Where Are All the Good Black Men? They’re Busy, Fixing Problems
Spotted this on the La Chola blog:
*The statement below was forwarded to me by friend, colleague and comrade William Jelani Cobb. Please feel free to add your name to the statement and to forward it to others.*
The Online Petition (currently holding 377 signatures)
–Mark Anthony Neal
*Statement of Black Men Against the Exploitation of Black Women*
Six years have gone by since we first heard the allegations that R. Kelly had filmed himself having sex with an underage girl. During that time we have seen the videotape being hawked on street corners in Black communities, as if the dehumanization of one of our own was not at stake. We have seen entertainers rally around him and watched his career reach new heights despite the grave possibility that he had molested and urinated on a 13-year old girl. We saw African Americans purchase millions of his records despite the long history of such charges swirling around the singer. Worst of all, we have witnessed the sad vision of Black people cheering his acquittal with a fervor usually reserved for community heroes and shaken our heads at the stunning lack of outrage over the verdict in the broader Black community.
Over these years, justice has been delayed and it has been denied. Perhaps a jury can accept R. Kelly’s absurd defense and find “reasonable doubt” despite the fact that the film was shot in his home and featured a man who was identical to him. Perhaps they doubted that the young woman in the courtroom was, in fact, the same person featured in the ten year old video. But there is no doubt about this: some young Black woman was filmed being degraded and exploited by a much older Black man, some daughter of our community was left unprotected, and somewhere another Black woman is being molested, abused or raped and our callous handling of this case will make it that much more difficult for her to come forward and be believed. And each of us is responsible for it.
We have proudly seen the community take to the streets in defense of Black men who have been the victims of police violence or racist attacks, but that righteous outrage only highlights the silence surrounding this verdict.
We believe that our judgment has been clouded by celebrity-worship; we believe that we are a community in crisis and that our addiction to sexism has reached such an extreme that many of us cannot even recognize child molestation when we see it.
We recognize the absolute necessity for Black men to speak in a single, unified voice and state something that should be absolutely obvious: that the women of our community are full human beings, that we cannot and will not tolerate the poisonous hatred of women that has already damaged our families, relationships and culture.
We believe that our daughters are precious and they deserve our protection. We believe that Black men must take responsibility for our contributions to this terrible state of affairs and make an effort to change our lives and our communities.
This is about more than R. Kelly’s claims to innocence. *It is about our survival as a community*. Until we believe that our daughters, sisters, mothers, wives and friends are worthy of justice, until we believe that rape, domestic violence and the casual sexism that permeates our culture are absolutely unacceptable, until we recognize that the first priority of any community is the protection of its young, we will remain in this tragic dead-end.
We ask that you:
o Sign your name if you are a Black male who supports this statement:
http://www.petitiononline.com/rkelly/petition.html
o Forward this statement to your entire network and ask other Black males to sign as well
o Make a personal pledge to never support R. Kelly again in any form or fashion, unless he publicly apologizes for his behavior and gets help for his long-standing sexual conduct, in his private life and in his music
o Make a commitment in your own life to never to hit, beat, molest, rape, or exploit Black females in any way and, if you have, to take ownership for your behavior, seek emotional and spiritual help, and, over time, become a voice against all forms of Black female exploitation
o Challenge other Black males, no matter their age, class or educational background, or status in life, if they engage in behavior and language that is exploitative and or disrespectful to Black females in any way. If you say nothing, you become just as guilty.
o Learn to listen to the voices, concerns, needs, criticisms, and challenges of Black females, because they are our equals, and because in listening we will learn a new and different kind of Black manhood
We support the work of scholars, activists and organizations that are helping to redefine Black manhood in healthy ways. Additional resources are listed below.
