For nearly 30 years R Kelly’s abuse of young black women has gone under the radar of the legal system and the public.

The sexual assault victims of R Kelly voice that their stories haven’t mattered until now just because they are black.

Numerous accounts have been reported of black women not being treated with the proper care after alleged sexual assault. With many of their cases dropped. They were silenced.

Josina Calliste, racial activist from Gal-Dem magazine: “There are many lessons for us to learn about the sexual exploitation of young black women and collective responsibility, because R. Kelly is a famous man who has targeted, groomed and abused young victims for decades without facing consequences, with countless enablers.”

R. Kelly’s history of predatory behaviour dates back to 1994 when he illegally wed 15-year-old singer Aaliyah. Their wedding certificate was falsified stating she was 18.

Later, Kelly was accused of sexual coercion with minors and the case was settled for only $250,000. 

Lizzette Martinez, an alleged victim said: “I was 17, I was a child, he took away my innocence.”

In 2002, a video surfaced of R. Kelly aged 35 engaging in sexual relations with teenage girls. The video contained graphic displays of him urinating on a minor, who was thought to be 14 years-old. 

After the video was leaked, Kelly, was indicted with 21 counts of child pornography. The trial was delayed over eight years and ended with Kelly being cleared of all charges.

Despite the numerous accounts of predatory behaviour, R. Kelly’s fans and the legal system failed to serve justice until recently. 

Founder of the #MeToo Movement and activist Tarana Burke believes the stories of the victims of R. Kelly have been hidden for decades because they weren’t white girls or black boys.

Burke said in an interview with The Daily Show host Trevor Noah,  that it’s a struggle to get attention to the sexual violence against minority women: “There are R. Kelly’s in our neighbourhoods, in our communities, in our schools, in our churches…he represents a thing that we can’t touch…we can’t stop. We cannot get people to pay attention to the plight of sexual violence against Black and brown girls. And R. Kelly is a perfect example of it.”

The rise of the #MeToo movement has been called a catalyst of the movement #MuteRKelly, the successful attempt to remove the artist’s music from streaming services.

After a 2017 report by Buzzfeed exposed that women were being held captive in a sex cult by R. Kelly, countless women have come forward with similar gut-wrenching stories.

The final chapter of the docu-series ‘Surviving R. Kelly’ has sparked a public realisation of Kelly’s offences. The series unfolds the stories of the survivors of R. Kelly including his wife.

The Executive producer of the show Dream Hampton states her main goal for the series is to tell the stories of the black women who were ignored for so long. She said, “black women are important. This is about them.”

R. Kelly has denied all reports against him.