#U.S. born children custody

[legallotus]

How Temporary Custody Petitions Can Help Immigrant Parents Facing Deportation in Florida

Immigrant parents in the U.S. constantly fear deportation, especially when they have U.S.-born children. If a parent is detained or deported, their greatest worry is often what will happen to their children. Temporary custody by a trusted family member provides a vital legal solution to protect these children and ensure they remain safe and cared for in the U.S. This arrangement lets parents…

[mariacallous]

President Donald Trump has targeted transgender and nonbinary people with a series of executive orders since he returned to office.

He has done it with strong language. In one executive order, he asserted “medical professionals are maiming and sterilizing a growing number of impressionable children under the radical and false claim that adults can change a child’s sex.”

That’s a dramatic reversal of the policies of former President Joe Biden’s administration — and of major medical organizations — that supported gender-affirming care.

American Civil Liberties Union lawyer Sruti Swaminathan said that to be put into effect, provisions of the orders should first go through federal rulemaking procedures, which can be years long and include the chance for public comment.

“When you have the nation’s commander-in-chief demonizing transgender people, it certainly sends a signal to all Americans,” said Sarah Warbelow, the legal director at Human Rights Campaign.

Things to know about Trump’s actions:

Recognizing people as only men or women

On Trump’s first day back in office, he issued a sweeping order that signaled a big change in how his administration would deal with transgender people and their rights.

It questions their existence by saying the government would recognize only two unchangeable sexes: female and male.

The stated purpose is to protect women. “Efforts to eradicate the biological reality of sex fundamentally attack women by depriving them of their dignity, safety, and well-being,” the order says.

The document calls on government agencies to use the new definitions of the sexes, and to stop using taxpayer money to promote what it calls “gender ideology,” the idea broadly accepted by medical experts that gender falls along a spectrum.

Federal agencies have been quick to comply. Andrea Lucas, the acting chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, for example, announced this week that she would remove identity pronouns from employees’ online profiles and disallow the “X” gender marker for those filing discrimination charges.

“Biology is not bigotry. Biological sex is real, and it matters,” Lucas said in a statement.

On Friday, information about what Trump calls “gender ideology” was removed from federal government websites and the term “gender” was replaced by “sex” to comport with the order. The Bureau of Prisons stopped reporting the number of transgender incarcerated people and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention removed lessons on building supportive school environments for transgender and nonbinary students.

Researchers have found less than 1% of adults identify as transgender and under 2% are intersex, or born with physical traits that don’t fit typical definitions for male or female.

Requests denied for passport gender markers

In the order calling for a new federal definition of the sexes, Trump included some specific instances in which policy should be changed, including on passports.

The State Department promptly stopped granting requests for new or updated passports with gender markers that don’t conform with the new definition.

The agency is no longer issuing the documents with an “X” that some people who identify as neither male nor female request and will not honor requests to change the gender markers between “M” and “F” for transgender people.

The option to choose “X” was taken off online passport application forms Friday.

The ACLU says it’s considering a lawsuit.

Transgender women moved into men’s prisons

Trump’s initial order called for transgender women in federal custody to be moved to men’s prisons. Warbelow, from Human Rights Campaign, said her organization has received reports from lawyers that some have been.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons did not immediately respond to requests for information about such moves.

There have been at least two lawsuits trying to block the policy. In one, a federal judge has said a transgender woman in a Massachusetts prison should be housed with the general population of a woman’s prison and continue to receive gender-affirming medical care for now.

Opening the door to another ban on transgender service members

Trump set the stage for a ban on transgender people in the military, directing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to come up with a new policy on the issue by late March.

In the executive order, the president asserted that being transgender “conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life.”

Trump barred transgender service members in his first term in office, but a court blocked the effort.

A group of active military members promptly sued over the new order this week.

Defunding gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth

Trump called for halting the use of federal money to support gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth under 19 years old.

The care in question includes puberty blocking drugs, hormone therapy and gender-affirming surgery, which is rare for minors.

If fully implemented, the order would cut off government health insurance including Medicaid and TRICARE, which serves military families, for the treatments.

It also calls on Congress to adopt a law against the care, though whether that happens is up to lawmakers.

Twenty-six states already have passed laws banning or limiting gender-affirming care for minors, so the change could be smaller in those places.

Some hospitals have paused some gender-affirming care for people under 19 following the executive order while they evaluate how it might apply to them.

Barring schools from helping student social transitioning

Another executive order this week seeks to stop “radical indoctrination” in the nation’s school system.

It calls on the Education Department to come up with a policy blocking schools from using federal funds to support students who are socially transitioning or using their curriculum to promote the idea that gender can be fluid, along with certain teachings about race.

The order would block schools from requiring teachers and other school staff to use names and pronouns that align with transgender students’ gender identify rather than the sex they were assigned at birth.

Some districts and states have passed those requirements to prevent deadnaming, the practice of referring to transgender people who have changed their name by the name they used before their transition. It is widely considered insensitive, offensive or traumatizing.