Books:
Who’s Gonna Take the Weight, Kevin Powell
New Black Man, Mark Anthony Neal
Deals with the Devil and Other Reasons to Riot, Pearl Cleage
Traps: African American Men on Gender and Sexuality, Rudolph Byrd and Beverly Guy-Sheftall
Films:
I Am A Man: Black Masculinity in America, by Byron Hurt
Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes, by Byron Hurt
NO! The Rape Documentary, by Aishah Simmons
Organizations
The 2025 Campaign: www.2025bmb.org
Men Stopping Violence: www.menstoppingviolence.org
Carmen Van Kerckhove is co-founder and president of
Natalie wrote:
This is just marvelous.
Posted 19 Jun 2008 at 11:25 am ¶
sylvie wrote:
very powerful. i wish all men would think like this.
Posted 19 Jun 2008 at 11:42 am ¶
Tiffany wrote:
I will be passing this on…thanks
Posted 19 Jun 2008 at 11:48 am ¶
gatamala wrote:
I love these guys and am familiar with their work!
Last I heard, Cobb was a professor at my alma mater.
Posted 19 Jun 2008 at 12:03 pm ¶
Kandee wrote:
Exactly! How can we ask for black men to be treated like full human beings and not ask the same for black women? Supporting sexism and sexual violence against women just serves to support racism, homophobia, ableism, and any other sort of discriminatory practice, because they belong to the same club of value-over-another.
Posted 19 Jun 2008 at 12:32 pm ¶
Persia wrote:
Awesome.
Posted 19 Jun 2008 at 12:49 pm ¶
sfsinger wrote:
So this is making the rounds at quite few blogs I see. Good. This is a start. I guess the only caveat is the fact that it stands out in a sea of wilderness except for the few Black women that have been saying the same things. On the other hand, some of the biggest Kelly defenders have been other Black women so perhaps we need our own petition as proof that not all of us excuse sexual abuse.
Posted 19 Jun 2008 at 12:54 pm ¶
Eva wrote:
I’m glad I read this.
Posted 19 Jun 2008 at 1:34 pm ¶
Anonymous wrote:
Wonderful
Posted 19 Jun 2008 at 1:39 pm ¶
DivergentDana wrote:
“And each of us is responsible for it.” This is the only part of it that I find fault with. And like sfsinger, I’ve been privy to quite a few BF apologists as well — hell, BFs continue to compose a disproportionate portion of his fan-base.
Posted 19 Jun 2008 at 2:18 pm ¶
Shelby wrote:
It’s amazing how excited I am to read about black men who recognize that I am a full human being. And when I say “amazing” I mean “a damn shame.”
Posted 19 Jun 2008 at 2:45 pm ¶
King Koopa wrote:
I’m really sorry to have to ask this question, as I find it a glaring hole in the entire article, but can I still hit, beat, molest, rape, and exploit white women? Because you weren’t very clear on what I would be getting into if I put my name on the petition.
Posted 19 Jun 2008 at 2:53 pm ¶
Kirk Van Irvin wrote:
@King Koopa: Have you had anyb0dy beat up, abused or Sexually assaulted ? I doubt you’d be making light of this if you did.
Posted 19 Jun 2008 at 3:20 pm ¶
Kendra wrote:
@ KingKoopa
I don’t condone any abuse towards anyone, regardless of race and gender. You should hope to do the same. We don’t need any Days men born from Song of Solomon. Obviously, if you recognized that women were human beings, you wouldn’t even consider committing the same injustice against women of any hue. So, if you even consider doing the above acts to white women, don’t sign the petition. Jump off the planet if you must.
Also, this article was chiefly targeted at black men and women who stand up for black women and it explains why they should feel obligated to do so. It didn’t mention any other women of color because that was beyond the purpose of said article. But obviously, respect for all women and discernment of their humanity should go without saying.
Posted 19 Jun 2008 at 3:32 pm ¶
NancyP wrote:
Wow!
Posted 19 Jun 2008 at 7:11 pm ¶
marge twain wrote:
This is great. Cosign, sfsinger on women needing to stop the slut shaming. This attitude can even come from female rape survivors who buy into the idea that it was their responsibility to have stopped it when it happened to them.
