- Crockett presented Chris Brown, who has a history of domestic abuse, with a congressional honor, sparking outrage.
- Celebrating Black culture is important, but honoring an abuser undermines that message and alienates victims.
- While meeting constituents where they are is important, there were better ways to do so without elevating an abuser.
Rep. Jasmine Crockett apparently looked at Chris Brown’s long, messy history and decided, “You know what this needs? A Congressional Record.”
The Texas Democrat is catching serious backlash after honoring Brown during his recent R&B Tour stop at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, where the singer performed alongside his co-headliner Usher. Crockett, joined by Texas state Rep. Venton Jones and producer RoccStar, presented Brown and Usher with congressional recognition celebrating their contributions to music and culture. And while we can all recognize Usher is hardly controversial or problematic, the decision to give Brown an official congressional nod has people understandably asking what, exactly, Crockett was thinking. We get it, the two are on a joint tour together and it might be socially awkward to honor Usher and exclude Chris Breezy, however, as author Ta-Nehisi Coates is now virally famous for saying, was silence not an option?
Brown’s history is not some obscure footnote buried on page 47 of his Wikipedia entry. He pleaded guilty to assaulting then-girlfriend Rihanna in 2009, and since that time his rap sheet has continued to grow in most disturbing and heinous ways, much of which is again targeting women. Yet Crockett stood onstage grinning, embarrassingly embracing Brown, and enthusiastically declaring that the crowd was experiencing “Black joy at the highest level.” She also called Brown “a real one” before presenting him with the honor.
And therein lies the bewilderment.
Black joy is real. Black artistry is worthy of celebration. But surely there were approximately 14 billion other ways to celebrate Black culture without handing a congressional honor to a man whose history of violence against women is front-and-center whenever his name is brought up. The backlash was fast as Florence Joyner in the 100 meter dash, with critics accusing Crockett of platforming an abuser and questioning why Brown’s record apparently wasn’t enough to give her pause.
Others argued that Rep. Crockett was doing her job by meeting people where they are and introducing them to an important down ballot candidate with whom they might be unfamiliar like state Rep. Venton Jones who is openly gay, surviving HIV, and fighting for at-risk members of the LGBTQ community.
For someone who has built a political identity around fighting for marginalized communities, this particular choice feels especially jarring all the “practical” rationale in the world won’t square that circle. There is a difference between acknowledging that Chris Brown remains wildly popular and using the machinery of Congress to publicly celebrate him. It would have been just as easy to ask Chris and Usher if they would indulge her a brief intermission to talk to the crowd without all the pomp and circumstance of the “honor”.
Nobody is suggesting Crockett needed to storm the stage and confiscate his microphone. But an official congressional recognition? For this man? Ma’am…