[gatheringbones]

[“Several contributors to A Woman Like That acknowledged that exploring the territory of their own coming out in writing was unexpectedly difficult. Seasoned writers told me how arduous, even painful, it was to explore coming-out memories that had long been held under pressure at a depth. One novelist said that her family’s rejection of her as an open lesbian had been too agonizing to revisit; she was unable to complete her story. Another, author of a soul-searching memoir and surely no coward, wrote a haunting piece about her first erotic experience with a woman, but withdrew it when she remembered that the words “lesbian and bisexual” would appear in the book’s subtitle.

These are indeed powerful words. I am deeply indebted to the writers who are free to embrace them.

Many writers in this collection recall childhood desire, embryonic lesbian hunger, and the innocence and mystery of those feelings on the brink of collision with the straight world. One writer asserts that she was “born queer,” while another confesses to the sin of “converting”—implying that, contrary to current rules of political correctness, some feel they have chosen to be lesbians. Some write with youthful ebullience and wit of adventures as “sex-positive” lesbians, with almost a gasp of surprise at the seeming absence of oppression in their lives. A handful write of uncommonly loyal families that nurtured independence in childhood and remain a source of strength to their unconventional daughters. Some contributors write of harsh punishment rendered for sexual nonconformity and of the survival skills and moral intelligence they have wrested from their experiences. Two write of their incarceration in mental institutions as young gay women, and of the exhilaration of release. Another, stunned by the abrupt firing of teachers rumored to be lesbians, learns that even a “progressive” environment may be unapologetically homophobic; her knowledge of danger ultimately empowers her to speak against injustice. One writer, who tells of coming out to the sons of whom she has lost custody, speaks of having cracked open their small universe—a shattering, but one that allows light and the possibility of new knowledge and connection.

A number of writers in this collection tell coming-out stories that are not about a single defining moment but rather about a continuum of experience. They recall many passages—a gradual shedding of false selves, an ongoing process of self-discovery and self-naming. One writer, nearly deported from the U.S. for her outspoken political writing, equates coming out with the freedom to explore deeper places in her own psyche. A writer in her seventies tells movingly of her failure to name herself a lesbian at a reunion of those who as children were transported to safety in England to escape the Nazi death camps. Next year, she resolves, she will come out to them. Another, Another, in the form of a diary of a week in the present year, reminds us that, regardless of how secure our identities, we are forced to come out as lesbians each time we intersect with the heterosexual world, or remain invisible as we have been for centuries.”]

Joan Larkin, from a woman like that: lesbian and bisexual writers tell their coming out stories, 2000

[beardedmrbean]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A California woman was sentenced Monday to more than 3 years in prison in a long-running case over a business that helped pregnant Chinese women travel to the United States to deliver babies who automatically became American citizens.

U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner gave Phoebe Dong a 41-month sentence and ordered her immediately taken into custody from his federal court in Los Angeles. Dong and her husband were convicted in September of conspiracy and money laundering through their company, USA Happy Baby.

The sentencing came as birthright citizenship has been thrust into the spotlight in the United States with the return of President Donald Trump to the White House. Since taking office, Trump issued an executive order to narrow the definition of birthright citizenship, a move quickly blocked by a federal judge who called it “blatantly unconstitutional.”

Dong and her husband, Michael Liu, were among more than a dozen people charged in an Obama-era crackdown on so-called “birth tourism” schemes that helped Chinese women hide their pregnancies while traveling to the United States to give birth. Such businesses have long operated in various states catering to people from China, Russia, Nigeria and elsewhere.

Under the 14th Amendment, any child born in the United States is an American citizen. Many have seen these trips as a way to help their children secure a U.S. college education and a better future — especially since the tourists themselves can apply for permanent residency once the children turn 21.

During her sentencing hearing, Dong wiped away tears as she recalled growing up without siblings due to China’s strict “ one-child ” policy and told the court that the Chinese government forced her mother to have an abortion. Moving to the United States was challenging, she said, but Dong grew hopeful after having children of her own and saw she could help Chinese women who want to have additional children in California.

“I don’t want to lose my kids,” she told the court. “I hope you can give me fair judgment. I will take all my responsibility.”

Federal prosecutors sought a more than five year sentence for Dong and argued that she and Liu helped more than 100 pregnant Chinese women travel to the United States. They said the pair worked with others to coach women on how to trick customs officials by flying into airports believed to be more lax while wearing loose-fitting clothing to hide their pregnancies.

“For tens of thousands of dollars each, defendant helped her numerous customers deceive U.S. authorities and buy U.S. citizenship for their children,” prosecutors said in court filings. They declined to comment after the sentencing.

In December, Liu was also sentenced to 41 months in prison. Dong's lawyer, John McNicholas, asked that she be allowed to serve her term after Liu completes his sentence because of their three children. The youngest is 13.

Federal prosecutor Kevin Fu agreed to the delay but Klausner refused and had her taken into custody immediately. Dong removed a necklace and gave it to a family member before she was led away.