@King Koopa: I hope you are being facetious. Recognize that black women in American society bear a special burden of being seen as more promiscuous and their rape being less significant because they’re thought not to have any innocence to exploit. It’s okay for this petition to be for black men and about black women without reading into it any other implications.
Posted 19 Jun 2008 at 8:36 pm ¶
Louise wrote:
Thank you. I will pass this on.
Posted 20 Jun 2008 at 6:10 am ¶
drydock wrote:
Byron Crawford over at XXL mag seems to have picked up this post.
http://www.xxlmag.com/online/?p=22374
Mod Note – Bol readers are coming over here? Oh, that explains a few things… – LDP
Posted 20 Jun 2008 at 6:15 am ¶
Chris wrote:
Hi5, Marge Twain!
I think too often people read or hear of movements that offer support and protection to certain specific demographics and feel that it’s more about exclusion of everyone else than help of a marginalized group of people.
Realizing and researching the background of the struggles and perceptions of these target demographics would help a lot of people understand why certain causes and charity organizations exist.
Most people, however, aren’t motivated to see beyond their own experiences, and tend to see these types of movements as over the top or unfairly favoring one group over another.
Thanks for clarifying things in a simple, easy to understand, non-hostile way.
Posted 20 Jun 2008 at 7:36 am ¶
ph2072 wrote:
This is, sadly, the first time that I’ve heard about Black men standing up and saying something about this. It’s unfortunate that it takes men saying something for Black women to take it seriously. This is how low we (general) think of ourselves as Black women. What a shame.
Posted 20 Jun 2008 at 8:08 am ¶
Vee wrote:
I don’t have any gripes with what’s being said. It is definitely important to have this dialogue and that brothers learn to listen.
Piggybacking off the R. Kelly trial??
I see the connection but . . . uhh ummm ok.
“Black people cheering his acquittal,” that is a bit of hyperbole. Was there a poll taken or are we still watching the hilarious Boondocks episodes.
Action item #2 is kind of weird. It just sounds like there’s a very low expectation for black males. “Hit, beat, molest, and/or rape” that kind sounds oddly insulting. As far as exploitation goes, men exploit women but let’s be clear, people exploit people in so many different ways.
I’ll pick up one or two of the books soon. bell hooks books should be added to the list.
Posted 20 Jun 2008 at 8:50 am ¶
Vee wrote:
^ph2072 (???)
No it is not the first time Black men or men in general took a stand against sexism and said something.
And Black women have been taking very seriously for quite some time.
Posted 20 Jun 2008 at 8:54 am ¶
juju wrote:
Beautiful.
@sfsinger
“On the other hand, some of the biggest Kelly defenders have been other Black women so perhaps we need our own petition as proof that not all of us excuse sexual abuse.”
So sad, but so true.
@Vee
“Hit, beat, molest, and/or rape” that kind sounds oddly insulting. As far as exploitation goes, men exploit women but let’s be clear, people exploit people in so many different ways.”
and
“And Black women have been taking very seriously for quite some time.”
So I guess it’s really all the same and sexism doesn’t really matter, or maybe it doesn’t exist? Lived reality be dammed!
Posted 20 Jun 2008 at 10:48 am ¶
Vee wrote:
@Juju,
I’ll try to clarify my statement above. Surely I see nothing wrong with asking men to not beat, molest, and rape women but it simply sounds like an odd thing to say. Like there are low expectations for black men. The author should also add that black men should make a commitment to not kill black women. Am I special because I do not do any of the above? It just sounds weird to me, as if that was addressed to men with a serious chemical imbalance, ADD or special education needs.
On another note, race more or less needs to be removed from the language of this issue altogether because sexism & myosgny affects many communities.
