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Recently, in a disk jockey (DJ) collective group chat, it was announced that Michael Jackson (figure 1 [pictured here], Nicolaus 2019) will no longer be included in our DJ sets unless clients specifically request for the artist. Another musician excluded from DJ playlists is Robert Kelly, commonly known as R. Kelly (figure 2 [below], NBCNews.com 2019). The boycott of these two singers is a radical and seemingly progressive change in the entertainment business. The renewed attention from the public has come in response to two documentaries released this year where survivors of sexual abuse done by Jackson (Reed 2019) and Kelly (Brandin 2019) testify against them. Additionally, the #MeToo movement ‘has been an opportunity to talk about serious and relevant issues like consent and sexual harassment’ (as cited in Blair 2018), which has allowed survivors to disclose their abuse safely.
I use the words “seemingly progressive” to describe the exclusion of Jackson and Kelly from the entertainment music industry because these two artists share something in common; they are both Black. As a woman of color, I could not stop myself from bringing race into the DJ conversation. Moreover, as a student of sociology, I have come to the awareness of systemic racism. The intricacy of race has come to me through texts like those written by civil rights advocate, Michelle Alexander (2012). The author states that we are currently living what the theme of her book best describes as The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. Hence my message to my DJ friends in which I called to action that sanctions should be stigmatized equally between Black and White celebrities. Likewise, we should add a list of White musicians to be excluded who have done equal or worse damage to children and other individuals. In like manner, let us be progressive and united against abuse equally and use diverse media models for crime steering away from the focus of only criminalizing the Black community. “Let’s not make this about race,” responded a senior member of the group, who is White. Perhaps I should not have been surprised by this reaction. I also received a private text from a co-worker, who is Black, telling me that he knew what I was trying to say and he appreciated my courage. However, he added, I should think of the audience I was talking to. In other words, he told me I needed to be sensitive to White sensitivity and stayed quiet because it was in my best interest. I then saw what Alexander meant about living in an age of colorblindness and how ingrained this is in our society.
My question then is, how is this sabotage not about color when the perpetrators of sex crimes are predominantly White, but it is the population of color who endure the bulk of the consequences or social punishing responses? In a 2013 special report for the U.S. Department of Justice, Michael Planty et al. reports 57% of sexual abuse perpetrators are White and 29% are Black. After searching thoroughly, I have to say, there is no proof that White musicians have had allegations against them besides Ryan Adams, who does not fit into the genres that DJs play. The criminality people of color, particularly Black, experience is what Alexander terms as “racial stigma…[which is] produced by defining negatively what it means to be Black” (197). Racial stigma puts an individual in an easily achieved sub-status obtained for the mere fact of being dark skinned, which is a primary factor in crime suspicion, sentencing, and reporting publicity (199). To speak of someone is a White criminal is laughable and nonsensical because these two words do not carry nearly the social meaning we have for the term Black criminal; the former two words mean the same in society (198). Alexander goes on to say that “to be a white criminal is not easy, by any means, but as a white criminal you are not a racial outcast, though you may face many forms of social and economic exclusion. White-ness mitigates crime, whereas blackness defines the criminal” (199). A firm quote that helps me explain my hesitation to blindly accept the blocking of Michael Jackson and R. Kelly from my music selection.
In our chat conversation of current movements like #MeToo affecting our DJ line of business, I felt the need to denormalize the topic even if I ran the risk of “becoming” a supporter of people charged with statutory rape, which I confidently say I am not. Sexual abuse is too close to my personal life as for me to consider it a fleeting thought. In my advocacy in racial issues, I was hoping to bring awareness about colorblindness in all aspects of social matters. Nowadays, one is not allowed to hate Black people, but one is allowed to hate criminals. Nowadays, calling someone the “N” word is highly sanctioned, but calling someone a criminal is commonly accepted and supported. We hate Jackson and Kelly for their crimes, but I wish we could also despise other well known White artists to the same degree and have the same enthusiasm to boycott them from entertainment. I need a list of them, and I cannot find it.
It is important to mention that I do not argue for the hate of a race in favor of another one, but I advocate for "equal opportunity" of social stigmatization as well as "equal opportunity" for punishment. The thing is, we do not want to make this about race, but in a highly racialized society such as ours, we must.
Works Cited
Alexander, Michelle. The New Jim Crow Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. The New Press, 2012.
Blair, Elizabeth. After One Year Of Headlines, #MeToo Is Everywhere. NPR, NPR, 6 Oct. 2018, www.npr.org/2018/10/06/654993350/after-one-year-of-headlines-metoo-is-everywhere.
Leaving Neverland. Directed by Dan Reed. HBO, Channel 4, 2019. HBO, www.hbo.com/documentaries/leaving-neverland.