The USA Happy Baby case was part of a broader probe into businesses that helped Chinese women travel to give birth in California. The operator of another business is believed to have fled to China, McNicholas wrote in court filings, while another was sentenced in 2019 to 10 months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy and visa fraud for running the company known as “ You Win USA.”

McNicholas said he feels Dong was given a much longer sentence because the government and Klausner blame her for the babies that were born U.S. citizens. That, he said, is unrelated to the allegations that she and Liu helped women travel to the United States to give birth.

“Our position was these children are born in America. They’re citizens,” McNicholas said, adding that Dong will appeal. “Implicitly, he’s saying being born here is not enough.”

[3rdeyeblaque]

On October 3rd we venerate Ancestor & Saint Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-kiakaka aka Black Sparrow Hawk on the 185th anniversary of his passing 🕊 [for our Hoodoos of First Nations descent]

Black Sparrow Hawk was a great Warrior military tactician, & Medicine Man of Sauk Nation, who is best known for the war that bears his name, as the last Indian-Euro war fought east of the Mississippi. It was his defeat signaled the end untimely of 200 years of armed resistance against European colonization on Turtle Island.

Black Sparrow Hawk (Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-kiak) was born into the Thunder Clan of Sauk Nation around 1767 & was a member of the Warrior Class. He was the son of a highly respected Medicine Man and would go on to inherit his father's Medicine Bags after he was killed in battle. Though polygamous, had only 1 wife. They had 5 children. They later lost their eldest son & youngest daughter within the same year. Black Hawk mourned the deaths of his children for 2 years - in Sauk tradition.

At age 15 he wounded his first enemy in battle, which initiated him into the Warrior Class & earned him the right to paint his face and wear feathers. From then on he continued to bravery & tactitcal skills on the battlefield. During the War of 1812, Black Hawk's warriors fought alongside the Shawnee on the side of the British Army against the U.S. colonies. Despite the misnomer given by the Europeans, Black Hawk was NOT a chief, he was highly respected & influential leader of a political faction within the Sauk nation that believed in preserving the traditional ways of life before European invasion.

In 1804, five Sauk and Meskwaki chiefs were tricked into signing a treaty with the U.S gov, selling nearly 51 million acres of tribal lands in Illinois, Missouri, and Wisconsin in exchange for various goods & a $1,000 yearly annuity to be paid to the nations. Despite this blatantly illegal act, the U.S. Senate ratified the treaty. The treaty stipulated that the Indians could remain on the ceded lands as long as that land was not wanted for white settlement. As more colonizers invaded Saukenuk territories, tensions rose. To avoid anymore bloodshed, the Sauk and Meskwaki moved to the west side of the Mississippi. However, Black Hawk and his followers refused to give up their lands & remained in Saukenuk. When tensions peaked, the Governor of Illinois dispatched military troops to force out the remaining Sauk and Meskwaki. Black Hawk led his followers across the river out of Illinois & into Iowa during the night.

This spurred Black Hawk to wage the war so named after him, against the U.S. to reclaim their ancestral lands. He led about 1500 followers across to the eastern bank of the Mississippi. This threw the entire frontier into a panic. The Black Hawk War went in for 15 weeks, ending the Battle of Bad Axe in Wisconsin. At its end, starvation, deprivation, & exhaustion killed off 2/3 of his followers. Though he along with 5 of his closest companions, including his eldest son, escaped before the Battle, they was captured 6 weeks later & imprisoned. They were released into the custody a Sauk leader named, Keokuck - Black Hawk's arch political rival - & was directed to follow his counsel and advice. From then on, Black Hawk was no longer recognized as the political leader of the Sauk. In the end, Black Hawk lost more 1,000 folders to the War & more Sauk- Meskwaki territories were taken as war reparations.

Black Hawk would go on to dictate his autobiography to an interpreter. "The Life of Black Hawk" was published in 1833. Despite his dishonor & shame among the Sauk, Black Hawk had ironically achieved fame and great admiration among his former enemies.

After his death, Black Hawk was buried sitting upright inside a small mausoleum of logs. Soon after, his grave was desecrated by grave robbers. His remains were eventually deposited in a museum in Burlington, Iowa which burned down in 1855.

As one of the most feared, yet respected First Nations leaders in history, at the core of his legacy - despite defeat- was his hard-fought battle to preserve the ancestral homelands of his people & preserve their traditional ways of life in the growing shadow of European colonization.

“I am a Sauk…I am a Warrior.” - Black Hawk's final proclamation.

Offering suggestions: play traditional Sauk music, deer or buffalo meat with cornbread/squash/beans/berries/honey, tobacco smoke

‼️Note: offering suggestions are just that & strictly for veneration purposes only. Never attempt to conjure up any spirit or entity without proper divination/Mediumship counsel.‼️

[learnwithmearticles]

Border Bills, Presidential Race

Kamala Harris is now the Democratic nominee for the 2024 election. Part of her campaign has included leaning into some moderate policies, such as less opposition to fracking and her recent statements about the border.

