I recently read Beverly Johnson’s story about being drugged by Bill Cosby
Her main reason for not going forward with her story was:
“Black men have enough enemies out there already, they certainly don’t need someone like you, an African American with a familiar face and a famous name, fanning the flames.”
I thought this sounded familiar as years ago a friend called and told me how her husband beat her up. I suggested that she call the police however she told me no because she wasn’t going to be responsible for sending another black man to jail. Funny enough he beat her for the next five years until he left her for someone else who he is probably beating today.
These excuses may seem plausible especially with racial tensions at an all time high in the U.S with the recent cases of Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown. Even so this allowing of criminals to go unpunished in the name of protecting another man of your race is unacceptable and only guarantees that they will be free to victimize someone else.
It is very important to uplift and preserve your community however this should not be more important than protecting your life.
Reporting your victimization by a member of your race to the police is not about putting another black man, Italian man etc into jail but about putting a bad man into jail. As someone who spent 6 years as a councillor working with people in crisis I have seen abusers from every single race! Trust me it is not unique to your race. Its a bad person issue instead of a race issue.
Many women especially black women will also chose men who are jerks but of their own race instead of accepting the advances of an eligible man with a different skin tone. I have had an older mentor tell me that as a successful black women I should only date and marry black men in order to uplift the race. I replied that character and not skin tone is the determinant of who I chose to date.
It is time that we stop being so loyal to people of our race that we allow ourselves to be raped, beaten and robbed. Allowing a rapist go free may keep a man out of jail but it also allows many more women to be raped. Dating or marrying a jerk just because he shares the same skin tone just means that you don’t value yourself enough to chose the best for yourself. it also means that your daughters will grow up thinking that men should treat them badly because that is the example your allow her father to set. This does not uplift the community!
People let us stop taking the crappy end of the stick in the name of racial loyalty.
Until Next Time
Jamaican Girl
XOXO
