2+ decades should be brought to justice as well for nothing less than as being co-conspirators and collaborating in the kidnapping and imprisonment of these women. Not everyone who could have said something has, and the silence is deafening.

So if you want to continue supporting the predatory behavior of one of the worst pedophiles of our time, then you can step in the name of love and keep on stepping out of my life. Tough cookies. We don’t support the abuse of women. Not in 2019 or any other year. Especially the abuse of women of color.

To end on a happier note, it has been pleasing to see Kelly’s name and music being pulled from platforms, tours, and venues throughout the country. It’s time for him to face justice and repercussions for the hundreds of lives he’s nearly utterly destroyed and stop the cycle of abuse. It was truly beautiful at the end of the horrifying documentary to read about the prospering lives of the women who came out on top and made it past the tragedy and stress that that man inflicted on their lives. Just another example of Black women going high when they go low.

xx