Harris has stated that she will be harder about the border than Donald Trump, the Republican opponent. At a rally in Georgia, she said she “will bring back the border security bill that Donald Trump killed”.

That Border Bill

Considered bipartisan, the bill Harris referred to was negotiated by Republicans with Democrats, then killed by Republicans after Trump urged them to do so.

By popular account, Trump wanted the bill to tank in order to force reliance on him to handle the ‘crisis’. If he can keep action from happening during the Biden-Harris term, voters might feel forced to vote for him if immigration is one of their concerns.

The proposed bill would provide significant additional funds for surveillance at the U.S.-Mexico border. It aims to increase search and seizure activity from Border Agents. That in itself is violating to individuals, as no warrant or probable cause is necessary for those searches. This allows agents far too much free reign to act as they please towards people regardless of their ‘potential danger’. Numerous videos online document the abuse people face from this.

The bill also calls for expanding the ability to detain people at the border, including funds for expanding custodial detention capacity. Following Trump’s 2016 election, we saw hordes of news about families separated, along with children and parents kept in cages, malnourished, and treated horribly. At least 37,000 people are currently in detention by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). At least 59.5% of those people have no criminal record.

The bill that Harris is announcing support for would worsen border conditions and facilitate Border Agents in keeping even more people wrongfully imprisoned.

Is there any good reason she’s doing this? Is there reason to worry about the border? What does it mean about her if there isn’t?

Immigration and Crime

No, simply. There is no strong evidence that immigration directly causes more crime.

A big concern in this area is drug trafficking. The Department of Homeland Security itself states that most fentanyl stopped at the border is being moved by U.S. citizens.

Additionally, Trump frequently refers to an “immigrant crime wave”. Statistics from places like New York disagree with that concept. While the immigrant population has increased in the city since 2022, the crime rate has overall remained steady, and even decreased for certain violent crimes like rape, murder, and shootings.

Another study found that, in the past 150 years, immigrants have been less likely to be incarcerated than U.S.-born citizens - 60% less, currently.

Evidence does not support the necessity of stricter border policies - especially ones that will only increase abuse towards those seeking asylum and do nothing to facilitate people becoming documented and successful working citizens.

As stated, Trump caused the bill to fail allegedly because it would force voters to vote for him if they want stricter border policies. Harris supporting such a bill completely weakens that attempt from Trump, making her a viable option for people concerned about immigration.

Again, as discussed, people do not need to be concerned about the border, but too many people still are. Considering the minds of voters, this switch from Harris to a non-progressive stance could be advantageous for her campaign.

(Of course, this is then hoping that she will not follow through, because such a law is unnecessary and harmful to people)

Additional Resources

1. Harris supporting border bill

2. Trump tanking the bill

3. The Bill

4. 90% of fentanyl from U.S. citizens

5. Detainee Statistics

6. Immigration and (Lack of) Crime

7. Incarceration Rates

[hudsonmckenzie]

Something You Must Know Before Hiring An Ireland Immigration Lawyer in London

The United States is initially called as a country of immigrants. The English-speaking Protestant Christians who found the region, however, have not always welcomed other societies. The hated have changed over a period of time.

Northern Europeans who did not speak English were despised in ancient times. Following that came French Canadians, the insufficient Irish, Catholic Italians, Revolutionary Germans, eluding Jews, Asian workers dared by other immigrants and Spanish-speaking Latin Americans.

In general, the United States is in its nextbig trend of immigration with the start of 19th century. The first shift wasdriven by primarily Europeans. It activatedlimits on immigration in the 1920s. Tranquil rules in the 1960s allowed the current wave, made up originally of Latin Americans and Asians.

According to Census Bureau data, there are more than 43 million immigrants in the United States out of a total population of about 323 million people. This represents close to 14 percent of the country's population. About 27% of Americans are immigrants or children of immigrants who were born in the United States.The figure reveals a steadyincrease from 1970 when there were fewer than ten million immigrants in the United States. But there are respectively fewer immigrants now than in 1890 when foreign-born residents comprise15 percent of the population.

Illegal immigration - The unclaimed population is almost eleven million and has flattened off since the 2008 economic adversity, which cause many to get back to their home nations and discouraged others from projecting toward the United States. In 2017, Customs and Border Protection showed a 26 percent decrease in the number of people imprisoned or stopped at the southern border from the year before, which is some traitof the Trump administration’s policies. At the same time, custodies of suspected undocumented immigrants surged by 40 percent.

More than half of the undocumented have resided in the country for nearlya decade; almostone-thirdis the parentage of U.S.-born children. Central American asylum seekers, many of whom are minors who have run awayfrom violence in their home countries, make up a swellingpart of those who snap the U.S.-Mexico border. These immigrants have a number of legal rights to Mexican nationals in the United States: under a 2008 anti-human trafficking law, minors from noncontiguous countries carrytheauthority to a deportation hearing before being turned back to their home countries.

The United States allowednearly 1.2 million individuals [PDF] legal permanent residency in 2016, more than two-thirds of whom were established based on family reunions.

