Break the silence.
On the Record
Synopsis
2020 | HBO Max Original
On the Record presents the powerful and haunting story of music executive Drew Dixon (collaborator on hit records by Method Man and Mary J. Blige, Estelle and Kanye West, and Whitney Houston) as she grapples with her decision to become one of the first women of color, in the wake of #MeToo, to come forward and publicly accuse hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons of sexual misconduct.
The documentary chronicles not only Dixon’s story but that of several other accusers – Sil Lai Abrams (a domestic violence awareness activist), Sheri Sher (an author and founding member of the first all female hip-hop group ‘Mercedes Ladies’) – delving deeply into the ways women of colors’ voices are all too often silenced and ignored when they allege sexual assault; as well as the cultural forces that pressure them to remain silent.
Accolades
2021 NAACP Image Awards Nominee - Outstanding Documentary
2020 Warsaw International Film Festival Special Mention - Best Documentary
Resources
Equality Now
Equality Now is an international women's rights organization working to ensure the equality of women and girls. Since 1992, our team of experts and lawyers have worked with grassroots organizations and governments around the world to achieve legal and systemic change that addresses violence and discrimination against women and girls. Equality Now campaigns to end: child marriage, sexual violence and exploitation, female genital mutilation and for women’s legal equality. The organization has offices in New York City, London, Nairobi, and Beirut. Find us at equalitynow.org.
Black Women's Blueprint
Black Women’s Blueprint (BWB) is a transnational Black feminist organization which celebrates and seizes the opportunities of the African diaspora, all while mourning of the violent conditions that created it. Initially borne of the slave trade and the Middle Passage, and expanded by contemporary crisis on, and migration from, the African continent, the diaspora contains multitudes of individual testimonies which, when united, derive our true power as Black women. Visit us at blackwomensblueprint.org.
RAINN
RAINN, the nation's largest anti-sexual violence organization, created and operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline in partnership with more than 1,000 local sexual assault service providers across the country and operates the DoD Safe Helpline for the Department of Defense. RAINN also carries out programs to prevent sexual violence, help survivors, help organizations improve their sexual assault prevention and response programs, and ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice. If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence, free, confidential help is available 24/7 by calling 800.656.HOPE (4673) or visiting online.rainn.org.