Posted 20 Jun 2008 at 2:28 pm ¶
Latoya Peterson wrote:
@Vee –
But racism and misogyny does not affect all communities in the same way. Hence the need for community based focus. It’s one of the reasons I critique a lot of feminist messaging – it’s supposed to be for all women, but it doesn’t speak to the needs of certain communities. And there is a lot of difference in what different communities need and choose to focus on.
Posted 20 Jun 2008 at 2:31 pm ¶
eric daniels wrote:
Sorry I agree with Bol on this one, I think Kelly is as guilty as sin and should go to jail, but this smells like Imus debacle and Oprah and all the black male – bashers asking 18 million black men to feel guilty because one got off. If Cobb and other African- Americans really want to ‘boycott’ Kelly then risk something besides a signature, many people lost jobs, marched and planned properly to get their “civil rights”, and did not need a pettiton or watch Black Feminist movies.
Cobb and Neal are doing what Obama did Sunday, playing the R.C. card LIKE everything one black male does we are all repsonsible for that behavior and that’s B.S. 90% of African- American men are not beating up women and being sexist towards them but like male feminists they want Black Men to be total enunchs over Kelly. Well I won’t be signing that tripe of a petition because it will make the bastard even bigger amongst inner- city blacks who feel besiged by the majority society and black elites like Neal and Cobb. If people want to have a “real movement” that will make real changes and gets Kelly off the airwaves it means “grass roots” support across all the tribes in Black America and less Oprah, Spelman and Black Male feminists because that just “pissess off” potential black allies.
Posted 20 Jun 2008 at 3:23 pm ¶
marge twain wrote:
Thanks for the props, Chris. I did take a deep breath before writing that
Posted 20 Jun 2008 at 3:35 pm ¶
The Cruel Secretary wrote:
@ marge–I’m going to have to take a deep breath, too, especially after reading King Koopa’s and eric daniels’ statements.:-@
I’m so very proud and damn happy that these brothas stood up and are doing the right thing, and I’m glad to help out the best way I can. It’s already posted on my blog.
Posted 21 Jun 2008 at 8:36 am ¶
Yvette wrote:
these brothas stood up and are doing the right thing
I think it is fair to agree that they are doing the former (”standing up”) but to want to know what the specific action will be behind the latter (”doing the right thing”). I’ve been in higher ed for many years and have seen many of these kinds of petitions for many different topics. (Full disclosure: I recognize that Dr. Cobb’s statement is not specifically for other academics.)
My question whenever I am asked to sign one of these statements is “OK. So what are we going to do the day after all the signatures are collected? What will be our action plan?”
I’ve never received an answe rto such a question that didn’t involve those actions that we academics are already good at–holding conferences, getting together reading lists, write a proposal for a study to examine X–but that have questionable impact on the problems/issues being discussed.
Please note that by saying the above I am not disparaging this particular effort. In fact, I have forwarded it to some men I know to let them judge for themselves. But at the same time I am hopeful that this is just a first step, and that some concrete and pragmatic efforts will be forthcoming.
Posted 21 Jun 2008 at 9:33 am ¶
eric daniels wrote:
Cruel Secretary, Neal’s petition reminds of the Imus debacle in many ways, you have debates on why black men are sexist and if they read some good “black feminst books and movies” on why Black Men are so sexist, evil, and embody the worse aspects of the human male. So if we read those books and movies will this get R. Kelly and those who choose to make records with him pay the price for such an association?
Nope, because Black Liberals have been for the last 40 years doing what John Henrik Clarke called “Show Biz Liberation” they have dialouge (usually Oprah) pass a cheap petition Black Feminists generally rant and gnash teeth and the usual suspects will come on defending Kelly’s right to record and there will be articles on why black men will be blamed for everything this country and then it fades away like a fog.
African- Americans had a chance to take down the entire “shock jock” industry and expose the hypocrisy of big corporations backing racist and sexist language, but instead Imus his allies and Black Feminists “flipped the script” and blamed rap music for his statments and instead of making the industry repsonsible for the crap it puts on it became a referendum of black american male behavior.