Keeping in mind the difficulty of U.S immigration law and related sections, a big chunk of people wanting to migrate to the US rely on the expertise and skills of an Ireland immigration lawyer in London. These lawyers have particular knowledgein regard to U.S immigration law and deliver all-inclusive help to their clients from making the application to getting approvals at various intervals. In order to increase your likelihood of getting visa approval, it is necessary to rely on the expertise of reputed and experienced Ireland immigration lawyer in London who can understand your case prudently and suggest the next promising step further.

[boricuacherry-blog]

Jimi Hendrix's family

When Jimi was born, his father, Al, was a 23-year-old private in the U.S. Army, stationed at Fort Rucker, Ala. Jimi's mother, Lucille Jeter Hendrix, was only 17 and still a Seattle schoolgirl. They married on March 31, 1942, at the King County Courthouse in a quick ceremony, and only lived together as man and wife for three days before Al was shipped out to the service.

Al liked boxing and dancing.

Seattle, then headed to California to get the toddler.

The family in Berkeley attempted to talk Al into leaving Buster with them, and an adoption would have been easy to arrange. Al was conflicted, yet overwhelmed with paternal love. Al decided to take the boy.

In Seattle, Al and Jimi moved in with Aunt Delores to the Yesler Terrace housing project, the first racially integrated public housing in the United States. Lucille showed up soon after. For the first time the three Hendrixes were in the same room. By all accounts, the next several months were the smoothest the family would ever experience. Living with Lucille's sister, their expenses were minimal, so for once money was not an issue. Al was receiving small payments from the Army, and he and Lucille were able to go out on the town while Delores stayed with Jimi. Eventually, Dolores became fed up with Al and Lucille's drinking and kicked them out.

Al then found work at a slaughterhouse, and they moved to a transient hotel in the Jackson Street area. Their modest room had only a single bed, which he, Lucille and Buster shared. They had a one-burner hot plate to prepare meals, and the room's only other furniture was a desk chair. They lived in this hotel room for months, until Al took a job as a merchant marine and was shipped to Japan. When he returned, he found that Lucille had been evicted. Al later said she had been kicked out after being caught with another man in the room; Delores disputed Al's version of events, but whatever happened it did not stop Al from taking Lucille back again immediately, and thus a pattern emerged: fights and separations were an integral part of their marriage.

Just 11 months after Leon was born, Lucille gave birth to another boy, whom Al named Joseph Allan Hendrix. Al was listed as the father on the birth certificate, though in his later autobiography Al denied paternity. Where Jimi and Leon were both tall and lanky, Joe was short and stocky, but looked enough like Al to be his twin.

Joe's birth was not a joyous occasion, as the baby had several birth defects. Jimi had turned 6 the winter Joe was born, and the family now had three young children to feed. Al and Lucille often fought about which one of them caused Joe's medical problems: Lucille blamed Al for pushing her when she was pregnant; Al blamed Joe for drinking.

In official divorce proceedings, Al was awarded custody of Jimi, Leon and Joe. This was really a paper formality: As they had been during most of Al and Lucille's marriage, the Hendrix boys were raised by Grandma Clarice Jeter, Al's mother in Vancouver, Aunt Delores, friend Dorothy Harding and others in the neighborhood. And despite being divorced, Al and Lucille still were together sometimes, as their passion play continued. Joe, however, was scheduled to become a ward of the state, the only way to get his medical expenses totally covered. Lucille and Al had to give up parental rights and leave him at Children's Hospital.

Watching for Welfare

Lucille quickly went off again, and Al was left raising Leon and Jimi by himself. "The neighbors started to take over watching us," Leon recalled, "because they knew what was going to happen - that welfare was going to take us away." The welfare department workers drove green cars, and Leon and Jimi learned to watch for those vehicles and beat a retreat if they saw one. Leon and Jimi would usually end up at neighbors around dinnertime. "Jimi and I used to be so hungry, we'd go to the grocery store and steal," Leon said. "Jimi would be smart: He'd open a loaf of bread, pull out two piece, wrap it up, and put it back. Then he'd sneak into the meat department, and steal a package of ham to make a sandwich out of it."

In 1953, the family's fortunes improved when Al got a job with the city engineering department as a laborer. He purchased a small two-bedroom home at 2603 S. Washington St. Jimi was now attending Leschi, the most integrated elementary school in the city. Here, he met up with the boys who would become his closest childhood friends: Terry Johnson, Pernell Alexander and Jimmy Williams. Jimi occasionally joined Terry at Grace Methodist Church, and it was there that he had his first exposure to gospel music.

For entertainment the boys enjoyed swimming in Lake Washington or going to cheap matinees at the Atlas Theater, where Jimi fell in love with the "Flash Gordon" serial and especially with the movie "Prince Valiant." The villain in "Prince Valiant" was called "the Black Knight," and Jimi and Leon would charge each other with brooms in make-believe jousting matches. That same broom was also fashioned into an imaginary guitar. He would play along to the radio, strumming the broom as if it were a guitar.

