Pay Close Attention To The Women Still Defending R. Kelly

Some of the biggest misogynists I know are Black women.

Some of the biggest misogynists I know are Black women. And if childhood experiences hadn’t already solidified this statement for me, the way countless Black women rushed to defend Robert Kelly against decades of documented abuse of Black girls sure did.

Many viewers of “Surviving R Kelly” hoped the in-depth investigative report would sway those who’d long argued Kelly’s innocence. I thought maybe seeing multiple accusers give multiple accounts of decades of assault and torture would be the wake up many of us needed. Instead, like clockwork, Black people came to Kelly’s defense with women leading the charge. There’s no shortage of discussions around the toxicity of Black men in our community. We often hear about the men who believe the length of a skirt determines the amount of respect a woman is owed and holler about victims taking too long to report their abusers, but the women who agree with them are equally dangerous, if not more. There’s a piece of us that instinctually wants to circle the wagons in defense of other Black women, knowing that often we’re the only ones who will. But some of the women we’ve been in defense of are just as problematic as the men we defend them to. With that said, it’s time we had an honest discussion about the women still defending…