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Critical Noir
Rhythm and Beatdown?: Some Thoughts on Domestic Violence
by Mark Anthony Neal
The recent accusations, regarding Chris Brown's alleged attack on girlfriend and fellow R&B and Pop star Rihanna Fenty, has brought the issue of domestic abuse to the forefront, particularly in black communities. In far too many black communities, the choice has been to treat issues of domestic abuse and sexual abuse with hushed tunes, presuming that such issues are best handled within the privacy of the home. But like the R. Kelly child pornography case, the Chris Brown/Rihanna drama, puts these issues on the front page and demands that our communities come to terms with the prevalence domestic violence in our lives.
According to the Institute on Domestic Violence in the African-American Community at the University of Minnesota, Black women reported more than 30% more cases of intimate partner violence than their White peers. And while domestic violence also occurs to men, Black women are 2.5 times more likely to be victims of domestic violence than men. It goes without saying, that a significant number of incidents go unreported, which likely would have been the case if witnesses to the purported dispute between Brown and Renty had not intervened by calling law enforcement officers. In cases of domestic violence such interventions are crucial, because Black Women are far more likely to be victims of homicides related to intimate partner violence. As a community, Black Americans account for 33% of such homicides with Black women specifically accounting for 22% of these cases (though they make up only 8% of the national population) and 42% percent of all female homicides related to domestic violence. These numbers suggest a national crisis existed, well before fans speculated about the absences of Brown and Renty at the recent Grammy Awards.
Brown is viewed as a clean-cut alternative to much of what passes as black urban youth culture and he and Renty were viewed as ideal role models for the hip-hop generation. That Brown might be guilty of intimate partner abuse is a shock to those who see his image as out of sync with such behavior. Audiences and fans would more readily assume that such behavior would occur at the hands of mainstream rap artists, whose lyrics gratuitously trade in metaphors of violence against women. To the contrary, some of the most well known Black artists have been accused of violence against women and incorporated such violence into some of their music.
Read the Full Essay HERE
Critical Noir
Rhythm and Beatdown?: Some Thoughts on Domestic Violence
by Mark Anthony Neal
The recent accusations, regarding Chris Brown's alleged attack on girlfriend and fellow R&B and Pop star Rihanna Fenty, has brought the issue of domestic abuse to the forefront, particularly in black communities. In far too many black communities, the choice has been to treat issues of domestic abuse and sexual abuse with hushed tunes, presuming that such issues are best handled within the privacy of the home. But like the R. Kelly child pornography case, the Chris Brown/Rihanna drama, puts these issues on the front page and demands that our communities come to terms with the prevalence domestic violence in our lives.
According to the Institute on Domestic Violence in the African-American Community at the University of Minnesota, Black women reported more than 30% more cases of intimate partner violence than their White peers. And while domestic violence also occurs to men, Black women are 2.5 times more likely to be victims of domestic violence than men. It goes without saying, that a significant number of incidents go unreported, which likely would have been the case if witnesses to the purported dispute between Brown and Renty had not intervened by calling law enforcement officers. In cases of domestic violence such interventions are crucial, because Black Women are far more likely to be victims of homicides related to intimate partner violence. As a community, Black Americans account for 33% of such homicides with Black women specifically accounting for 22% of these cases (though they make up only 8% of the national population) and 42% percent of all female homicides related to domestic violence. These numbers suggest a national crisis existed, well before fans speculated about the absences of Brown and Renty at the recent Grammy Awards.
Brown is viewed as a clean-cut alternative to much of what passes as black urban youth culture and he and Renty were viewed as ideal role models for the hip-hop generation. That Brown might be guilty of intimate partner abuse is a shock to those who see his image as out of sync with such behavior. Audiences and fans would more readily assume that such behavior would occur at the hands of mainstream rap artists, whose lyrics gratuitously trade in metaphors of violence against women. To the contrary, some of the most well known Black artists have been accused of violence against women and incorporated such violence into some of their music.
Read the Full Essay HERE
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