By 1954, acting on repeated complaints from neighbors, a social worker eventually cornered Al Hendrix. He was given two choices: His sons could be sent to a foster home or be put up for adoption. Al argued that Jimi, almost a teenager, needed less caring for, and thus should stay with him. Leon, Al's favorite by every account, would go to foster care.

Leon was placed in a foster home six blocks away with Arthur and Urville Wheeler. The Wheelers had six children of their own, but housed as many as 10 additional kids. They were church people. "Jimi was at our house more than he was at his dad's," recalled Doug Wheeler, one of the Wheeler sons. "A lot of times Jimi would spend the night, so he could have breakfast before going to school. Otherwise, he might not have anything to eat."

That fall, at Al's urging, Jimi turned out for junior football. His coach was Booth Gardner, who decades later would become Washington's governor. "He was no athlete," Gardner recalled. "He wasn't good enough to start; to tell the truth, he really wasn't good enough to play." Gardner felt sorry for Jimi and saw that the poverty in the family home was severe. One day Gardner stopped by and found Jimi sitting alone in the dark. "The power had been turned off," Gardner recalled.

When he wasn't playing football, Jimi roamed the neighborhood at all hours with little supervision. He soon knew every musician around, simply by listening by the sounds of their rehearsals. He'd hear music coming from a house, and as a curious boy, he'd simply knock on the door.

In 1956, during the first half of a year at Washington Junior High, Jimi earned one B, seven C's and one D. In the second half of the year, he had three C's, four D's and two F's. Jimi would have started eighth grade were it not for further problems at home. The bank repossessed their house, and Jimi and Al moved to a boarding house run by a Mrs. McKay. As a result, Jimi had to switch schools.

Jimi wouldn't finish high school. And after getting caught for driving two stolen cars would be faced with either two years in jail or the army. He chose the army. And he brought a guitar from his father with him.

[howwelldoyouknowyourmoon]

Divorce, Drugs, Jail, a Nasty Custody Battle—Family Woes Lay Bare the Dark Side of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon

Time Asia

by Alex Tresniowski            September 21, 1998 As weddings go, it was a doozy: More than 7,000 couples squeezed into New York City’s Madison Square Garden on June 13 to take their vows or rededicate them before Rev. Sun Myung Moon. By contrast, just three weeks later, a mere 100 or so people gathered for the nuptials of Un Jin Moon and Rodney Jenkins at the Keswick Club near Charlottesville, Va. Conspicuously absent from the ceremony was the father of the bride—the Reverend Moon.

This tale of two weddings sheds harsh light on the frenzied times and nasty feuds that are rending the family of Moon, 78, the founder and leader of the powerful Unification Church. While church members believe that Moon, his second wife, Hak Ja Han, 55, and their 12 surviving children—known to followers as the True Family—embody a theoretical ideal that should be emulated, evidence suggests that the Moons are hardly a model of domestic tranquility. “This is a dysfunctional family,” says Madelene Pretorius, 36, a former church employee who left the group in 1995. “It’s very difficult to reconcile Rev. Moon’s principles with the reality I was experiencing.”

First, consider Moon’s messy estrangement from his daughter Un Jin, 30—who fled a mate chosen by her parents and is now battling for custody of their two young children. Oldest son Hyo Jin, 35, racked up enough woes to fill a Jerry Springer marathon: divorce, a DWI [DUI] arrest and drug abuse, as well as allegations of spousal abuse. Another of Moon’s daughters, Sun Jin, 22, fled the family’s palatial Westchester County, N.Y., estate in 1995 after an arranged marriage, then lived in Greenwich Village before a diagnosis of Hodgkin’s disease returned her to the fold. What’s more, court papers and disillusioned associates alike are laying bare the secretive family’s lavish lifestyle, which stands in contrast to Moon’s austere public image. “There were BMWs and expensive Mercedeses everywhere for the Moon family’s use,” says Donna Collins, 28, a former church member. “Money was no object.” At the same time, “there were church members working 12 hours a day who couldn’t afford to buy their kids sneakers,” says a former friend of the family. “The members did without for the True Family to have.”

Quite a host of problems for the man many consider to be a messiah. The Korean-born Moon, who founded his Unification Church in Korea in 1954 before coming to the U.S. in 1971, had his heyday in the mid-70s, when his calls for peace and purity filled airports with panhandling “Moonies.” (The church preaches that Jesus’s failure to restore man to his original state of grace forced God to send the second Messiah—Moon.)

But ever since Moon’s 1982 conviction on tax-evasion [and document forgery] charges, which landed him in the Danbury, Conn., federal penitentiary for a year, the church’s membership in the U.S. has been dwindling. One church official puts it at 30,000, down from 50,000. “There seems to be a falling away of his inner circle as well,” says journalist Robert Parry, who has investigated the church. “Some people who have been with Rev. Moon for a long time have grown disenchanted. There are real problems inside the family, and what some of these folks in the inner circle are seeing is that the Moons are far from perfect.”

