With much talk and blame emanating over the alleged R. Kelly scandal, and questions being raised why Black teen girls seemingly fall prey to the sexual desires of older men, answers and solutions are finally being sought.
The crew of Black radio station WVON-1450 AM is holding a public forum today at the Southside YMCA, 6330 S. Stony Island, at 6:30 p.m. to address and resolve issues that have devalued the virtues of teen girls in the Black community.
"Sexual Predators in our Community," will be hosted by Monique Caradine of "Mo in the Midday." She will be joined by panelists, Mary Mitchell of the Chicago Sun-Times, Dr. Grant White of Community Mental Health Counsel, Donna Irving of Englewood Rape Crisis Center, Ken Dunkin, nominee State Rep. for the 5th district and a host of community activists.
"We want to create and promote awareness about these relationship that take place on a daily basis," said Niqqi Smith, producer of "Mo in the Midday."
The forum will deliver an analysis behind a predators mindset and the child which accepts his or her advances. In addition, issues will regard the parental control and rights to prosecute their childs' abuser.
"The consensus among some of these men and teens is that there is nothing wrong with it," Smith cited, after several callers justified that some teens have lied about their age and are more mature than the women from "yesteryear."
"We have to instill in our girls as mothers or just women that they shouldn't care who he is and what they have to offer, you must have dignity and respect for yourself."
Ernest Ward, a South Side resident, has been following the R. Kelly scandal and is appalled by the lackadaisical attitude many community members have taken. Although he is not a father, he knows the value of young Black girls.
"Our girls today don't know how to love themselves and have never been exposed to loving themselves," he said.
"But it is up to us to show them that true love starts within. If we don't, they will be lost. Black men have to take responsibility for their action and learn when to say no."
R. Kelly has tipped the scale on the issue after several lawsuits revealed him, to some of the public, as being a pedophile after allegedly engaging in sexual encounters with underaged girls. Now there is a videotape circulating on urban street corners across the United States depicting him allegedly having sex with a girl who is believed to have been 14 at the time. The sexual act has caused many to doubt his innocence.
But the matter stems much deeper than Kelly. It was less than two weeks ago a parent had to bury her daughter because she chose to persue a May-December romance. Chavana Prather was only 17 when she was brutally beaten, stabbed, strangled and shot by her 33-year-old boyfriend, Tony Fountain.
"This forum will be the first step in saying that it is not okay for men to prey on our young girls. This will not be accepted and we, as a community, will not tolerate it," she said.
"It's time we uncover this dirty little secret and find out why some men think it's okay to violate young girls and why society says little or nothing about it."
As mothers, grandparents, aunts, sisters and female friends, Caradine found stance wise, women have failed these young girls. She cites that women especially should be willing to protect these girls by any means necessary.
"There needs to be a cultural standard in our community. We have failed our little sisters. We get so caught up in our careers and lifestyles, we tend to look past these girls and not offer them guidance," she said.
"Before we start to blame these young girls for what they are doing wrong and for destroying the image of black women, we have to look at ourselves and ask what we are doing to help them understand what being a Black woman is all about."
But Caradine is also sending a strong message to the predators who think messing with young girls is okay.
"No one in the Black community is standing up against older men having sexual relationships with these young girls. It has become common place and accepted in many ways," she said.
"So if a young girl appears willing to engage in sexual acts with an older men, the man has an opportunity then and there to put them in their place. If they don't, they are failing their responsibility."
The community forum is sponsored by WVON, the Southside YMCA and the Xi Mu Zeta chapter of Zeta Phi Beta and is open to the public. For more information on the event, call WVON at 773-247-6200 ext. 235
Photograph (Monique Caradine)
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