June 17 will NEVER be the same again for me…

My firstborn son turned 39 on June 17 and, given the egregious number of Black men and women who’ll never see another birthday due to the machinations of the White Supremacist Capitalist Patriarchy — I’m glad he was able to.

As I do every year, I woke up and called him to sing “Happy Birthday.” And as has happened every year since June 17, 2015 — I was kicked in the chest by the realization that my annual, joyful-love celebration of his birth, would forever be linked with the painful deaths of the nine people Dylan Roof murdered in my home town at Mother Emanuel. I was there.

Joyful love and immense pain have always coexisted in the lives of Black folk since our unwilling, in-the-boat “immigration” to these alleged, United States of America (Sullivan’s Island is our Ellis Island).

I heard about the murders that June 17 night on the evening news and almost simultaneously, a call to assemble downtown the next day via text, email and social media immediately went out from my friend, the late Black Lives Matter Charleston activist, Muhiyidin D’baha. We all responded. Arriving at the church and met with the yellow, “Police line do not cross” tape designating a crime scene, my heart just broke — so much so, I’ve not been able to write about it until now.

I remember a CNN reporter sticking a microphone in my face, asking me what I thought about the violence that had been visited upon Mother Emanuel. I told him, “White violence has long been visited upon the neighborhood surrounding the church via gentrification — these deaths are just the culmination of all the efforts to bleach the neighborhood, ridding it of all the Black folk whose lives were inextricably linked to it” (needless to say, that quote was never used). Say their damned names today!:

Cynthia Hurd
Susie Jackson
Ethel Lance
DePayne Middleton Doctor
Clementa Pinckney
Tywanza Sanders
Daniel L. Simmons, Sr.
Sharonda Singleton
Myra Thompson

After I’d moved back home in 2014 because I was homesick after nearly 30 years of moving around with the Navy, the husband and I bought a house in North Charleston because we couldn’t afford to buy downtown where I was born (confirming Mr. James Baldwin’s, “Urban renewal is Negro removal”).

Less than a year after that, Muhiyidin and I began collaborating on Black liberation after the murder of Walter Scott. Remembering our Rivers Avenue, Starbucks meetings where we discussed a Citizen’s Review Board (CRB) for the North Charleston police department (because I’d fought and won that battle before in Key West — and no, Starbucks never f*cked with us whenever we met, and no, the CRB never happened while I was still there), I knew this new generation of Black folk had decided they would NOT be shouldering that “Black Man’s Burden” for another damned day. And let me just say — I was then, and continue to be, so damned proud of them!!

October 16, 2015 was our Rivers High School class reunion. It was at once beautiful and painful, because I had a conversation with Tyrone, the father of Tywanza Sanders. After hugging and holding for what seemed like forever, I leaned back and watched the tears roll down his face as we talked about what had happened at Mother Emanuel four months earlier. I was split wide open, Family. I asked his permission to write about what we’d talked about but he said he couldn’t give it right then for a variety of reasons — I understood.

On Tuesday, February 6, 2018 (I moved back to the “belly of the beast” in 2017 when my first grandchild was born), my cousin, a videographer at one of the local TV stations in Charleston, called me — she wanted me to know that my friend, Muhiyidin, had been shot in New Orleans and had died. He was just 32 (at the time, my oldest son was 36 and my youngest son was 33). He was, and forever will be to me — a passionate and often f*ckin’ exasperating, WARRIOR for Black folk. As I scrolled through our text messages in my phone, and re-read our shared emails — I cried like a damned baby.

I’m tired, Fam — so damned tired of white folks’ fear of retribution leading to the continuation of Black death. Our young folk have the answers and I support them 100% — you should too…

Ava, Ava, Ava -- "Queen Sugar" just f*cked me the hell up! -- Pt. 1

Ain't a damned thing holy going on in the "Holy City" for Black folk

"...to be a Negro in this country, and to be relatively conscious -- is to be in a rage almost all the time."

James Baldwin

And rage is exactly what I felt as I scrolled through my Blog List late Tuesday night and came upon this headline at the PINAC site:  South Carolina Cop Arrested for Murder After Video Shows Him Shooting Man in Back.  I clicked on the link and when I got to the second paragraph, I was horrified to find -- this had happened in my own hometown (depending on traffic, a mere 10-15 minutes from where I now live)!

Scrolling through to the end as I sat on the couch with the husband in Florida (my plans to go back to The Gambia this Spring having been sidelined by the IRS, I drove down to see him just to recharge after nearly a year in South Carolina), I said, "Man, look at this shit!!!"  He inched closer, and with our mouths agape, we both watched this:



I counted each report of the firearm to myself as Walter Scott ran away from his murderer.  I could not believe I was seeing this -- on video.  Heart racing and body shaking, I unleashed a trail of epithets (too numerous and w-a-ay too vulgar to repeat here, I assure you).  The husband joined in with his own WTFs, as he snaked his arm around me, pulling me into him.  Though I wished I was home to be a part of whatever had to come after this killing, I was glad I was wrapped up "in the temple of my familiar."

He slowly dozed off, but I couldn't sleep.

As I felt his breathing slow (interspersed with a snort here and there indicating the beginning of a snore-fest), thoughts about the homesickness that had drawn me back to Charleston nearly a year ago by mutual agreement, coupled with the June 20 murder of Denzel Curnell by one of those "Blacks in Blue" less than a month after I'd moved in (particularly those "three missing minutes" from the surveillance tape finally released by the Charleston PD) kept pestering me. I went searching for the initial accounts of what had happened, starting with The Post and Courier, the local  paper of record, and found this: Man shot and killed by North Charleston police officer after traffic stop; SLED investigating:

SLED spokesman Thom Berry confirmed that SLED agents interviewed witnesses and gathered evidence at the scene.“We are investigating the shooting incident itself,” Berry said. “That is the normal protocol whenever there is an officer-involved shooting. ... Once we complete that portion of the investigation, the agents will write up the case file and present it to the 9th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, and someone from that office will determine whether charges should be filed in connection with the shooting.”

James Johnson, president of the local chapter of the Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network, alluded to the officer-involved deaths in Missouri and New York that spurred the “black lives matter” movement when he spoke with reporters at the scene of the violence. He urged the North Charleston community to wait for the conclusion of SLED’s investigation before protesting in the wake of the death.

“I don’t want this to become another Ferguson,” he said, referring to the Aug. 9, 2014 shooting of Michael Brown, an 18-year-old black man, by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri.

Three things in the piece worried me immediately: SLED, Ninth Circuit Solicitor Scarlett Wilson and Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network -- neither of the three worked out for the Curnell family.

Then I followed the link in the PINAC post to another Post and Courier piece: Day after officer’s arrest, video of shooting death sparks protests, more action:

Ed Bryant, president of the North Charleston chapter of the NAACP, said communication between neighborhood leaders and police commanders had improved since Chief Jon Zumalt left the department in early 2013. But the community’s relationship with the department’s rank-and-file members was still strained, he said.

“There has been a good conversation at the top,” Bryant said. “But nothing has changed at the bottom level.”

Gov. Nikki Haley said in a statement late Tuesday that the shooting “is not acceptable” and not indicative of how most officers in the state act.

“This is a sad time for everyone in South Carolina,” she said. “I urge everyone to work together to help our community heal.”

Why do I get the "Massa, we's sick" feeling from the NAACP guy?  Does he honestly believe the problem is solely "at the bottom level?"  And, given Haley's low people in high places performance during the Baby Veronica, child-trafficking-is-good-for-white-folk case, her statement is ludicrous on its face. She obviously could care less about "community healing" -- although, given her use of $9,355.96 of SC taxpayer money to dispatch two deputies and a SLED agent to Oklahoma, she does know a little about how officers in the state act.

And a little further in, we (not unexpectedly, at least to me) we find this:

Two people filed complaints against Slager during his time with the force, including one man who said the policeman shot him with a Taser for no reason in September 2013. Internal investigators exonerated the officer of any wrongdoing, though the suspect in that case was never arrested.

According to this:  "Documents released by the force show there was one complaint in January 2015 involving failure to file a police report was sustained — though it was unclear what disciplinary action Slager faced, if any...Slager was cleared of another complaint regarding use of force. In that case, a man alleged Slager had used his Taser for no reason and slammed him to the ground in September 2013.  The officer was exonerated upon investigation, documents from the North Charleston Police Department show."

