Dear supporters
This evening my family and I went to the theater to see the new Sparkle movie starring Whitney Houston and Jordin Sparks. The music was fierce and the story was as entertaining as the original movie starring Irene Cara. However the writers and producers did make some significant changes in the story line, although the message remained the same, that "life is going to throw obstacles in your path on this journey, but not to give up on your dreams, no matter how high you aim, prayer, hard work and determination will help you to see your dream on to fruition"!
However, referring back to the story line, something new to the script was a domestic violence scene that should have been hard to watch, but instead of being shocked and horrified by what they were witnessing, there were people in the audience who were actually laughing! I am not sure if other parts of the movie were intended to be funny or comical, but I am certain it was not THAT ONE!
The character performed by actress Carmen Ejogo, (Sister) did a superb job in that particular scene as a victim of relationship violence, as did her abusive future husband, played by actor Michael Epps (Satin).
Perhaps because I am working with victims and survivors of relationship violence every day, I know the pain and humiliation that this crime brings, along with thousands of deaths of the women and children in our country who are victims ; not to mention that often it takes years of hard work for abuse survivors to start healing and recover from the very real life horror of domestic abuse and relationship violence, so perhaps I was over sensitive about the scene and the reaction from the audience.
I am sure that those young men and women didn’t know like I know that every seven (7) seconds in our country a woman is beaten and abused by her intimate partner, or that every 48 hours a woman is murdered by her partner or ex- partner, or that 25% of all homicides in this country of young women ages 15-24 are relationship or dating related.
That is why we at the Ina Mae Greene foundation are working so hard to raise awareness about the crime of relationship violence in our community and in our country; that is also why we are constantly researching new resources everyday so that we can share that information with victims and their families.
The sad end to my story is that it was not only men who were laughing but young woman as well! It is most obvious that we have our work cut out for us, and that we have a long, long way to go before we can say that this crime is on the decline and fewer women and children are living in fear for their life while in their own homes.
For more information or to help someone you love who might be going through relationship violence, visit our website www.inamaegreene.org