Posted 21 Jun 2008 at 5:15 pm ¶
Claire June wrote:
I just want to say “thank you.” I, akin to many of those who have responded, am–sadly–happy to see a man stand up not only for women, but for children and other men. I say “sadly–happy” due to the fact this should not even be a topic of conversation. The court should have found R Kelly guilty. The public should have been outraged at not only R Kelly’s behaviour, but the “not-guilty” ruling.
The R Kelly verdict should shame and anger us all.
Unless each of us, regardless of socio-economic status, stand together and demand standards that are good for our collective future (ie protecting our children and demanding respectful treatment of all people), R Kelly’s behaviour will become the norm not the exception.
The court’s ruling, in R Kelly’s case, has reinforced the continuing degradation of the American Social Consciousness: It is okay to use children/people in any manner.
Posted 22 Jun 2008 at 12:19 pm ¶
Fiqah wrote:
Oh. Eric. Daniels. I do not like to attack folks here, but your whole “black male bashers” shoulder chip is truly irksome. If R.Kelly had raped and pissed on a little Black BOY, he’d be in jail, broke AND a pariah. I challenge you to step outside of yourself for just a moment and recognize the very real harm and suffering that sexism causes in communities of color. I promise you that WOC are not just making shit up to hold brothers down.
Posted 22 Jun 2008 at 11:47 pm ¶
Thomas wrote:
But why have only black MEN sign the petition? It is only right for women to demand that such abuse is not tolerated. As a statement against sexism, it would make more sense, too. Though its probably good to explicitly appeal to men to take a position. (Why are there only 838 signatures as I write this????)
Posted 23 Jun 2008 at 7:25 am ¶
The Cruel Secretary wrote:
@ Fiqah–friend, I couldn’t have said it better myself. Thanks for the back-up!
@Thomas–actually, if you look at the signatures, women have signed the petition. (I did, in my enthusiasm!) As for only having Black men to sign it, I think 1) in light of the stereotype of Black men being above-and-beyond sexist and misogynist and putting “bros before hoes” and 2) in the womanist tradition of Black men and women (and our allies) working in coalition “in love and in trouble,” and 3) making a statement that R. Kelly doesn’t represent Black men and there are some Black people who are putting up their hands and saying, “Not us. Not in our name. Not anymore,” this is a great opportunity for Black men to push back against this mess. Though I agree with Yvette’s question of, “whenever I am asked to sign one of these statements is “OK. So what are we going to do the day after all the signatures are collected? What will be our action plan?”…
@ Yvette–…I’ve learned over the years that there’s various kinds of activism and I can’t harsh on how folks choose to get involved in a cause. Everyone’s not prone to take it to the streets all the time. For every marcher, there’s a community activist doing some great work around, say, sex workers of color and licensing. For every community activist, there’s a blogger spreading the word about the great work the activist is doing. For every blogger, there’s a donator willing to give some money to the activist’s cause that she read about on the blog. And so on. And who’s to say that someone–or several people–in the chain I described won’t take on another role?
And, Yvette, who’s to say that, even as I write this and you read this, some of the men who pulled together and/or signed the petition *aren’t* planning and going to do some taking-it-to-the-streets action?
Posted 23 Jun 2008 at 9:14 am ¶
Yvette wrote:
who’s to say that, even as I write this and you read this, some of the men who pulled together and/or signed the petition *aren’t* planning and going to do some taking-it-to-the-streets action?
TCS, I am not saying that these efforts are not taking place. On the contrary, I very much hope that they are.
If I sounded harsh, I did not mean to. Also, if symbolism is, in fact, all that academics can do (and I am not saying this is the case) there still may be much value in that symbolism. I maintain, however, that we in higher education are often not very good with follow-through from symbolism to pragmatic, direct, grassroots efforts. Partly this lack of effectiveness is built into our profession in that we receive no professional rewards for public service, “engaged scholarship,” and the like.
