VH1’s Chronicles Elliott in “Behind The Music”

Missy Elliott appeared on VH1’s “Behind the Music” where she detailed child sexual abuse and domestic violence incidents between her parents. Although it may seem like isolated incidents…more people than you think have been sexually abused by someone close to them. It’s great when celebrities are able to come out and speak publicly about their experiences.

On being abused by her 16-year-old cousin at 8:

“Each day he wanted me to come to the house after school. It became sexual, which, for me at eight years old, I had no clue what that was, but I knew something was wrong.”

“Being molested… it don’t disappear. You remember it as if it was yesterday.”

It’s important to remember that “emotional pain” just doesn’t fade away, it lingers like an open sore.

Elliott also discussed a domestic violence incident between her parents:

Her mother Patricia recalled: “Missy saw that the fight was just beyond measures. My husband said, ‘This is it, I’m gonna kill you. It’s over!’ I was so tired of being beaten over and over I just said, ‘Fine, just do it’.”

Elliott said: “He pulled the gun out in front of me. I was screaming, ‘Daddy, please don’t kill my mother!'”

I’m hoping that hearing Missy Elliott’s story creates some open dialogue in the community about sexual and domestic abuse. Oftentimes, we find that many artists use their music as a means of dealing with their pain and anguish, but at what cost to its listeners? Are we just desensitizing ourselves to violence? We have to stop sweeping these issues under the rug and thinking that they’re going to go away.

How are you dealing with your own emotional issues? Should child abuse be discussed more openly in the black community?