Legal Scholar: Jim Crow Still Exists In America. NPR, NPR, 16 Jan. 2012, www.npr.org/2012/01/16/145175694/legal-scholar-jim-crow-still-exists-in-america.
Li, Nicolaus. Sundance to Show Michael Jackson Sexual Abuse Documentary. HYPEBEAST, HYPEBEAST, 11 Jan. 2019, hypebeast.com/2019/1/michael-jackson-leaving-neverland-sexual-abuse-documentary-sundance.
Planty, Michael, et al. Female Victims of Sexual Violence, 1994-2010: (528212013-001). American Psychological Association, 2013. Crossref, doi:10.1037/e528212013-001.
R. Kelly Could Be Left with Nothing after Making Millions. NBCNews.com, 2019. NBCUniversal News Group, www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/after-making-millions-r-kelly-could-be-left-nothing-n980816.
Surviving R. Kelly. Produced by Allison Brandin. Bunim-Murray Productions & Kreativ, 2019. Lifetime, https://www.mylifetime.com/shows/surviving-r-kelly.
Your blog really makes it clear that as a society we are much more eager to vilify and punish black men for the same crimes that white men get away with, especially when it comes to sexual harassment because so much of the punishment is social as well as carceral. I’m as infuriated at the double standard as you are. I think it also speaks to the need for nuance in how we evaluate accusations. We live in an unmistakable rape culture that casts doubt on survivor’s accounts, and many people respond to that reality by saying we should believe survivors completely. But because of the characterisation of men of colour as predatory, it is wise to be wary of the few false accusations that are designed to capitalise on and further this stereotype.
ReplyDeleteEven though Emmett Till’s accuser, a white woman, has come out and said that he did not grope her, at the time her word was taken at face value and led to the lynching of a 14-year-old boy. Of course, R Kelly is not another Emmett Till. As you say, we need to be judicious about who we punish, and perhaps also whether we punish before knowing all the facts.
I completely agree with the base of your argument that black men are subjected to more scrutiny and punishment when it comes to the same crimes committed by white men. But I would also like to point out the distinction in both Kelly and Jacksons cases. Key factors in Jacksons accusers case have been proven false and both civil suits by the accusers were dismissed based no real evidence being provided and their testimony of his innocence in previous cases. The director of the documentary himself admitting their intentions were for money but never once wavering on whether the accusations were true or not. Jackson is no stranger to these accusations time and time again being proven false and a mean for extorting both him and his estate to the point where he went through a 10 year FBI investigation with nothing incriminating ever being found. Despite this, Jackson still been condemned and demonized by the media proving your point even further of societies double standard for if this was a white celebrity they would not be hounded after being found not guilty. Theres also a dangerous cycle with black celebrities to group them in the same boat depending on their alleged crimes when in fact Kelly nor Jackson are one in the same, Jackson being a victim of opportunity, and Kelly having more accusers and witnesses to his crimes than anything else. I do believe white men should be held accountable for the same crimes and at the same intensity as black men are and that includes the cancelation of ALL artist that are known abusers and predetors. Here are two well known white artist that are known predators that never seemed to have received any repercussions: Elvis Presley, and David Bowie, both also deceased, but never once receiving the same backlash that Michael has. I hope the DJ place you work for refuses to ever play them again as well and takes a good look at allegations before deeming them fact.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with the base of your argument that black men are subjected to more scrutiny and punishment when it comes to the same crimes committed by white men. But I would also like to point out the distinction in both Kelly and Jacksons cases. Key factors in Jacksons accusers case have been proven false and both civil suits by the accusers were dismissed based no real evidence being provided and their testimony of his innocence in previous cases. The director of the documentary himself admitting their intentions were for money but never once wavering on whether the accusations were true or not. Jackson is no stranger to these accusations time and time again being proven false and a mean for extorting both him and his estate to the point where he went through a 10 year FBI investigation with nothing incriminating ever being found. Despite this, Jackson still been condemned and demonized by the media proving your point even further of societies double standard for if this was a white celebrity they would not be hounded after being found not guilty. Theres also a dangerous cycle with black celebrities to group them in the same boat depending on their alleged crimes when in fact Kelly nor Jackson are one in the same, Jackson being a victim of opportunity, and Kelly having more accusers and witnesses to his crimes than anything else. I do believe white men should be held accountable for the same crimes and at the same intensity as black men are and that includes the cancelation of ALL artist that are known abusers and predetors. Here are two well known white artist that are known predators that never seemed to have received any repercussions: Elvis Presley, and David Bowie, both also deceased, but never once receiving the same backlash that Michael has. I hope the DJ place you work for refuses to ever play them again as well and takes a good look at allegations before deeming them fact.
ReplyDelete