The disillusioned seem to include many of his children, who were raised with a lack of parental supervision in an atmosphere of incredible luxury at two sprawling Westchester County estates, East Garden and Belvedere. The kids were treated to private hairdressers and fawning attendants and were brought up mainly by nannies while the Moons traveled. When Un Jin expressed an interest in horses, Moon built her a $10 million riding facility; Hyun Jin’s fondness for guns led to construction of a huge shooting range. “The sons, especially, are very arrogant,” says the former Moon friend. “They have egos that you couldn’t fit into a banquet hall.”

Tragedy struck the Moons in 1984: Their 17-year-old son Heung Jin was killed when he crashed his sports car into a truck. More trouble followed. Daughter Ye Jin, 37, moved to Boston in 1993 and cut off most family contact. Restive younger daughter Un Jin, who at age 18 was joined to church member Jun Heon Park in a union arranged by Moon, split from her family in 1996. On July 3, 1998, she married equestrian Rodney Jenkins, 54, whom she had met while training for the Olympics two years earlier. (According to her attorney, Un Jin never got a divorce from Park because their ceremony was not recognized as a marriage under the law.) “Spiritually, Un Jin has been declared dead to church members,” says a friend. “Basically, she has fallen. She is not supported by the family; she doesn’t get a dime.” Un Jin is now suing for custody of her two daughters, ages 4 and 8, who are being raised at her parents’ East Garden estate.

But Moon’s biggest problem is oldest son Hyo Jin, the church’s crown prince. Last December his 15-year arranged marriage to Nansook Hong fell apart amid her charges that he forced her to flee from East Garden with their five children in tow. “He punched me in the nose and blood came rushing out,” Hong, whose tell-all book about the Moons will be published this month, says in an affidavit. “I was seven months pregnant and was afraid he would kill my baby.”

In 1996, Hyo Jin spent three months in a Massachusetts jail for failing to pay lawyers’ fees related to his divorce, and this February he was locked up for 20 days in Westchester County jail for violating an order of protection obtained by his wife. That followed his 1994 arrest for drunk driving and two 1995 stays at substance-abuse treatment centers, including the Betty Ford Center in California. Hong’s affidavit claims that Hyo Jin—now working as a music producer at the church-affiliated Manhattan Center Studios in New York City—once brought home a box filled with $1 million in cash, then spent $400,000 “buying cocaine and alcohol, entertaining his friends every night and giving expensive gifts to other women.” In September of 1996, during his ongoing divorce proceedings, Hyo Jin filed for bankruptcy (he later withdrew the filing). A deposition in the case quotes him as stating, “All I like was guns and music.”

Hardly the kind of devotion that is likely to attract new followers to the cause. Even so, says attorney Herbert Rosedale, a prominent Moon critic, “the church’s activities are still strong, and their recruitment is still very active.” Indeed, the church still owns the influential conservative newspaper Washington Times, is developing vast tracts of land in South America and operates various foundations that promote Moon’s family-values message.

Running it all is the still-vigorous Moon, though the family’s troubles have thrown his succession into doubt. Hyo Jin had been the heir apparent, but “there is no way they are going to let him take over now,” says a family friend. More likely, Moon’s wife, Hak Ja Han, or another son, Hyun Jin, 29, who currently runs a church-affiliated business, will take the reins. Moon isn’t talking, but the very public disintegration of his True Family portends a tempestuous transition. “When the reverend passes away, they’ll all be killing each other for power,” says the friend. “I don’t think there will be anything left.”

_______________________________

The six ‘wives’ of Sun Myung Moon

[rijallaw]

The Path To U.S. Citizenship Through Your Parents

Thanks to the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, any child born on U.S. soil is automatically granted citizenship, ensuring that children of parents residing in the United States, regardless of their immigration status, can enjoy the privileges of citizenship. When they reach the age of 18, individuals with legal immigration status can apply for naturalization to become full-fledged citizens. Navigating the complex process of acquiring citizenship can be made much more manageable with the guidance of an experienced immigration attorney.

Understanding The Routes To Citizenship The Child Citizenship Act offers a means for children to obtain citizenship through their parents. You may be surprised to learn that you or your loved ones could already be U.S. citizens through one of these three pathways:

1) Naturalization:

This is the most common method of achieving U.S. citizenship. Lawful permanent residents typically need to demonstrate their residency for the required number of years, good moral character, physical presence, knowledge of American history and customs, and a basic understanding of English.

2) Acquisition:

Individuals born outside the United States can acquire U.S. citizenship if at least one parent is a U.S. citizen. Different rules and requirements apply to different circumstances and eras, making this pathway complex to navigate.

3) Derivation:

When a lawful permanent resident’s parent or parents become naturalized U.S. citizens, the resident’s status may automatically change to that of a U.S. citizen. Those who acquire citizenship through acquisition or derivation are exempt from taking a citizenship test since they are already U.S. citizens.

The Child Citizenship Act Of 2000 This act, signed into law by President Clinton and effective since February 27, 2001, stipulates that the children of legal permanent residents automatically become U.S. citizens if the following conditions are met:

– The child has at least one parent who is a U.S. citizen (by birth or naturalization).

