Does Rihanna's 'Man Down' Send Mixed Messages About Abuse?

By Kia Miakka Natisse

Rihanna the "Rebel Fleur" strikes again. Pop music's troubled wild child is exacting violent revenge in the new video for her single "Man Down."

The springy playful beat of the song dramatically contrasts with the lyrics -- Rihanna has ruined some man's life, shooting him down, figuratively in the song (we hope), but literally in the video, as the five minute storyline opens with Rihanna creeping out of darkness to shoot a man in the back. Whoa.

It's a disturbing video that proceeds to a flash back to a day earlier, with Rihanna playing a happy island girl who meets a handsome man at the club. Shortly thereafter this man follows her outside to physically and sexually assault her. The last scene shows a beaten and abused Rihanna going to a dresser drawer, from which she retrieves a gun. CONTINUE....

Domestic Violence Can Happen On A First Date

By: Jacque Reid

When I read the recent Rolling Stone cover story on Rihanna, I couldn't help wondering how she is coping since breaking off her highly publicized abusive relationship with fellow singer Chris Brown two years ago. I know that recovering from a domestic attack is never easy. It happened to me almost 10 years ago. While my experience was not nearly as violent or public as Rihanna's, it is something I continue to struggle with.

I had just moved to New York to anchor BET Nightly News. I didn't know many people in the city, so I reached out to a guy who went to college with one of my best friends. We had met years earlier when my friend tried to set us up. I was attracted to him, but at the time we lived in two different cities, and there just wasn't a connection. In fact, we never had any romantic interaction until the night he attacked me. CONTINUE....

How Domestic Violence Hurt My Family

By Tamron Hall

It starts with the words "I love you," and it ends with a punch in the face.

It starts with the line, "It's us against the world," and it ends with her against the wall in tears.

It starts with the suggestion of what to wear, and it ends with him saying, "I tear you down to build you up. You are mine."

I have heard the stories. I have seen the pain. I have watched a loved one suffer in an abusive relationship, and ultimately die because she just could not bring herself to leave. CONTINUE....