This recent piece by Duke professor Mark Anthony Neal about the recent controversy over rape allegations at Spelman/Morehouse shows why he is one of the most insightful cultural critics writing today. The piece explains the deeper meaning behind the virulent reaction from Morehouse men to the recent demonstrations by Spelman women attempting to break the official silence about rape allegations at two of our most distinguished black universities. We have been extremely impressed with Spelman women lately. As the nation's most elite black women's college, they have rightfully taken their place at the symbolic center of the cutting edge of black gender relations in the hip-hop generation. (We of course talk about the Spelman ladies in DT chapter on hip-hop recounting how they famously took on Nelly. We're glad to see more Spelman women joining the chorus on this rape issue. When the Nelly flap took place, the media painted it as a campus-wide undertaking. In acutality, it was the same feminist alliance members leading the charge, but they had the support of only about a dozen or so Spelmanites.) We agree with Dr. Neal that image is not everything; Some things need to be aired in order to move past them.
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