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The Big, Bad, Dangerous Black Man
The racist narrative behind the Jussie Smollett and Liam Neeson controversies.
(The Root originally published this essay, which I wrote in the aftermath of the recent Jussie Smollett and Liam Neeson controversies, on February 11, 2019.)
As the survivor of a violent crime, I can attest that the aftermath is, in some ways, the hardest part. That’s when the physical pain, perhaps previously dulled by adrenaline, really kicks in — along with regrets, doubts, fears about the future, and that lingering beast known as PTSD.
Twelve years ago, after I was robbed and assaulted by two burglars in my apartment in Buenos Aires, Argentina, I had the support of family, friends, and even strangers. The police could have been less indifferent, but no one ever doubted a word of my story.
If only Jussie Smollett could say the same thing. At around 2 a.m. on January 29 in Chicago, the Empire actor and singer was beaten by two men whom he reported shouted racist and homophobic slurs at him, wrapped a rope around his neck, poured a substance believed to be bleach over his head, and shouted “MAGA country!” It happened eight days after Smollett received a threatening letter at FOX’s Chicago studio, where Empire is filmed. The attack left him bruised but not broken. It also left some…