See, this is why I believe in Citizens Review Boards -- because  Internal Affairs is nothing but the fox guarding the henhouse!!  The police get to police the police with no real accountability to the citizens they supposedly serve.

Pastor Thomas Dixon, a community activist, said that he is concerned about outsiders coming into the community to incite violence. He said the outcry of anger so often ends up “tearing down our communities,” and emotions should be diverted to something more constructive than violence.

“Good people get caught up with crazy people,” he said. “The smart reaction is to just gather and peacefully let your voice be heard without any foolishness or craziness.” (emphasis mine)

Careful there Pastor, your words eerily echo those used against Dr. King and the SCLC during both the Montgomery Bus Boycott and Selma -- and I'm sure you recall what he had to say to his fellow clergyman like you about that in his, "Letter from a Birmingham Jail."  Read it at your leisure, however,  here's a little bit of it to chew on:

Moreover, I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states. I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial "outside agitator" idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds. (emphasis mine)

Unlike Pastor Dixon, I proudly and humbly thank the younguns in the struggle today for their  fire this time -- would that plenty more "outsiders," who really get the soul-crushing inhumanity that has, and continues to happen in Charleston, show up in solidarity as they have all over these alleged United States. Until they do, please listen to my beautiful, young sister, Ms. Lauryn Hill explain the plethora of reasons for those "outcries of anger" with her, Black Rage (sketch) below:



Now comes the Mayor's press conference:



There are many point-by-point thoughts I could make about this press conference, but I won't, because I'm tired and it just feels like, "Y'all just need to shut the hell up.  We've fired him, charged him with murder -- what else do you want?!"

But I will say this, all I see it as, is an opportunity for both the mayor as well as the Chief to totally shut down the Black Lives Matter activists -- as if this problem has not been, and still is, an ongoing, far-reaching, INSTITUTIONALIZED and SYSTEMIC one!!  Well, this Salon piece totally debunks that idea, offering a mere smidgen of what's been going on in Charleston just over the last 15 years!  Please do check it out, Family.

However, it seems Mr. Scott's family was relieved at the mayor's announcement.  But I don't think they've bought it all hook, line and sinker -- and they shouldn't. Take a listen:



I didn't know why, but Bobby Blue Bland's song's been playing non-stop in my head since I started writing this post.  Now I know -- I needed to dedicate it to the Scott family, with my sincerest condolences for the brutal, senseless loss, forced upon them by a white supremacist officer in a racist system.  I hope all of you can find some semblance of peace:



Family, in the words of the late, great Fannie Lou Hamer, "I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired" -- aren't you?

Related:
- Media Were Already Running With Police Fantasy When Video Exploded It
- Bystander who filmed Walter Scott shooting: officer 'made a bad decision'
- Walter Scott Shooting: Councilman Says Support 'Hard-Working' Officer
- Walter Scott: protesters demand justice – and an end to police discrimination
- South Carolina police officer who shot fleeing black man 'looked like he was trying to kill a deer in the woods'
- GoFundMe rejects campaign to support officer in fatal N. Charleston shooting
- Walter Scott: Another Senseless Killing Of A Black By Police

50th anniversary of the "Sound of Music"

A quick post for now (just because I'm tired of hearing about the wondrousness of it all today).  My sister, seven years older than me and eight years older than my brother, took us to see the "Sound of Music" here in Charleston when it debuted at the Riviera Theatre.  We had to sit upstairs, in the balcony -- cuz that's where the "Coloreds" had to sit.  I'm 58 years old now, and seems I'll never forget, nor "get over" that memory.  It's important I never do...

The murders won't stop unless and until, one way or another -- they are made to pay

"First of all, the European reigns; he has already lost but doesn't realize it; he does not yet know that the "natives" are "false natives." He has to make them suffer, he claims, in order to destroy or repress the evil they have inside them; after three generations, their treacherous instincts will be stamped out. What instincts?  Those that drive the slaves to massacre their masters?  How come he cannot recognize his own cruelty now turned against him?  How come he can't see his own savagery as a colonist in the savagery of these oppressed peasants who have absorbed it through every pore and for which they can find no cure?  The answer is simple:  this arrogant individual, whose power of authority and fear of losing it has gone to his head, has difficulty remembering he was once a man; he thinks he is a whip or a gun; he is convinced that the domestication of the "inferior races" is obtained by governing their reflexes.  He disregards the human memory, the indelible reminders; and then above all, there is this that perhaps he never knew:  we only become what we are by radically negating deep down what others have done to us.  Three generations?  As early as the second, hardly had the sons opened their eyes than they saw their fathers being beaten.  In psychiatric terms, they were "traumatized."  For life.  But these constant acts of repeated aggression, far from forcing them into submission, plunge them into an intolerable contradiction, which sooner or later the European will have to pay for."

(Excerpt from Jean-Paul Sartre's preface to

Frantz Fanon's, The Wretched of the Earth)

I'm sure the title of this post is unsettling for those of you who don't like having your "certainties disturbed" (I could almost SEE the practitioners of the endlessly annoying "respectability politics" clutching their pearls as I wrote it).  However, like Baldwin, Sartre and Fanon in his,  The Wretched of the Earth above (whenever you have the time, please DO read this very important liberation handbook at the link.  Thank you so much Warrior Publications for making it available!) -- it is exactly what I believe.

Since time immemorial we've suffered and died (and continue to do both) at the hands of these jack-booted thugs.  Sometimes pleading, sometimes demanding, sometimes helpless -- we keep asking them, hoping they'll just treat us, "Others" with the dignity and respect every human being deserves.  We've marched, we've tried to conform, some of us have sold out, we've berated one another and we've even gone to historically Black churches (on Father's Day no less) denigrating us (simply, IMHO, to assuage our own sense of loss) -- all to no avail.

All of this, Family is the definition of insanity!  We keep doing the same damned things over and over again and expecting different results.  Aren't you tired??  I sure as hell am!!

I've purposely not written about the murder of Micheal Brown until now because quite frankly, I've been overwhelmed -- by so many things.  Though I've briefly mentioned standing in solidarity with all those beautiful, young people who humbled me with their resolve as they gathered in his name for over 100 days and counting in Ferguson -- I needed to wait.  Wait, until I wasn't so overwhelmed by all that's been going on personally this past, almost year and a half; wait, to see if the white supremacists would get a damned clue and prove me wrong for a change (even though I never expected they would) -- I just needed to wait.

Eerily, I was on the road to Florida to see the husband last Sunday for our 34th wedding anniversary (two years ago, I didn't think we'd be here, but that's another story), alternately listening to BBC and CBC Radio.   Switching between each, around 7 p.m. or so, they both began reporting that the Ferguson grand jury had made a decision -- but it wouldn't be announced for a couple hours (more damned game-playin',  I thought to myself).  My youngest called to check on me as he always does when I'm road-trippin' right after that.  I told him to turn on his TV and keep me posted about what was happening because I couldn't' see it, but knew, "those mofos are gonna let Darren Wilson go free."

~#~#~#~

I say eerily because, in February of this year, after having put the house in the "Belly of the Beast" up for sale, the husband and I had two trips to make: a house-hunting trip to Florida for him, and a meeting on the 15th with the builder in South Carolina for me (more on that later).  We went to Florida first, because the day of the builder meeting coincided with the dedication of the Denmark Vesey Monument in Hampton Park in Charleston and I had to be there for deeply felt personal reasons (more on that later too).  Staying in a hotel as we checked out some places, we were also following the Jordan Davis case in Jacksonville, intermittently watching TV and listening to the radio -- constantly asking each other as we checked, "Got a verdict yet?"

We headed to South Carolina on the 14th, and shortly after our meeting, we heard the verdict -- Guilty!  While not totally what he deserved, he'll be in prison long enough to really know -- that shit he did was foul as hell.

