Former B2K Member's Sexual Abuse Scandal

Many may remember the R&B group B2K from I guess it must have been the late 90's or so. Last week, one of the groups members known as Raz B and his older brother Ricky Romance came out publicly saying that their former manager Chris Stokes sexually abused them. In addition, they state he also sexually abused several of the other young male members he was managing at the time. Other former B2K member Omarion has publicly denied Stokes ever did anything sexually inappropriate with him. These allegations were released on Youtube around December 24th. Of course as usually is the case, the accused, in this case Stokes, counters that the allegations are completely false and he never did anything of a sexual nature to any of the young boys he managed. Here is one of the videos released where Raz B is filmed talking to someone about the abuse that occurred:




Rumors ran a muck following the videos release that an order had been put out, possibly by Chris Stokes, for the West Coast affiliated gang The Bloods to threaten them into recanting their statement about the sexual abuse. A few days after the accusatory video was released, Raz B is filmed rescinding his previous sexual abuse claims. Here is the video of Raz B recanting the statement:



Some of the confession video seems a little sketchy and has clearly been edited, so it makes it hard to know if there has been any manipulation of the context of his conversations. In the video where he recants his statements he doesn't look at the camera at all and seems almost like he's giving the confession against his will, which is what many are speculating. It seems hard to believe that Raz B would make these allegations up, particularly given that many male victims of sexual abuse don't come forward, much less in such a public spotlight. In addition, what would he have to gain by videotaping himself saying this? It seems he'd have much more to lose!

Regardless of his motive for coming out about the sexual abuse now, it brings to light a serious issue in Black communities: childhood sexual abuse. I'm fully aware that sexual abuse is not a Black issue and that it happens across all cultures, but this post is primarily directed at this experience among Black boys. For too long sexual abuse has been a silent culprit, robbing Black boys of their innocence, self worth and self esteem. This continues to be a taboo subject and one that I hope we begin to expose to a greater degree in hopes to decrease its prevalence in our communities and give the space for the victims to come forward and get help when it happens.

This post isn't meant to further sensationalize this story, but rather to share some quick thoughts on sexual abuse in Black communities. Regardless of the outcome of this case, I hope it brings this conversation into a public domain creating a space for its victims to come forth and give voice to their experience. Unfortunately, much of what I have seen so far on the Blogosphere and heard on the radio has largely been blaming the victim or further humiliating the victim.

For an online article about the story click here

To view the video featuring Ricky Romance talking about the sexual abuse allegations click here