[prayerfull]

Tarnished R. Kelly needs prayers, not applause

June 11, 2002

BY MARY MITCHELL SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST

By the time I got off the phone with the Rev. James Meeks, pastor of Salem Baptist Church, I felt like the laity must have felt when they finally confronted pedophilia in the Catholic church: frustrated.

Why would anyone bring an accused sex offender on stage at a kindergarten graduation to say a few words?

Why didn't Meeks think it was inappropriate to let R. Kelly sing at the ceremony shortly after the superstar was released on bond for child pornography charges?

Praying for sinners is one thing. But parading an accused pedophile before young children and their parents calls for more compassion than most are able to dig up.

According to Meeks, when Kelly arrived home after turning himself in at a Chicago police station, there was a "throng," of reporters waiting. So, Meeks towed Kelly home with him and then to the graduation.

"I had said to R. Kelly if he is innocent then he should not hide and go into seclusion as if he is some kind of hermit," Meeks told me. "He should tell the truth and face his accusers.

"We walked in and the children were performing 'The World's Greatest' [one of Kelly's recent hits]. It was such a coincidence," Meeks said.

"When the track was over, the guy on the organ started playing and the kids were screaming his name. Kelly sang about two lines of the song, congratulated the kids and asked people to pray for him."

But aren't you opening yourself up to criticism? I asked Meeks. It is not like these allegations came out of the blue. Kelly has settled lawsuits with two women, two others have lawsuits pending, and there's the sex tape.

A few weeks ago, Kelly was on national TV, alongside Meeks, insisting that he wasn't on the tape. But after the indictment, Kelly's lawyer has only said "there are no underage girls on the tape."

Although a condition of Kelly's bond in Florida was that he avoid contact with minors, no such condition was tagged to his bond in Illinois.

Only one parent complained about Kelly's impromptu appearance at the graduation, Meeks said.

"If he were convicted, it is unlikely that I would have him in that setting," Meeks said. "It is un-American to make a person wear a banner of guilt before they are proven guilty."

That's true. But like the biblical teaching of "turning the other cheek," this kind of reasoning is hard to live up to when you are being chased by a pack of bullies.

When a man is accused of having sex with teenagers, seeing little girls jump up and down screaming his name in adoration is exactly what you don't want.

Also, there is the speculation that Meeks' involvement with the R. Kelly sex scandal has more to do with a desire to raise his own public profile than it does with Christianity--and that Meeks or Salem Baptist Church are profiting financially from the church's support of Kelly.

"That is absolutely not true," Meeks said. "If anybody can prove that R. Kelly gave me a dime, I will give them five times as much. When I went to Kelly's BET interview, I paid my own plane ticket and I paid for the hotel room I stayed in. The night I was there, not even a Coca-Cola was purchased for me."

Meeks said he didn't solicit Kelly for the position of "spiritual adviser." Kelly called him shortly after the raunchy videotape surfaced.

"I met him about two years ago when Operation PUSH was out at Cook County jail at Christmas and Kelly was there singing," Meeks said. "I came up to him after the service and said, 'Hey man, listen I need to talk to you. I think there are some things that are happening that I can help you with. Here are my numbers.'

"But he didn't contact me until about eight weeks ago. He called me and said it's time for us to have that talk," Meeks said.

"Everybody says the guy needs help, but the helper shouldn't be Meeks. Then who should be helping?" he asked.

Kelly is blessed to have a spiritual adviser. I wish Meeks had bumped into Tracy Sampson or Tiffany Hawkins instead. Maybe then the black community wouldn't have to endure another sex scandal.

Both of the women were girls when they claim they were lured out of the choir to engage in sex acts with the superstar. Hawkins was so devastated by the relationship she attempted suicide. Sampson had to drop out of college when the details of her relationship with Kelly became public.

Where was Meeks then?

"I am positively available to talk to the women now," Meeks countered on Monday. "I try to remain impartial. I haven't taken sides."

But Meeks has taken sides. Because he is also a community leader, his private role as spiritual adviser has made him a public cheerleader for the singer. That's the problem.

When community leaders choose to support accused sex offenders while ignoring victims (Meeks also gave former congressman Mel Reynolds a hero's welcome), it perpetuates the myth this kind of sexual behavior is part of black culture.

Kelly should have been at Salem praying, not singing.