By Cheryl Mattox Berry
The holiday season is my favorite time of year. I love decorating the Christmas tree, singing carols, hearing the story of Jesus’ birth at church and shopping for presents.
While I enjoy buying gifts, it’s nice to receive them, too. I never complain about something someone has taken the time to select just for me – until yesterday. I asked my husband to return R. Kelly’s latest CD, Black Panties. He didn’t know that I no longer listen to Kelly. I switch to another station when one of his songs plays on the radio, and I’ve tossed the CDs in our collection. The R&B singer is dead to me.
I hope you feel the same way after reading The Village Voice interview with Jim DeRogatis, the former Chicago Sun-Times pop-music critic who broke the story about accusations that Kelly had sex with ninth and tenth grade girls almost 15 years ago. Until a few days ago, I had never read a detailed account of the “stomach-churning” allegations because they weren’t thoroughly investigated or widely reported by news organizations.
DeRogatis’ commentary about Kelly’s performance at the Pitchfork Music Festival and the release of his CD have rekindled the discussion about why Kelly has gotten a pass from fans, the media and women’s advocates. Shouldn’t he have gotten the same backlash that Chris Brown experienced after he beat Rihanna?
Granted, Kelly may not have the same crossover appeal as Brown and Rihanna, but that shouldn’t stop people from demanding justice for dozens of girls whose lives were ruined by a man DeRogatis describes as a “monster.” In the lawsuits filed against Kelly, one victim slashed her wrists when he broke up with her, and another girl got pregnant by him and was forced to get an abortion.
After Kelly was acquitted of child pornography charges, he went back to his life of making music. The girls he reportedly raped are young women now, and many of them are still trying to put their lives back together. DeRogatis said all the lawsuits against Kelly were settled because the girls and their families didn’t think they could get justice in court.
“The saddest fact I’ve learned is nobody matters less to our society than young black women. Nobody,” DeRogatis said in the interview.
I find that unacceptable. Every life should matter. If you feel that young black women are treated as throwaways, do something about what happened to those girls. I’ve seen how young people use social media to protest things they feel aren’t right, i.e., violence on reality shows, discrimination against gays and lesbians, and deportations. I’ve witnessed protests inside arenas where someone who has done something despicable is performing. We know where to hit someone when we really want to hurt them – in the wallet. Stop listening to and buying Kelly’s music. Show the power of your purse and disgust over his sexual predation outlined in court records.
It’s never to late to stop a monster.