Why R Kelly’s conviction maintains intersectional justice for sexual assault survivors in the #MeToo movement for Black women

 High-Profile Trial

The lady had testified during Kelly’s trial under the pseudonym Angela, telling jurors that the singer began sexually assaulting her when she was underage. Kelly was convicted on counts that did not include her allegations. However, her evidence helped Kelly get convicted 30 years after he began abusing her. “I fell into tears as soon as I heard guilty.”

Kelly’s case has been widely viewed as a crucial moment for the #MeToo movement, serving as the first high-profile trial since the national reckoning around sexual misconduct to feature a powerful man whose victims were primarily Black women.

Many observers expressed concern in the days and weeks leading up to the jury’s decision that the testimonies of a group of Black accusers, no matter how terrible, would be dismissed. Instead, many saw Kelly’s conviction on Monday as a dramatic confirmation of the experiences of both those who testified against him and others whose stories were never made public.

After the verdict, Jerhonda Pace, the first woman to ever testify against Kelly in a criminal prosecution, posted on Instagram. “For years, I was trolled for speaking out about the abuse that I suffered at the hands of that predator. People called me a liar, and said I had no proof,”

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Back Women Victims

In recent advocacy activities, the question of whose experiences are prioritised has been at the forefront. When Tarana Burke, a Black woman, first coined the slogan “Me Too” in 2007, she planned to use it to raise awareness about sexual assault and connect victims with assistance. However, observers noted that famous white feminists had not backed the attempt. A decade later, when actress Alyssa Milano tweeted the identical words, it raised fears that Black women would be left out of the narrative.

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Kelly is not seen as an outlier, but rather as a striking example of behavior that “happens in our communities every day,” according to the woman who coined the hashtag #MeToo. “There needs to be a transformation in how we talk about sexual violence in the community so that when there are real-life occurrences, people have a point of reference. ” Burke said. “And it becomes more than just ‘This is probably false because that’s what history has shown,’ because that’s gotten conflated. R Kelly is in no way Emmett Till.”

Even as attention shifts to the future, some of Kelly’s accusers are clinging to the present. Kitti Jones, a Dallas resident, said much of her life has seemed “heavy” in the years since she accused the singer of sexual coercion and physical abuse during their two-year relationship after meeting him in 2011.