~#~#~#~

About two hours or so after his first call,  the youngest checked in on me again as the BBC cut to Ferguson.  Listening to McCullouch's long, drawn out, bullshit spiel on the radio, I already knew -- Darren Wilson had gotten away with murder.  When the phone rang in the car, he didn't have to say anything.  I said, "Baby, I told you."  I listened, as he angrily vented about the unfairness of it all, then --  I just let loose (suffice it to say, not only was it past warm, it was vitriolic and quite profane). After letting me unload, he said, "Calm down, Mom. Pay attention to the road.  Call me when you get to Dad's and -- take it easy on Dad, he didn't kill Mike Brown" (Little did he know I was also listening to reports on the Tamir Rice killing in Ohio during the trip as well -- and it sure was gonna make that, "take it easy on Dad" thing,  a Herculean task!).

Nervous energy abounding, we both burst out laughing at the same time because he knows us as well as we know ourselves and he knew I was pissed. He knew I'd unload on his society-identified white Daddy as soon as I got there.  I said, "Okay, I love you madly, Man," -- and I kept driving the 20 or so minutes until I got there.

And he was dead-on. Not only was I feeling that familiar "quiet riot" roiling deep in my belly -- I was seething. Talking aloud to myself as I pulled in and parked, I said, "When in the hell are we going to see that none of this shit will ever change until we make them feel what we feel??!!  My head was so filled with all that had gone on before and since.

~#~#~#~

Shortly after closing on the house the end of May, I was assaulted by the death of yet another Black young man in June -- in what we used to call Bayside Manor.  Yes, it was then, and still is -- the "projects" (with a new, and white-folk-acceptable-name til they gentrify it and probably turn them into condos or something like everything else) -- but damn!!   This time though, it was one of our own -- a "Black in Blue," protected by a system, led by the same white man who'd been mayor when I left home at 18 -- 40 years ago!

When I was a more of an integrationist, I was always, more or less, a "joiner" (ΔΣϴ, NAACP, US Navy, Teaching Tolerance, BCCLT, blah, blah, blah).  But, as I continue working to decolonize my mind -- I know today, I ain't none of them (that didn't, however, stop the president of the local NAACP chapter at home, from trying to recruit me when I attended the meeting concerning the murder and the three missing minutes from the surveillance tape finally released by the Charleston PD).  The tape showed the time the off-duty, CPD cop working private security encountered Denzel Curnell, then a three-minute blank, then the time he was dead, in front of the officer's car.  I felt so f*ed up about the "insanity" of it all, I had  to say something -- and I did (beginning at the 21:52 click).

Charleston used to be a city with a "Black Majority" when I was growing up -- not any more.  As one of my favorite commenters, "king of trouble" noted, on another of my favorite commenters, "jefe's" guest post, Anacostia over at Abagond's -- the city has slowly and methodically been, and to date, is successfully -- BLEACHED (and it breaks my damned heart).

Considering this child, IMO had been murdered, the attendees at the meeting were way less than I'd expected (and not even a march was planned or executed).  I told my brother later, "It doesn't matter if the killer was Black -- by day he wore blue and was automatically protected by that! -- and no response?!"  He said, "Welcome home, Deb, welcome home."

~#~#~#~

When the pupples and I walked in, the husband was watching CNN.  I said, "Hey, how you doin' -- I'm NOT in a good damned mood."  He said, "I know, I talked to Alan. already."  As I sat down and watched Ferguson on fire, my first words were, "Dammit!  Go burn down their shit, not ours!!  Then I realized, the White Supremacist Capitalist Patriarchy's plan had always been to just LET it burn (plenty cops armed at the ready for protesters, but no fire trucks, no ambulances -- nothin' in the hood.  Wasn't their shit -- Oh well!).

And when the powers that be trotted out their Sambo/Quimbo puppet to yet again give his presidential words of wisdom, I was really through (yes Family, do re-read Harriet Beecher-Stowe's, "Uncle Tom's Cabin" -- now I understand how we've been focusing on the wrong Negro all this time.  It was Sambo and Quimbo to whom we should've been paying attention)!!  Family, this man is "skin-folk, not kinfolk."  He's no more our people than any of the white supremacists who've bought and paid for him.  As I listened to his voice, all I could think of was dear, old Maxine saying:

~#~#~#~

As I said in the beginning, they must be made to pay.  Be it hitting them in their capitalist pockets as these wonderful, young folk chose in Ferguson, OR --  read Fanon's chapter, "On Violence" at that link up there and let it sink in.  Either is preferable to nothing at all at this point.  However, the onus is not merely on us to do something.  As Mr. Baldwin so succinctly explains here, starting at the 4:41 click -- they've got some shit to figure out themselves.

Family, I'm pretty full about all this (as well as those other things I mentioned above).  I just had to let some of it out right now.  I do plan to write more later, so please bear with me.  Most importantly though, never forget this:

“Please try to remember that what they believe, as well as what they do and cause you to endure does not testify to your inferiority but to their inhumanity”

James Baldwin, The Fire Next Time

My young Bothers and Sisters holding' it down in Ferguson still -- again, I'm so damned proud of YOU!

Related:
- Enough Is Enough
- No Indictment for Darren Wilson, No Justice for Black Lives
- Chronicle of a Riot Foretold
- As a white mother, I fear for my black son
- Despite Blacks Killed By Cops Here, Ferguson Reaction Unlikely
- Gaps remain in the Denzel Curnell suicide narrative
- Denzel Curnell case: Read the full SLED report

Preserving cultural identity in the face of institutionalized white supremacy: Another Home-going -- Pt. 1, Final -- State-sanctioned child-trafficking, "When animals attack"

What finally happened to Veronica Brown and her father, Dusten is pretty much what always happens when animals of the White Supremacist Capitalist Patriarchy variety attack in full force.

White folk know, and all those wanna-be-white folk have learned that, more often than not, that whole, "skin you're in" construct (with a little white Jesus thrown in for good measure), crazily cements their white-savior "cred" both here and abroad in a major way (Hell, even Mitt's Fam's in on the save-the-savages bonanza!).  This peddling a deity (who looks like them) to other supposedly "lesser" folk, is to their distinct and seemingly infinite advantage, Family.  Why?  Because it makes them extremely powerful among those to whom they've sold him!

After ripping his heart right out of his chest, buying his child from a woman who didn't want her (or him), the wanton vultures they've always been -- just waited, hovering, intent on picking his carcass clean.  And true to form, they did:

• Sheriff:  Capobiancos, Veronica have left Oklahoma, criminal charge against Brown stands for now
• Capobiancos Sue Dusten Brown for Nearly Half a Million in Fees 

Both those pieces shook me to my very core for some time. Any illusion I might have had that this country and its inhabitants gave two shits about the "best interests of the child" were forever shattered.  But more importantly than anything, I felt that familiar "quiet riot" rumbling deep in my gut that I always get, when something patently wrong and hateful happens (and trust me Family, I've been feeling it on the regular here lately) -- and it did.

As I tried to make sense of the fact, that the very government that Dusten Brown had sworn to "serve and protect," was complicit in the taking of his flesh and blood, handing her over to their fellow white supremacists who, in their hubris and literature, claim to want to "protect Native American children and families," (but are really bent on wiping their culture out of existence by way of that old "Manifest Destiny" bullshit) -- it just did not compute.

The M.O. is as repetitively disgusting as it is old hat --  take whatever, or whomever you want, to fill some hole in what passes for your soul; use your money, influence and white supremacist ties to keep that jackboot firmly grounded on the necks of those you see as inferior and just to make the point clear, hang the threat of incarceration and the loss of all your livelihood over your head.  I tell you, white supremacy, like cotton -- remains the fabric of all our lives.

We can admit it or not, Family -- all of us, Others continue to live the many "-isms" the White Supremacist Capitalist Patriarchy (WSCP) has craftily and consistently devised to divide and destroy us.  In Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl, we've seen in great relief -- how the supreme law of the land, not only sanctioned, facilitated and masterfully perpetuated the selling of a more than capable father's flesh and blood for the benefit of a barren, white woman and her social-climbing husband, we've seen how ineffective the supposed, "America is a nation of laws" is -- for us.  In case you missed it, this is the WSCP in full effect.

My beautiful, young sister, Ms. Hill, absolutely nails what happened to Dusten Brown in all those courts (the ones we all think are there to protect us):

When, the, Son of Perdition is Commander-in-Chief, the standard is thief...

