Black Men in Support of NO!

Journalist and Author Kevin Powell's Call to Arms for Men to Support Aishah Shahidah Simmons

For Immediate Release:

Monday, January 6, 2003

Greetings:

I hope all of you are well, and that the New Year has begun on a good note for you and yours. I am writing regarding a very important, excellent, and thought-provoking independent documentary film titled "NO!" It is written, directed, and produced by Aishah Shahidah Simmons, and the
documentary deals squarely with the issues of intra-racial rape and sexual assault or, in other words, the violence that far too many of us Black men have thrown, through the years since slavery, at Black women.

Aishah has literally been working on this film for the past seven or eight years, piecing together donations, grant money, and other revenue to get it
to its current form, a 70-minute rough cut. A Philadelphia-based young and struggling filmmaker, Aishah has also had to deal with a number of
individuals and groups within the Black community who have not supported this important project. Because I have been around the arts and entertainment industries for the past 15 years or so, it is pretty clear to Aishah, myself, and others, that the subject matter is what many people are either unwilling or unable to touch, for a variety of reasons, including basic fear and cowardice.

What has made me a firm supporter of this film, in addition to it being well-made, holistic, and solution-oriented for women AND men, is the fact that Aishah told me in 2002 that ONLY A FEW Black men have supported the film through the years, and outside of her father, her brother, myself, and Dr. Mark Anthony Neal (a young and brilliant scholar at SUNY-Albany), ALMOST NO HETEROSEXUAL BLACK MEN have stepped forth in a very public way to support her, monetarily, emotionally, or spiritually. The great tragedy of this is that I am sure MOST of you I am sending this letter to, be you a straight brother or a gay brother, know AT LEAST ONE BLACK WOMAN in your life who has been the victim of rape, incest, molestation, or some other form of sexual assault. And some of you have sisters, nieces, or daughters who have been OR will be the victims of rape, incest, molestation, or some other form of sexual assault as long as we men, particularly those of us in positions of privilege and influence, remain SILENT around this very serious issue that plagues our communities nationwide.

And given that the music and culture that I and many of you have grown up on, namely hip hop, has been redirected, commodified, and reduced to very narrow definitions of Black manhood where it almost appears that some of us now HATE Black women, it is certain that young brothers coming up behind us 20somethings and 30somethings, regardless of their class or educational backgrounds, will have attitudes and behavioral patterns as bad as ours, if not worse, if none of us step to the plate and take the weight of responsibility for this very serious crisis. The days of rallying behind a Mike Tyson, a Jim Brown, a Tupac Shakur, or whatever Black man is famous and unapologetically abusive and disrespectful to Black women are over for me, and I hope some of you see the seriousness of this, and will lend your name and support to this effort.

To drive the point home, here is a well-researched and detailed paragraph that Aishah shared with me recently: "There is a silent war going on in the
African-American community in the United States of America . It is a war by African-American men and boys on African-American women and girls. It is a war of rape and sexual assault of African-American women and girls. Up until recently, this war was not publicly acknowledged by the African-American community or the mainstream community because it wasn't viewed as important. This type of warfare being practiced against African-American women and girls is not limited to the African-American community. Intra-racial rape and sexual assault occur in every community worldwide. Women and girls, regardless of race, culture, ethnicity, religion, age, sexual orientation, class, and/or physical ability, are raped, sexually assaulted, and molested throughout the world every single minute of every single day. One in three women will be raped in her lifetime.

94.5% of the rape victims are female compared to the 5.5% of the rape victims who are male; and 84.8% of the sexual assault victims are female compared to the 15.2% of the sexual assault victims who are male. Though Black women are 7% of the US population, they are 27% of the rape and sexual assault victims. Black women are raped at a higher rate than White women. For every one White woman that reports her rape at least 5 White women do not report their rapes.

And yet, for every one African-American woman that reports her rape at least 15 African-American women do not report their rapes. Black women are less likely to report a crime of domestic violence or sexual assault; are less likely to have their cases come to trial; and are less likely to have their
cases result in conviction than White women. Black girls between the ages of 9-12 are more frequently the victims of child sexual abuse than white girls. Today, 90% of the Black women who are raped are raped by Black men, more than 85% of rape victims have some of acquaintance with
their perpetrators."

I think you all should get the point by now. Aishah Shahidah Simmons needs to finish this film, and still needs thousands of dollars to do so. I am NOT asking for personal donations. What I am asking is that you seriously consider being part of an ad-hoc committee I have formed called Black Men In Support Of The Film "NO!" and that you commit to participating in a partial screening and discussion around the film on Thursday, March 6, 2003, here in New York City, at 7PM. The tentative venue is the Bowery Poetry Club in New York City . Admission will be FREE and the only thing else I would ask is that each of you who agree to be a part of this effort also agree to invite as many people as you can, from the worlds of the arts and entertainment, corporate America, and politics, and particularly people who will be able to help Aishah complete this film and spread the word about "NO!" because people certainly need to know about it.

If any of you want to view the 70-minute rough cut of the film before agreeing to participate, or to help in your decision, I will be doing screenings and discussions here at my home in Brooklyn on the following days:

Friday, January 24th...8PM
Sunday, January 26th...1PM
Sunday, February 16th...3PM

If any of you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions, please feel free to call or email me at any time. I want this to be a collective process, and
one led by Black men in an area where we have been woefully missing in action.

Many blessings to all of you in 2003,
Kevin Powell