Add to this a general air of public distrust (if not outright disdain) of intellectuals and there seems to be a very narrow band of relevance these days for “public intellectuals” or others who want to make their professional lives more centered on activism.
Posted 23 Jun 2008 at 10:36 am ¶
The Cruel Secretary wrote:
::nods head::
First of all let’s try the word again: “Donor,” not “donator.” Yeeps.
@ Yvette–I completely dig where you’re coming from, friend. Look at how Harvard’s president threw Dr. Cornel West under the bus. (Only when I saw Dr. West in The Matrix trilogy did I truly appreciate his walk-away.) And, oddly enough, there’s such a *dire* need for public intellectuals like Dr. West, who are willing–in spite of the public distrust and the lack of professional incentive–to build bridges with communities in and out of the academy. To borrow from Paula Giddings, it’s when and where you enter. But enter, at least!:-D
Posted 23 Jun 2008 at 3:57 pm ¶
eric daniels wrote:
Figah and Cruel Secretary you know the difference between Neal and Cobb’s “petition” and what Evangelicals did to a t.v. show depicting Jesus as a drunk, sexually obessed man, they develop allies amongst different religions agitated and crashed NBC computers and phone lines and then got General Electric (which owns NBC) to cancel the show afer 2 shows.
GLBT groups got Micheal Savage off MSNBC show when he made anti- gay slurs by taping his radio and t.v. shows and going to Microsoft and G.E. again telling them they will withdraw their dollars and support for their products and shows if Savage continued in their employ. Quess where they learned all those tatics and techinques?
The Preachers, NAACP, SNCC, CORE, SCLC, Urban League amongst many groups and were willing to rally white liberals, poor blacks and working and children amongst their followers. So you can critcize me for saying feminist and be so oversenstive and ignore the meat of what I was saying, but those groups ‘got the job done’ while African- Americans in 2008 would rather write pettions on blogs than do the dirty work of non- violent direct action.
That means no “SHOW BIZ LIBERATION” but people like Neal and others doing what the evangelicals and GLBT groups and Black groups used to do agitate, agitate and do the grass- roots organizing that it takes to get R. Kelly off the air and to end the “bitch, ho, and sexist, violent music that degrades women and Black America. Bol is right because petitions are a cheap non- threating way to get your point across but real liberation reguires more than a feminist film, it demands sacrifice and is not always pretty.
But we will revist some sexist rappers, and R. Kelly or some R&B star will molest some teenaged girl but will any of you posters who want Kelly and other Bad Actors off the airwaves will make the ‘true sacrifice’ for your goals ? If Dr. King and others had to depend on petitions we would still be drinking from “colored” water fountains. Now chew on dat Fiqah and Cruel Secretary
Posted 23 Jun 2008 at 4:29 pm ¶
Fiqah wrote:
Eric: EXCUSE you. I got your point, and so did The Cruel Secretary. An online petition alone will not solve a thing, but as TCS stated, activism has many stages and facets. The springboard factor should not be underestimated. Oh, and just so you know, “oversensitive” is a word sexists often use to undermine a woman’s authority. You might want to table it.
Posted 23 Jun 2008 at 5:26 pm ¶
The Cruel Secretary wrote:
@ eric daniels–sorry, I excluded the rotten meat of anti-feminism and general woman-hatred from my life since, oh, the day I was raped at 5 years old.
@ Fiqah–I utterly heart you.
::fist pumps Fiqah::
Posted 24 Jun 2008 at 9:37 am ¶
Fiqah wrote:
@TCS-my pleasure. Represent!
Posted 24 Jun 2008 at 12:00 pm ¶
Barrayaran wrote:
@Fiqah: brilliant.
Posted 25 Jun 2008 at 11:22 am ¶