Analysis: R. Kelly's fall comes as Chicago, black women finally turn their back on star
CHICAGO - Award-winning poet, spoken word artist and author Tara Betts didn't think Chicago would ever call out singer R. Kelly about claims of abuse and sexual coercion of young women and girls after years of consistent hits had made him largely untouchable in his hometown.
"I never thought Chicago would get here," Betts said about the local reaction to the singer, which also led to a canceled UIC Pavilion show, where he was scheduled to perform. The poet and author, who has also studied and written about hip-hop, knows how badly people want to show support for hometown stars, particularly black men who hit the heights of their professions. But she believes enough is enough.
Betts, who has also worked as a lecturer at the University of Illinois at Chicago, clearly remembers first hearing Kelly's music as a high school student in Kankakee, when he made schoolgirls swoon performing with
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