Marinate on that line right there, while I touch on a few points from the first link:

Charleston County Sheriff Al Cannon confirmed this morning that Matt and Melanie Capobianco have left Oklahoma with 4-year-old Veronica under the watch of his deputies and a State Law Enforcement Division agent.

Cannon would not say where the James Island couple is or when they plan to return to South Carolina with their adoptive daughter, though he said he doesn’t expect them to come home today. Two deputies and a SLED agent will remain with them “for some period of time” to ensure they have a safe and smooth journey, he said.

Cannon said he doesn’t want to get into details about their travel plans because there is a great deal of emotion and frustration still surrounding the case.

“They are at an agreed-upon location where they are safe and comfortable,” he said. (emphasis mine)

First of all, Gov. Haley, how many South Carolinians okayed the use of their tax dollars to send these jackboots to Oklahoma in service to these two, PRIVATE citizens?  Two deputies AND a SLED agent at their disposal -- for however long??  And those of you who are not white supremacists raised no hell at all?!:

Cannon said he dispatched his law enforcement team to Oklahoma Monday because he had been monitoring the case and saw a possibility that a custody transfer might occur. He said he had been in contact with the Capobiancos’ attorneys as well.

Cannon said the decision by Veronica’s biological father, Dusten Brown, to hand her over to the Capobiancos does not mean that a pending criminal charge against him for custodial interference will just disappear. The custody battle and that charge “are two separate issues,” he said.

Cannon said his compliance with Monday’s exchange and plans for “some continued interaction between the Caponbiancos and Dusten Brown” could well be factors the courts will weigh in the case, but the matter still must run its course through the legal system.

“There is a warrant, he has been arrested and that has to be resolved,” he said. “There is every intention that that process continue to its conclusion, whatever that conclusion may be.”

Okay, whoever believes Cannon didn't know beforehand that the Capobiancos had already won custody of Veronica, raise your hands.  His lies are as ludicrous as the thought that no one recognized his veiled, "Keep being a good boy, Dusten and maybe we'll take that into consideration."

Dusten Brown held back tears Monday night as he packed bags for 4-year-old Veronica.

Oklahoma’s top court had cleared the way earlier in the day for the curly-haired girl to head back to South Carolina, where she spent the first 27 months of her life.

Veronica left the Tahlequah home where she had been staying recently. She said goodbye to Brown and her biological grandparents.

“He told her she was going to stay with Matt and Melanie (Capobianco) and they would be nice to her,” said Shannon Jones of Charleston, the birth father’s attorney. “He told her he loved her.”

After she walked away, Brown released the emotion he held in. He cried...

Emotional fight

Emotions have boiled on both sides of the legal battle since South Carolina courts gave custody to Brown in 2011. Veronica became a battle cry for American Indians intent on preserving their culture, while adoption advocates warned that an outcome not in the Capobiancos’ favor could discourage families from adoption...

...A South Carolina judge finalized the adoption in July and brushed aside all challenges, such as a request for an inquiry into Veronica’s best interests.

But Brown refused to relinquish his daughter.

Charleston prosecutors and deputies, as well as the state’s governor, wanted him arrested and extradited. He was jailed twice in Oklahoma, but the Charleston authorities’ attempts to reel him in never were successful. His lawyers have asked for a hearing to question the legality of the arrest warrant.

On Monday, Jones urged authorities to stop pursuing criminal action against her client. Jail time, Jones said, would greatly damage the Capobiancos’ future relationship with Veronica.

Surprise move

Courts in Oklahoma eventually approved the adoption decree, and in mid-August, one judge there ordered mediation that would give the Capobiancos and Brown a chance to iron out future visitation.

Over the coming weeks, the Capobiancos visited Veronica.

In photographs released Monday, Matt Capobianco clutches Veronica as she sits in his lap. Wearing a sparkly tiara, Melanie Capobianco tosses Veronica in her arms in another picture.

“(The) visits show that Veronica remembers them and loves them,” Lori Alvino McGill, the couple’s Washington attorney, said Monday.

Veronica celebrated her fourth birthday Sept. 15 with a Disney princess-themed bounce house, balloons and a table loaded with gifts. The Cherokee Nation presented her with a traditional dress...

...Later in the day, the move by Oklahoma’s top justices allowed authorities to enforce an Aug. 30 order from the Nowata County District Court demanding the Capobiancos get custody. The order is a version of one from a South Carolina judge.

The stay had been in place as the two sides talked about a settlement.

Five justices concurred with the opinion. Two dissented. One concurred in part and dissented in part. One did not vote.

The justices who disagreed with the move called for a hearing to determine whether a custody change is best for Veronica. Some said that finalizing an adoption without the proceeding was a violation of due process, making the South Carolina decree invalid.

The handover

Two deputies from the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office and an agent from the State Law Enforcement Division had arrived in Oklahoma earlier in the day, anticipating a significant development.

But even with the high court’s order, the Cherokee Nation expressed defiance against enforcement.

The tribe’s attorney general, Todd Hembree, said the state court’s order needed to be domesticated in tribal court to allow its enforcement on the land and the people it has jurisdiction over.

An order in tribal court, though, conflicted with Monday’s measure, Hembree said.  A tribal judge already has given custody of Veronica to Brown’s family.

“We are a sovereign nation with a valid and historic court system,” Hembree said. “I took an oath ... to uphold the laws and constitution of the Cherokee Nation and the United States. Nowhere in that oath is it required that I defend the laws of South Carolina.”

But it was Chrissi Nimmo, an assistant attorney general for the tribe that Veronica has come to know, who helped with the transition Monday night.

Nimmo took Veronica to meet with the Capobiancos and authorities.

Jones, the Charleston attorney, said her client had been given an hour to bid farewell to Veronica.

After the ordeal, Brown’s father suffered a heart condition, Jones said, and was taken to a hospital.

The Capobiancos last said in August that they wanted Brown and the Cherokee culture to play a role in Veronica’s future. It’s unknown whether any recent developments changed their views.

“We vow to hold them to their promise,” Jones said, “to let her know her heritage and her people.”

As she rode in a car Monday night with the Capobiancos, Veronica was quiet at first, said Noel Tucker, the couple’s attorney in Oklahoma.

Before long, she was singing to songs on the radio. (all emphasis mine)

Children are truly canvases at four years old, no?  Especially when their beloved Daddy assures them everything will be okay.  Big Ups to Todd Hembree for letting the state of South Carolina know how he felt, however, what we we're left with here is yet another Trail of Tears, Family.

~#~#~#~#~

Well, there is some good news on one front. Remember the Black father I talked about in the first part of this series, whose sister-girl, wife gave their daughter up for adoption to a couple in Utah while he was stationed somewhere else?  He got his daughter back!

Family, in whatever way you can,  please -- Let Your Life Be a Friction to Stop the Machine.  It's the only way, as Bro. Amenta said to me once, "...we may be able to awaken and fight the beast directly and not sideways."  That's how young, Brother Terry Achane fought it.  His words here show how deceptively simple it all is:

"I am not a very religious person,’ Mr. Achane has since told the Tribune, ‘but thou shalt not steal'.

Despite all the treacherous, well-worn tactics in which the Fries, this bio-Mom, this crooked adoption agency and this lawyer, along with their bought-and-paid-for media shills engaged (just like the Capobiancos) -- he won, Family!

But there are two major differences between Dusten Brown and Terry Achane -- this:

Judge Darold McDade berated the Adoption Center of Choice’s handling as ‘utterly indefensible.’ Once Mr. Achane contacted the Adoption Center of Choice … to let them know he opposed the adoption and wanted his daughter back, that should have been the end of this case,’ said Mr. McDade.

‘This is a case of human trafficking,’ Mr. Achane’s attorney Mark Wiser told the Tribune. ‘Children are being bought and sold. It is one thing what [adoption agencies] have been doing with unmarried biological fathers.  It is in a new area when they are trying to take a child away from a married father who wants to have his child.’ (all emphasis mine)

And this:

Even though he had the law, his sovereign Nation and his family on his side, Mr. Brown never stood a snowball's chance in hell with all those "low people in high places" amassed by the Capobiancos.  Being judicially and politically connected -- and wealthy -- made all the difference in how Veronica's case turned out, Family (Dr. Phil's nothing but a good ole boy from the Belly of the Beast, given a Hollywood chance by a Black woman who, it seems to me, detests her whole Blackness, more than she pretends to love it).

