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Chaka Khan Day Tomorrow: Singer Gets Chicago Street Named After Her, Joins Florida Boycott

By Elaine Radford
Published on: 23:16 PST, Jul 26, 2013

Chaka Khan, the Tell Me Something Good and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame singer, will be headlining a free concert Sunday in Chicago, Illinois. As you can see from a couple of her recent tweets I’ve posted below, Chicago has named Sunday Chaka Khan Day.

On Saturday, Chicago will also be naming a street Chaka Khan Way in honor of the 60-year-old performer. The energetic Khan said that she was stoked.

The Chicago Sun-Times noted that the last time Khan appeared at a free concert in downtown Chicago in July 1970, a riot broke out when headliner Sly Stone was a no-show.

Of course, Khan is now a huge star in her own right, with decades of stardom under her belt. Sunday’s performance at 2 PM in Millennium Park should be a very different experience for both the singer and her fans.

Chaka Khan has resumed touring after a brief break to rest her voice.

On Friday, she also launched her new Chaka Khan website.

However, the socially conscious singer also found time Friday to talk to Brennan Williams of Huffington Post’s Black Voices. You can read the full interview with Khan over there, but here are a couple of quick highlights.

Khan spoke out angrily about the George Zimmerman not guilty verdict. She is now boycotting Florida and has already cancelled a concert there:

“[T]he trial, number one was a travesty. Racism is still very much alive and well in this country…I had a booking there last week [in Florida] and I cancelled it. But if any tribute [for victim Trayvon Martin] comes up I’ll do it. Absolutely.”

She also voiced her thoughts on the current wave of pointless gun violence in Chicago:

“These kids are using gangs as a rite of passage…But it’s like a pseudo rite of passage, which is very sad… [T]hese kids have nothing else to do. I remember growing up there when we had after school community centers. I think that would be a big help…”

She also noted that she would be meeting Jesse Jackson on Saturday morning to get his input on how to fight gun violence in Chicago.

From the Florida boycott, to fighting gun violence, to celebrating her own day with a free concert…the impressive Chaka Khan is doing more than most women half her age.

[Chaka Khan photo by RoidRanger / Shutterstock.com]

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