This week, Jasiri X and his crew spit some soundz to explore the disturbing trend of horrific violence and injustice towards women, including the brutal gang rape of a 15 year old girl in Richmond, California, the case of Sarah Kruzan who was sentenced to life without parole at age 16 for killing her pimp (same guy who raped her and forced her into prostitution at age 16) and the case of Heather Ellis, a college honor student who is facing 15 years in prison for allegedly cutting the line at Walmart.

Sarah was a child acting in self-defense to escape a child predator & pimp — what’s so disturbing is how differently her case was treated as opposed to Jaycee Dugard. Sarah, uh, didn’t get no People Magazine cover story yet her troubling story is probably more common and certainly equally as compelling. Rihanna is finally speaking out this week about her relationship with Chris Brown and the violence. I hope it has a positive impact on young women and young men who need to see — violence and rape never equal love.

From MTV:

“You don’t realize how much your decisions affect people you don’t even know, like fans,” she told the magazine. And, if she could send a message to the millions of young women who look up to her, especially ones who might be in similar situations, Rihanna said it would be this: “Domestic violence is a big secret. No kid goes around and lets people know their parents fight. Teenage girls can’t tell their parents that their boyfriend beat them up. You don’t dare let your neighbor know that you fight. It’s one of the things we [women] will hide, because it’s embarrassing. My story was broadcast all over the world for people to see, and they have followed every step of my recovery.”

Domestic violence cuts across ethnic, economic and educational barriers. No one is immune. We’re hit hard in the black community and African-American women in trouble don’t always get the local love in the form of strong law enforcement support we need. We can see that in the Cleveland murders.

My friend Tracy Russo who’s the queen of New Media over at the Eric Holder’s Department of Justice (check out their new website) sent me the news that the DOJ is on it. They just released a report a couple of weeks ago on Female Victims of Violence. Here’s a few angering facts specifically on us:

In 2007 black female victims of intimate partner homicide were twice as likely as white female homicide victims to be killed by a spouse (0.96 and 0.50 per 100,000, respectively).

From 1993 through 2007, the rate of homicide by a spouse declined 58% for black females (from 2.28 homicides per 100,000 black female residents to 0.96 per 100,000). (The rate of homicide for white females killed by a spouse fell 36% (from 0.78 homicides per 100,000 female residents to 0.50 per 100,000).

Black females were four times more likely than white females to be murdered by a boyfriend or girlfriend (1.44 and 0.34 per 100,000, respectively).

The number of black female homicide victims killed by intimate partners fell 39% between 1993 and 2007. The number of white female homicide victims killed by intimate partners fell 21%.

Aretha sang:

A woman’s only human
You should understand
She’s not just a plaything
She’s flesh and blood just like her man
If you want a do-right-all-day woman
You’ve got to be a do-right-all-night man

They say that it’s a man’s world
Well you can improve that by me
And as long as we’re together baby
Show some respect for me

Holler in the comments if you’re feelin’ me…And thanks to Jasiri — a do right man, fo sho.


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