Though I definitely believe civil and human rights violations have been committed by both South Carolina and Oklahoma as well as The Supremes, I have serious doubts Holder & Co. will even think about looking into this case -- but we've got to try.  We've got to raise enough hell -- out loud -- because these two states continue to traffic Native American children for white, barren wombs.  Please, let's start now by signing this petition demanding a DOJ investigation of the entire case by signing the petition:  State of Oklahoma and U.S. Department of Justice - Eric Holder: Investigate the "adoption" of Veronica Brown

~#~#~#~#~#~

My Dearest Veronica,

Know your Daddy fought for you as hard as any Daddy could!  He went to court for you sweet child, and then he went to jail for you too, more than once. And guess what? He's still fighting -- all so you can know "from whence you came."

Where you are now, they will surround you with folk trying to make you believe your cultural identity does not matter at all, that you're a "fake Indian," like those whose images they've twisted or created for their own purposes -- like mascots.  But do know Little One, like many of us, one of your dear elders understands exactly what that's all really about.  She said I could share it with you here:

On Being a Fake Indian

by Cecilia Rose LaPointe

My Grandfather,

I've cared about you since I was 4 years old,

Since I can remember,

The funeral was odd,

I wasn't sad for you,

I knew you were hurting,

Decades later,

Stories were told,

In a suburban home of love and healing,

It was painful to hear what you have gone through,

What I fight for everyday is our story,

That I choose a certain way to live because of your story,

Because of our story,

There was too much to see,

Too much healing to be done,

Not enough supports in the dominant culture,

Crying on the curb,

Rubbing tears on our jeans,

We walked out into the great abyss of the streets,

Scary,

On being a fake Indian,

The stories are what we know in our souls,

No one would deny the pains,

Or sufferings in our family,

The flannel shirts-yellow smoke-bowling-UP energy,

Tired-mining-poverty-poor-rusted truck on blocks-UP energy,

Reservation conglomeration-government homes,

It was our beautiful black hair,

That we took a comb through,

Tears were behind us in the mirror we gazed at,

I was always afraid of my Dad's eyes,

In the rear view mirror,

Pearl Jam said it best,

"forced to endure what i could not forgive,

i seem to look away

wounds in the mirror waved,"

Saw things,

What did you see Grandfather?

How were you held down?

We were afraid of the tears,

No one told us that Indians could cry,

Could feel,

Could grieve,

On being a fake Indian,

Too much of what I remember,

Homogenization tactics,

But I knew something else,

Whether it was the thunder,

My Dad saying,

"its Grandpa LaPointe bowling in heaven..."

I can remember the orange streetlight and rain coming down

Sitting on the front steps,

Thunder and lightning across the sky,

On being a fake Indian,

Sure we exist in mixed skins,

Sure we exist in a mixed blood indentity conundrum,

Where mainstream TV perpetuates "equality" with other minorities,

They've got their tokens,

There are no American Indians on the TV,

We are invisible,

Life ways and identity stereotyped in a racist culture,

On being a fake Indian,

Our story is one that has not been heard,

The rush hour herds,

Daily grind in the name of "progress,"

Forgetting in daily prayers who we are,

Where we live,

The conditions of,

In this oppression,

On being a fake Indian,

No one can tell you what you feel in your heart,

What the family soul feels,

Or what healing we have done and will continue to do,

A beautiful strength,

Against great odds,

This is our choice,

What we have chosen,

What do you choose?

~#~#~#~#~

Dear Heart, you are NOT forgotten, trust me:




Related:
- The End of American Thanksgivings: A Cause for Universal Rejoicing
- Native Americans according to the first Western accounts
- Father of Cherokee girl honored in Oklahoma
- Baby Veronica & Baby Deseray: Don't Let Them Sell Our Babies!
- Judicial Impropriety in 'Baby Veronica' case? 
- Cherokee Nation Mourns as Veronica Is Returned to Adoptive Family
- Veronica Brown: The Taking of Native American Children
- Adoptive Parent Entitlement in South Carolina/Cherokee/ICWA Case/Baby Veronica UPDATED

Preserving cultural identity in the face of institutionalized white supremacy: Another Home-going -- Pt. 1g: A Poem for "Veronica Brown"

(Photo courtesy of Indian Country Today Media Network)

Forget That You Are Native
by Cecelia Rose LaPointe

They want you to forget,

That is their plan,

So look in the mirror,

Your skin,

Your eyes,

Your nose,

Your lips,

Your cheek bones,

Your hair,

Look closely,

In the mirror,

They want you to forget,

And when tears fill up in your hands,

You can wipe them on your jeans,

Get in the car,

Drive 60 in a 45,

Wipe the tears on your car seat,

Your steering wheel,

When the culture says you are homogeneous,

But the land pulses through your being,

Deep rooted in the land,

Waters,

Home,

Homogeneity is destructive to the soul,

Rise up amongst it all,

Gotta climb daily,

Because homogeneity is a sickness,

That can suck you in,

Destructive majority culture sickness,

Native children are hungry,

But you call us "white,"

When inside our homes is a fire,

Ablaze,

And we want to break down the walls,

They want you to forget,

So they don't have to own up to,

The damage they do to you,

Your family,

Your community,

They want you to forget,

So we can "get along,"

So we have "community,"

They want you to forget,

So they don't have to deal,

With the injustices that bury you,

In silence,

Most often when you are alone,

They want you to forget,

Forget that you are Native,

Because they think we are gone,

They want you to forget,

Because it is about a "divine plan,"

It is about "progress,"

For them,

They want you to forget,

Because they walk an easy road,

Their being is not crippled by,

The multiple layers of oppression,

If forgetting means dislocation,

Discombobulation,

Disorientation,

Addiction,

Abuse,

Remembering,

Knowing,

Feeling,

Living,

Breathing,

Walking,

Allowing,

We do not forget,

We can stand proud,

Stand tall,

Be whole,

Healthy,

When we remember who we are.

Cecelia Rose LaPointe is an Anishinaabekwe of mixed heritage residing in Naaminitigong (Manistee, MI) but is a part of Kchiwiikwedong (Keweenaw Bay Indian Community). She is a poet and writer whose blog I've been following for some time precisely because of the beautiful and simply profound truths her words impart.  When I read this morning that Dusten Brown had lost his beautiful daughter to the child traffickers -- yet again -- I was drawn to Cecelia's blog, searching for words to share with Veronica and she did not disappoint.

I'm writing a final post of these recent events as soon as I can get my head together.

Preserving cultural identity in the face of institutionalized white supremacy: Another Home-going -- Pt. 1, Final -- State-sanctioned child-trafficking, "When animals attack"

Preserving cultural identity in the face of institutionalized white supremacy: Another Home-going -- Pt. 1f -- Low people in high places

AP:  South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley and Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin face reelection bids in 2014

I believe BFF governors Mary Fallin and Nikki Haley (Fric-n-Frac respectively) long ago put their, silly little heads together and decided that Fric would -- after what seemed to them a reasonable amount of time to be legitimate -- sign that extradition warrant to send Dusten Brown back to South Carolina to face those trumped up felony custodial interference charges cooked up by Frac, the child traffickers Capobiancos and their cadre of politically connected cohorts.

Despite Fric's assurrances on August 13, that she would "not approve the warrant until Dusten Brown has a chance to fight extradition in court, starting with a hearing Sept. 12 in Sequoyah County" and, the fact her office had 90 days to review the warrant, coupled with her smarmy, "My hope, however, continues to be that sending Mr. Brown to face criminal charges in South Carolina is unnecessary" statement -- she decided, less than 30 days later, that Mr. Brown was "not acting in good faith" when he cut off Veronica's visits after Cherokee marshals alerted him the Mister had allegedly threatened to just take her back to South Carolina, in violation of the Oklahoma Supreme Court order to keep her there until Mr. Brown got his day in court.

You've got to be blind if you believe this wasn't all pre-planned once the battlefield changed to Oklahoma.  Hell, they were so confident in their, "On being white and other lies," privileged nonsense, Frac had already gotten her personal "Bull Connor" to dispatch two deputies and a SLED agent to Oklahoma, to the tune of $9,355.96 of SC taxpayer money on August 12!

