With Bill Cosby now facing his first criminal court case out of the approximately five dozen women who accused him of sexual assault, my Sunday Smack for the week comes from a March 2015 Washington Post article written by Jewel Allison, an African descendant and one of Cosby’s accusers.
Allison, who happens to be a poet, author and music educator, wrote in the WaPo piece that she declined to publicly share her story of being drugged and assaulted by Cosby because she feared that doing so would “undermine the Black community.”
Cosby’s standing at the time of the alleged assault as a powerful media figure, role model to African descendants as well as America’s Favorite Dad supported Allison’s decision to be silent.
My Sunday Smack to you is obvious: assuming Allison’s accusations are true, is saving the reputation of a race more important than bringing a high-profile black rapist to justice?
In case you think that question is unfair, perhaps you’ll deal with this one: should Black people choose to carry the weight of their race’s reputation — good, bad or otherwise — every day and everywhere?
Some of you may think the last question is also unfair, but I never said these questions would be easy …
song currently stuck in my head: “i’m so okay” – kendra ross
mentalunrest.com 