On Behalf of the 48 Girls: The DeRogatis/Mitchell R. Kelly Interviews

Abstract

abstract:In the 1990s, Robert Kelly's musical career escalated from performing in Chicago's subways to becoming an international superstar. After writing and producing inspirational and danceable hit songs like "I Believe I can Fly" for mega stars like Michael Jackson and Celine Dion, his career skyrocketed to the top. With his rise into the stratosphere, rumors of an alleged marriage between 27-year old Kelly and a 15-year old singer were disturbing. While some questioned others joked about his preference for younger girls rather than those girls closer to his age. The gravity of Kelly's deviate and violent sexual abuse became a reality when the infamous tape surfaced of him having sex with an even younger girl. While boycotts of his music did occur over the years, for many of us, we continued to celebrate our lives with his music until the magnitude of his predatory and violent sexual addiction aired in the Lifetime series, Surviving R. Kelly, where alleged victims/survivors gave testimony after testimony of their encounters with R. Kelly. Prior to that series, for close to 30 years, two Chicago journalists, Jim DeRogatis and Mary Mitchell continued to use their platform to speak on behalf of the survivors of the alleged crimes. This article provides insights into how the story unfolded and why the lives of young Black girls are not expendable.