As I look at all the parties involved in this case, I have to conclude that this is one of the most far-reaching, politically well-protected child trafficking rings in the country.  I'm sure you'll agree that -- from the baby-selling adoption agency and their attorney (who is also the Cabobiancos' attorney -- both currently embroiled in yet another kidnapping from Oklahoma to South Carolina); to the Tea Party enthusiasts who formed The Coalition to Protect Indian Tribes and Families (Melanie Duncan Capobianco and their PR guru, Jessica Munday are founding members), to the SC Guardian Ad Litem who lied to an attachment and bonding expert to get a favorable recommendation; to the attorney for the birth mother who is literally in bed with a clerk in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals for SC Justice John Roberts (an adoptive parent himself who should've recused himself when the Supremes ruled on this case) ; to the Family Court judge, a defendant in the Native American Rights Fund civil suit, who ordered the immediate transfer of the child back to the traffickers; to the waffling SC Supreme Court which at first upheld the initial SC Family Court decision to return the child to her father, then flipped and upheld the US Supreme Court's tainted decision; to Melanie Duncan Capobianco's having a "Duncan" in the U.S. House of Representatives; to the BFFs above -- this case is crying out for the Department of Justice investigation this petition demands.  If you care one iota about stopping this madness, please follow the link and add your voice!

To date, Dusten Brown has handled this obvious, "David and Goliath" undertaking to keep his own flesh and blood with a measure of dignity and integrity that I'm certain I would never have been able to muster.  Even after Fric released the hounds with the swipe of her pen, he turned himself in yet again, rather than having his daughter see him arrested -- not what the BFFS or Sequoyah County Sheriff wanted:

With a warrant signed by Oklahoma's governor and Charleston County sheriff's deputies waiting to escort him back to South Carolina, Brown appeared to be running out of options when he surrendered to authorities in Sequoyah County, Okla.

But a short time later, a Sooner State judge granted Brown bail over the protests of the local sheriff, allowing him to remain free until an Oct. 3 hearing decides whether he will be sent to South Carolina to face a custodial-interference charge. He was released on a $10,000 surety bond.

Sequoyah County Sheriff Ron Lockhart said he initially refused to follow Judge Jeff Payton's order because he had never heard of a suspect being released while awaiting extradition on a governor's warrant. “This is the first time in history I have seen that done,” he said.

Lockhart said he called the governor's office and initially was told not to release Brown. The governor's office then called back and told him to follow the court's orders, the sheriff said.

“I lost,” he said. (emphasis mine)

He lost?!  Talk about low people in high places!  They've got operatives every place you turn around!  After the judge let Brown go, who in the hell was the Sheriff to go over his head and call Fric??

Extreme hubris is the natural order of things for the money+things+privilege must = power crowd. Sleeping-her-way--to-the-top attorney, Alvino McGill had the nerve to imply there's some malfeasance going on in Brown's camp with this foolishness from the afore-linked piece:

In a separate statement, Alvino McGill also called into question how Brown was able to post bail Thursday.

“Given that Mr. Brown has miraculously been released on bond yet again in the face of an executed governor's warrant,” she said. “I'd expect the state's lawyers to take a very hard look at what is going on here.”

Meanwhile, Shannon Jones, Brown's attorney in Charleston, called on the governor to retract a statement alleging that her client hadn't agreed to visitation or negotiation.

Last month, Brown had been in tears over thoughts of being apart from his daughter as his attorneys made offers to the Capobiancos, she said. The Capobiancos' attorneys declined those offers, according to Jones.

“We've done everything we could to negotiate,” she said. “But they are confident that they will win this case. They do not believe they need to negotiate.”

Alvino McGill praised the governor's “decisive action” to help end the case.

“Veronica deserves the right to go home now, without yet more court orders or the intervention of law enforcement,” Alvino McGill said. “Brown's continued refusal to abide by the law is hurting everyone involved, especially Veronica.” (emphasis mine)

Really??  After all the behind the scenes machinations in their child-trafficking camp, she could still, as my Grandmother used to say, "fix her mouth to say this??" {smdh}  Of course she praised Fric's action -- she's a part of all of this!  Look Ms. Alvino McGill, Veronica is already home.  She doesn't need any more of you heartless people throwing up more interventions to her living a full and happy life with her father -- something Matt Capobianco will never, ever be to her.  She is neither a "commodity" to be bought and sold, nor one from which you and your friends should profit.  Speaking of profit, what the hayell is this madness!:

Though the idea only came on New Year’s Eve, 2011, the tempest had been brewing in the teapot for quite some time. My friends, Matt and Melanie Capobianco were ordered by a judge in South Carolina to surrender custody of their precious, adopted daughter, Veronica Rose to her biological father, a man whom she’d never met before...

...I meditated on it, daydreamed, and it became painfully obvious. A custom perfume. It’s unique, it’s fitting, and it’s something that I have a talent for. I ran the idea past the family, and with their blessing, I started working on her namesake perfume, Veronica Rose.

Using her name, “Rose” as a starting point, this delightful confection of a fragrance honors Veronica’s Aztec/Mexican Heritage with elements of vanilla, and her Native American heritage with sweet grass, cedar, and sage. One of Veronica’s favorite things is cake, so there are elements of birthday cake to this fragrance as well; Tart fruits, complex herbal and botanical bouquets, and a soft downy finish round out this soft, playful, feminine scent. (emphasis mine)

These people have no shame -- none. at. all.

Just when I thought everybody in my hometown was bat-shit crazy, unable to see the absolute wrongness of this continuing saga, I read this wonderfully empathetic and honest piece from the alternative hometown paper -- The Capobiancos should stop fighting for custody of Baby Veronica.  In it, Chris Haire expresses some deep and fundamental truths that only those NOT blinded by "winning at all costs" would recognize:

A short time ago, an Oklahoma judge ordered the Sequoyah County Sheriff's Department to release Brown from jail. As it stands now, Dusten Brown will return to court on Oct. 3 to learn whether he will be sent to South Carolina to be tried for the crime of custodial interference, namely that he had failed to turn over Baby Veronica to the Capobiancos. And if and when he is extradited, it will do nothing to solve the ongoing custody fight over the three-year-old little girl. In fact, it will only make things worse. Much worse. Especially for the Capobiancos.

Although the Capobiancos may not want to hear this, Ronnie Brown will never be their daughter as long as Dusten Brown is alive. Too much time has passed from when they called Baby Veronica their own and when they were forced to give her up. Today, the bond between Ronnie and her father is probably far too great to break, and anyone who believes that bond should be broken should be ashamed of themselves. When it comes down to it, Ronnie Brown is not a cause; Baby Veronica is. The flesh and blood Ronnie Brown is a child, and Dusten Brown is her flesh and blood father — and by all accounts, he loves her.

Forget the Indian Child Welfare Act. Forget that the Capobiancos raised Baby Veronica from birth until she was two. Forget that they tried desperately to have children of their own for years and years and years. Forget that they loved and cared for her as if she was their own child. She's not. She's Dusten Brown's, and for nearly the past two years, she has been under his care. She has spent her days and nights with him and his family. She has called him "daddy" countless times. Regardless of what happens, she will never call Matt Capobianco "daddy" and mean it in the exact same way she does when she refers to Dusten Brown.

Right now, Ronnie Brown is surely aware that her daddy, Dusten Brown, loves her so much he is willing to go to jail to save her. The Capobiancos will never be able to lay claim to such a heroic sacrifice, and because they can't, Ronnie Brown will never be theirs. And as the years go by, Dusten Brown's sacrifice will only grow in importance to little Ronnie Brown, and it will only poison whatever relationship the Capobiancos hope to have with her if she is handed over to them. Their lives will be ruined. But more importantly, so will hers.

So much has gone wrong when it comes to this case. So much has been mishandled. And too many tears have been shed and hearts have been broken. It's finally time for someone to do something right. And for the Capobiancos that means putting an end to this tragedy right here and right now. If they truly wish for the best for Ronnie Brown, they must quit fighting for custody of Baby Veronica. She doesn't exist. Ronnie Brown does, and Dusten Brown is her father. Let him have her. Her future — and theirs — depends on it (all emphasis mine).

I salute Mr. Haire's courage in writing that piece, Family.  Believe me, if you read the comments, you'll see what I mean!

