Grammy Award winning rapper Queen Pen will speak publicly about her domestic abuse issues, as well as the plight of others during the “Stop the Violence in Black America” town hall meeting addressing issues in the African-American community.
The town hall meeting, which takes place this Monday (July 14) at the Brown Memorial Baptist Church in Brooklyn, will address black male on black male violence as well.
Queen Pen recently filed a restraining order against her former boyfriend – who remains at large – after he viciously attacked her in Brooklyn apartment in May.
She will be joined by writer and activist Kevin Powell, A.T. Mitchell (founder of Hip-Hop Stand Up and Vote), prison/gang consultant Lorenzo Steele and discussion moderator George Mitchell (Black and Male in America).
The issue of black on black violence has been a topic Powell has actively addressed since at least 2007.
“I was one of those typical American males: hyper-masculine, overly competitive, and drenched in the belief system that I could talk to women any way I felt, treat women any way I felt, with no repercussions whatsoever,” Powell wrote in an article published on The Huffington Post in October of 2007. “As I sought therapy during and especially after that period, I came to realize that I and other males in this country treated women and girls in this dehumanizing way because somewhere along our journey we were told we could.”
Queen Pen, who will reveal details of her battle against domestic abuse for the first time, will be on hand to encourage others to speak out against the escalating violence.
According to the Institute on Domestic Violence in the African American Community, which is funded by The University of Minnesota, every 12 seconds, a female in the United States is battered in a domestic abuse incident.
Even more disturbing is the fact that every 6 hours, a female dies at the hands of her abuser. “It is important for individuals to learn more about domestic violence and how broadly abuse can be defined,” said Oliver J. Williams, Ph. D of University of Minnesota, St. Paul. “For men who have a history of domestic abuse and want to change, seek out batterers’ intervention programs in your area.”
Doors to the event, which is free to the public, open at 6:30, while the discussion begins at 7:00 PM.
Sponsors include Kevin Powell, Black and Male in America (BAMIA), Hot 97.1 FM, AllHipHop.com, AKILA WORKSONGS, Inc., CONNECT, and the Black and Latino Filmmakers Coalition.
For more information visit www.blackandmaleinamerica.org.
