Very Smart Brothas’ Fauxpology, Too $hort’s “Advice,” And Muffling About Intraracial Sexual Violence

By Andrea (AJ) Plaid

Honestly, reading some of the analyses about the fauxpology from Very Smart Brothas about their “rape prevention advice” and rapper Too $hort’s “fatherly advice” to boys and young men condoning sexually assaulting girls and young women is making me fidgety. Not because they’re not on point—most make points I agree with, if not co-sign with, and some are wonderfully written.

However, a fact remains that seems to hang on the edges of these commentaries, implied, like a family secret. And, like a family secret, that fact keeps those quiet in order to, if nothing else, “keep up appearances” in front of friends, neighbors, co-workers, and “society.” (In this case, the “white gaze” that judges Black people’s behavior monolithically, culturally pathological.) And, while it seems like everything may be OK, that fact—like a family secret—destroys…and deeply.

The simple fact: sexual-violence perpetrators and their victims are usually of the same race. So, since I’m talking about Black people in this case, then what I’m saying is those Black people who commit sexual violence usually create victims who are Black, too.

There. I said it.

And statistics back this:

• According to a 2000 report, in 93% of sexual assaults, the rapist and the victim are of the same race. (Source)
• According to a 2005 US Department of Justice report, out of approximately 36,600 Black sexual-violence victims reporting this crime, 100% reported that their perpetrators was Black. (Source)

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