Predictably, the child traffickers paid no attention to Mr. Haire's entreaty.  According to Michael Overall's piece in the Tulsa World this morning, a very haggard Melanie Duncan Capobianco, accompanied by the Mister and a young, vibrant Dusten Brown and his attorney left yet another round of negotiations.  To date, that's seven different courthouses in six different counties -- and counting.

All we can do now is wait and see what the October 3 extradition hearing in Sequoyah County will bring for this young, determined, grown-assed man.  I'm sending my prayers out to Spirit, for his and Veronica's sake, hoping it will help sound the death knell to these human and sovereign rights atrocities being perpetrated by these low people in high places.

Continued: Preserving cultural identity in the face of institutionalized white supremacy: Another Home-going -- Pt. 1g: A Poem for "Veronica Brown"

Related:
- Okla. custody dispute compared to SC couple’s case
- United Nations Demands Respect for Baby Veronica's Human Rights
- Baby Veronica: How Dusten Brown could prevail in battle over his daughter
- Veronica Rose Perfume Fundraiser Day 2

Preserving cultural identity in the face of institutionalized white supremacy: Another Home-going -- Pt. 1c -- A jackbooted, "Mission Accomplished"

With the backing and support from a host of supporters, Mr. Brown dug in his heels, trying to fight off the jackboots trying to take his daughter away from him.  Together with the Native American Fund, he immediately filed a request to the U.S. Supreme Court for a postponement of the S.C. Supreme Court ruling -- at least  until a "best interests of the child" hearing, covering the time Veronica has lived with him, could be held.

But after learning two disturbing pieces of information from Suzette Brewer's afore-linked piece (Suzette, thanks so much  for your in-depth reporting on his case -- without your tenacity, the "other side of this story" would have never seen the light of day!),  I could see the under-belly of power and privilege beginning to rear its corruptible head.  I learned that:

1) Chief Justice John Roberts, an adoptive parent himself who sided with the majority against Brown, oversees emergency petitions for the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, which includes South Carolina.

2) Sources in Washington have pointed out that Alvino McGill's role in Adoptive Couple is more than that of a spokesperson for Christy Maldonado. As it turns out, Chief Justice Roberts and former solicitor general Ted Olson, both of whom sided with the Capobiancos, attended Ms. Alvino McGill's 2006 wedding to Matthew McGill who, coincidentally, was a clerk for John Roberts in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. Therefore, given the cozy nature and small world influence in the Capitol's legal circles, observers say it was no surprise when Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl was granted petition of certiorari in January. (emphasis mine)

“Dusten Brown never had a chance,” said the source. “His biggest sin was that he got on the wrong side of the billion dollar U.S. adoption industry and he was winning. [The Supreme Court] knew this when they took cert on this case, otherwise, why would they bother with a custody dispute that should have been nipped in the bud four years ago?... But it is a system that was stacked against him from the beginning.

Come on people, there are obviously no coincidences here.  And while the first is not a good sign for Mr. Brown (Roberts wouldn't be the only "Supreme" making the final decision)  -- the second is quite simply foreboding.  I don't know about you, but it's clear as day to me -- that plenty in this milk ain't clean (pun intended)!   If you don't see it, it's because you don't want to. But let me help you.  No sooner had the  Capobiancos filed their answer to Mr. Brown's request, did this happen: Challenge to child’s adoption fails.

Yep, in no time flat, the Roberts-led court, in their hubris, issued this 3-sentence decision:

FRIDAY, AUGUST 2, 2013
ORDER IN PENDING CASE
13A115 BIRTH FATHER, ET AL. V. ADOPTIVE COUPLE, ET AL.

The application for stay of judgment presented to The Chief
Justice and by him referred to the Court is denied. The motion of the Guardian ad Litem for leave to file a response with exhibits under seal with redacted copies for the public record is granted.

Justice Ginsburg and Justice Sotomayor would grant the application for stay.

As I told you in Pt. 1b, Mr. Brown is again deployed for 30 days of National Guard training as of July 23.  However, on Sunday, August 4, the Capobiancos were supposed to have had a court-ordered visit with Mr. Brown and his child (apparently scheduled before the final ruling came down).  Understandably, because he was working out of town in Iowa, he didn't show up.

In preparation for his training duty, Mr. Brown had signed over his rights to his wife and parents, anticipating, I'm certain, either the Oklahoma courts would block the physical transfer of the child to South Carolina (he and his family have until August 23 to request a hearing which is two days after his training is over) or, that their already scheduled hearing in tribal court on September 3 would result in a successful challenge to South Carolina's jurisdiction over a case involving a Cherokee child.

Well, according to this piece in the Charleston CityPaper -- by Monday morning, the "mob" had begun circling their wagons in earnest around their white woman's tears:

A Charleston judge on Monday ordered the immediate transfer of 3-year-old Veronica to her adoptive parents and called for action from state and federal authorities after the girl’s birth father failed to appear for a court-ordered visit the day before.

The decree by Family Court Judge Daniel Martin suspended a transition plan intended to gradually re-introduce the toddler to Matt and Melanie Capobianco of James Island. It also requests assistance from Dusten Brown’s commanding officer as he finishes a 30-day training mission with the Army National Guard ... (emphasis mine)

Though I'm hearing faint strains of "urging for calm" in his last sentence below, on the first, I wholeheartedly agree:

As much as we here in Charleston fail to recognize it, for the Cherokee Nation this is a racial issue and the recent court orders bring up memories of decades upon decades of mistreatment at the hands of the white man. Here's hoping that outrage doesn't manifest in some truly horrible manner. (emphasis mine)

Quiet as it's kept, according to Mike Overall at Tulsa World:

Before a South Carolina judge demanded that she be returned "immediately," Baby Veronica's biological father, Dusten Brown, offered to share custody with her adoptive parents...Brown said the offer would have let Veronica spend summers and holidays in Charleston, where she lived with Matt and Melanie Capobianco for the first two years of her life.
The rest of the time, she would have stayed with her biological family in Nowata, an hour north of Tulsa. (emphasis mine)

Smelling blood in the water, the sharks Capobiancos bare their very well-funded, politically connected teeth and declined, saying:

"After all this time, the begging and the pleading we did, we never got to see her," Melanie Capobianco said Wednesday in an interview with Charleston's Post and Courier.

"Now that we were at the point where they knew the adoption would go through, they offered this as if they've been thoughtful and considerate to us all along."

"Pssst, Hey Melanie -- they had no reason, whatsoever to be "thoughtful and considerate to you all along."  First, you conspired with the birth mother and The Christian NightLife Adoption agency to BUY his child; then, you hired a PR firm, to make him look like an unfit parent when you couldn't keep her, even though he's been fighting for her since she was four months-old; then, you called in your white-privileged favors to doggedly pursue him in the courts (and either arranged for, if not paid for, Ms. Maldonado to do the same) -- all over a child that carries his DNA, not yours!  Do you see where I'm going here?

No? Well let me help you. That you are barren is most regrettable -- but that does not give you a right to this man's flesh and blood, particularly since he wants, and is taking care of his child.  Your fight is with Ms. Maldonado.  Sue her for lying misrepresentation!  Oh, I forgot.   Aside from the fact you've spent all this money to facilitate this "sale" -- you were in on the lie too!  Kinda bars you from any recovery on that end, I would think.  But who knows?  You do, after all, have quite the cadre of judicial and legislative henchmen in your pocket on your side!  Stranger things have happened!"

So, in order to not look unreasonable (though they've been nothing but unreasonable over this man's child from day one) here's their counter-offer:

"But the Capobiancos said they' re still committed to allowing the Browns to play a role in the girl's life - if they honor the adoption order."

The Browns are skeptical, saying the adoptive parents have never offered joint custody or visitation rights in a way that would be legally binding, the Browns said.

The arrogance of these people just "makes me wanna holler, throw up both my hands!"  Interesting to watch the flexing though, now that the ball's mainly in their court, no?  If I were the Browns, I'd be skeptical too.

Below, Mr. Brown's parents and wife explain their skepticism with emotions that run the gamut (and no, before anybody throws up the "she's white too" strawman -- she is not counted as one of "their" white women because first of all, she's a "race traitor" who stooped to marry "one of them."  Secondly, she's speaking up against them,  for "the enemy" (You can pretend these dynamics aren't in play here, but I won't):

"Civility, in the face of such intellectual dishonesty, is counterproductive in the defense of liberty ... for it grants the dishonesty the false appearance of legitimacy"

I cannot,  for the life of me, remember to whom that quote should be attributed, but I've never forgotten it.  But t's so apropos for this situation though, because I am just undone, and so tired of the way this society talks out of both sides of its mouth, with both conversations painting the "hunter" as some, "White Knight," riding in to save the day -- they are not.  They are opportunists -- always coveting what is not theirs and always misappropriating what they cannot create (and yes, Mrs. Capobianco, I'm talking about you there).

On the one hand, in 1978, the ubiquitous "they," in a weak defense of their barbaric inhumanity said:

We know that your children have been disproportionately taken from you  (with the willing assistance of Christian, church folk) -- not only because, as Bill Means of AIM stated, "because there was a very, shall we say, stereotypical image that Indian children were neither black nor white, therefore, they were most desirable," but because the Missus couldn't create an heir for the Mister" -- but it got out of hand. So, after all we've taken from you, and all you've given us, the least we can do, is leave you your children."

Now, post-1978, they say:

"Yeah, we know we initially said you have a right to your children (as if they, according to the laws of the universe, have a right to grant such a thing in the first place.  Oops!  Forgot their made-up, white supremacist, "Manifest Destiny" madness!) --  but what we meant was -- only when and how we say so.

"And since you chose not to follow those parameters,  Mr. Brown, we intend to put the full weight and force of our state and federal, politically connected, well-funded power on your neck to make you remember who's actually running things -- even though you're a member of a "sovereign" Nation.  I'm tellin' you folks, you just can't make this stuff up! -- Baby Veronica's biological father faces arrest after failing to return her to South Carolina 'immediately':

Nearly 500 miles from his daughter, Baby Veronica's biological father could be arrested Sunday morning when he reports back to duty at a military base in Johnston, Iowa.

The warrant came from even farther away - 1,100 miles east in Charleston, S.C., where a Family Court judge is trying to force Veronica's return to her adoptive parents.

Officials issued an arrest warrant Friday after Dusten Brown failed to meet the judge's order to bring his 3-year-old daughter to South Carolina "immediately."

He lives in Nowata, an hour north of Tulsa, but was in Johnston, Iowa, for a month of training with his Oklahoma National Guard unit.

He was off duty Saturday, spending the day at a hotel with his wife, Robin Brown. But commanders told him they can't prevent local authorities from taking him into custody when he returns to the base, she said.

A South Carolina official described the warrant as "checkmate," likely to end an epic custody battle that started when Veronica was 4 months old.

And wasting no time at all -- the jackboots landed.  Now, they knew exactly where he was and what he was doing.  So aside from flexing, their obvious intent is to not only humiliate him (even as he's serving this damned country on duty!), but to put his income in jeopardy.  It appears too, that Judge Martin's request for "assistance from Dusten Brown’s commanding officer" was heard loud and clear and, given the snide "checkmate" comment, I think we can all agree with Robin Brown -- for the Capobiancos, it's all about winning."  I don't know about you, but I sure feel that heel grinding deeper into his neck.

~#~#~#~

A brief aside:

Commenter D. Hammond - Phoenix, AR posted this comment on the above-linked piece:

The presiding SC judge who issued this order is Daniel Martin. He is a reputable higher court judge who specializes in family law. If you remember, the Native American Rights Fund filed a civil suit last week naming Judge Martin as defendant. The suit says that Martin denied Veronica a "best interest" hearing. I wonder if Martin is strong arming because he is angry with NARF and the Cherokee Nation for challenging his power.

And Sandy Macauley - Tahlequah responded:
He should remove himself from this case since he is a named defendant in the NARF case

Just some points to ponder...

~#~#~#~

And yesterday, adding insult to injury, the Capobiancos and their cadre grind the heel even deeper, breaking skin this time with this -- Matt Capobianco says Veronica "has been kidnapped," vows to fly to Oklahoma without law enforcement action:

A weekend of high tension surrounding the custody fight over Baby Veronica culminated in a Monday press conference called by Matt and Melanie Capobianco, vowing that without action from state and federal law enforcement, Matt would board a plane and pick up the three-year old that a Charleston County court has said belongs with his family...

...In front of a neighborhood gazebo near the Capobiancos house this morning, Matt and Melanie issued a plea to law enforcement involved in the case, asking "Where are you?" wiping away tears as they explained their anxiety over the girl's safety, saying their daughter "has been kidnapped." In an interview with the South Carolina Radio Network, Melanie said, "We've tried to work so hard to make this a smooth transition," saying that she thought the Browns were "using our kindness against us." Via an emailed statement this morning, the Capobiancos' spokesperson Jessica Munday called it "outrageous that nothing is being done to bring this child home to her legal parents" after two and a half days, "Where's the Amber Alert?" she said. Though the Capobiancos say they are reluctant to take matters into their own hands, Matt Capobianco said today that he would fly to Oklahoma himself, lamenting efforts to abide by legal channels throughout the process over the past two years, telling his daughter, "Veronica, little stinker, daddy's coming."

People, please go to that link and watch that video -- it is quite the performance.  It turned my stomach so badly,  I just couldn't post it.

I won't editorialize on it too much, but I just have to point to a few things that stick out for me.  Replete with the obligatory crocodile tears, and  melodramatic flourish, they turn this latest development into a "kidnapping" (classic, "paint the Other" as dangerous brute behavior -- the child's with her family!); then they start with finger-shaking at the "authorities" for waiting so long to bring the child back (it'd been two days); then, rolling out the, "we fear for her safety" apparition again, they throw out the veiled threat that, "if anything happens to her there will be enough responsibility to go around"; then they trot out their PR person who keeps the false, "he abandoned her" meme going strong while she calls for, of all things, an Amber Alert!  Family, this absolutely reeks of white privilege run amok.

And on Monday morning, they got what they wanted -- Baby Veronica case: Dusten Brown turns himself in, refuses extradition:

The father of a Cherokee Indian girl at the center of an adoption dispute turned

Mugshot from Sequoyah Sheriff's Office

himself in to authorities Monday but refused extradition to South Carolina, further complicating a case that raises questions about jurisdictions and a federal law meant to keep members of Native American tribes together.

Dusten Brown, a member of the Cherokee Nation, was charged over the weekend with custodial interference after failing to appear at a court-ordered meeting in South Carolina, where the adoptive parents live. He turned himself in about 10 a.m. Monday in Sequoyah County in far eastern Oklahoma and paid bond, Sheriff Ron Lockhart said.

But Brown refused extradition without a governor's warrant from South Carolina.

This is "in the best interests of the child?"  This is the country for which Mr. Brown dons that uniform he's wearing.  {smdh}.  Check out the video below and see these two families side-by-side.  Listen to the very Deep South narrative floating on the surface of it all ("a little-known Federal law??" -- Please).



Mr. Brown, hold fast young man. I salute you for your fight and I stand in solidarity with you and your family.  That little "mirror" named Veronica that you hold in your arms is yours, no matter the "things" they can give her.  When all is said and done and your daughter revisits her life, laid bare on the internet -- she'll swell with pride knowing her Daddy did everything he knew how to do to keep her in his life.  And the Capobiancos won't be able to dispute any of it. And since he refused extradition without a governor's warrant, according to this, Governor Nikki Haley (she, the child of Sikh immigrants born in Bamberg, SC) immediately drew one up and overnighted it to Oklahoma!

This man is battling so many of their "friends in high places" -- I don't know how he's not buckled under the pressure. {smdh}  Stay tuned folks -- the wheels are spinning fast and furiously on this case and I want to make sure as many "voices" as possible are heard as it develops.

Continued: Preserving cultural identity in the face of institutionalized white supremacy: Another Home-going -- Pt. 1d -- This human and sovereign rights violation is not about Veronica at all

Related:
- Cherokee official: Baby Veronica's biological father surrenders to authorities
- Charleston County Sheriff’s Office: Working to extradite Dusten Brown, searching for Veronica
- Adoptive couple wants feds to bring girl to SC
- Judge in SC finalizes Cherokee girl’s adoption in national case; American Indian groups sue