– The child is under 18 years old.

– The U.S. citizen parent has legal and physical custody of the child, who is now a permanent resident of the U.S.

Upon meeting these requirements, the child is considered a natural-born U.S. citizen through their parents. While no naturalization application is needed, proof of citizenship can be obtained through a Certificate of Citizenship (using Form N-600) or a U.S. Passport application.

Added Benefits Of Citizenship In addition to enjoying the rights and benefits of U.S. citizenship, citizens are safeguarded from deportation, providing security in the face of legal issues that may arise.

The Significance Of Legal Guidance Submitting a citizenship confirmation request does not guarantee approval. A thorough understanding of requirements and necessary documentation is essential. Immigration officers evaluate each application to determine whether lawful citizenship has already been achieved. Having robust legal advice from an immigration attorney significantly enhances your chances of success.

Consult An Experienced Immigration Attorney If you have questions about eligibility requirements for confirming citizenship, don’t hesitate to reach out to our office. Rijal Law Firm’s immigration attorneys have assisted countless families in securing citizenship for their children. Choosing the right law firm is paramount when it comes to your child’s citizenship. Contact us today to ensure a smooth and successful citizenship process.

[thepricefiles]

Walter Scott Price

Marx Christian and Charlotte's son, Walter Scott Price Sr., was born September 26, 1876 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and only made it to the 7th grade. He was 17 years old when he joined the U.S. Army during the Spanish-American war. He had wanted to see serve in Cuba but instead guarded powder works in New Jersey. At 21, he enlisted in the Second Regiment of The Pennsylvania National Guard in Pennsgrove, New Jersey as a Pennsylvania Volunteer in the Spanish-American War and as a member of the Soldiers of the Pennsylvania Second Regiment of the National Guard. In 1898, the entire Pennsylvania National Guard was "mustered into federal service" for the Spanish-American War. Enlistment records list him as Walter S. Price, Corporal, Co. K; Residence: Philadelphia, Pa. (Pennsylvania National Guard) ; Enrolled April 28, 1898; Mustered in May 13, 1898; Promoted to Sergeant ,June 2, 1898; Mustered out with company Nov. 15, 1898. In 1899, he enlisted in the Fourth United States Regulars, an infantry regiment in the United States Army. at Fort Sheridan, Illinois. He was also a US army engineer. At age 21, he was one of 12 US army  engineers sent to the Philippines during the Spanish-American War to help rebuild war-torn communities.

Price was deployed to the Pacific in 1899 from New York (Suez Canal) with the First Regiment to take that route (the first United States Troops to cross the Atlantic on deployment). He arrived in the Pacific as a Second Lieutenant. In 1901, he was given the rank of corporal, and became a military Provost at Camp Bumpus in Tacloban Leyte (The Military Provost Staff Corps was formed in 1901 under Army Order 241 and are the Army's specialists in custody and detention).  The Military Provost Staff Corps were not the Military Police. They were the staff of the military prisons and similar establishments. He became the camp’s commanding officer with he rank of Captain. He accepted the surrender of Philippine Col Leon Rojas, a resistance leader.

He refused an officer’s commission in both the US army and the Philippine Constabulary and was mustered out of his unit at age 25. In 1901, he sought a discharge from the army. He was given an honorable discharge.

Walter met and married Simeona Custodio Kalingag Price, born April 16 1873, died August 30, 1973, age 100. Simeona was from Cavite, Philippines, and migrated to San Jose, Leyte after the Spanish-American War. She was a relative on her father’s side of General Emilio Aguinaldo, President of the first Philippine Republic. Walter and Simeona's children were: Joseph Christian Price, b. 14 October 1902, Leyte, Philippines; Walter Scott Price, Jr. "Scotty", b. 1904, Leyte, Philippines; Sofia Price, b. 1905, Leyte, Philippines; Francisca Price, b. 1908, Leyte, Philippine; Carlota Price, b. Tacloban, Leyte Philippines; Fred Price, b. Tacloban, Leyte Philippines; Maria Price; Dorothy Price; Pacifica Price. Walter was a 6-foot, 225-pound man. He was called one of the ten best-dressed men in 1940s Manila. He wore large diamond rings. He was nicknamed the (Transportation) "King of Leyte".

Between 1902 and 1940 Walter's sons were sent to the US for schooling.  Walter Scott Price Sr. remained in Leyte to set up business enterprises and assisted the army as a civilian, up until the outbreak of the Japanese-American war.  He founded a transportation company, the Leyte Transportation Company (Letranco) with three buses and one motorcycle, carrying passengers and crops. It grew to a fleet of 140 vehicles and the only form of transportation and bus service  in Leyte until WWII. He opened coconut plantations and invested in mining. He contracted with the army to load and unload transport ships that docked at Tacloban. He expanded into road construction. he bought a roller and despite having no knowledge of civil engineering, he began developing and building paved roads and a steel bridge that connected towns. He contributed to the development of the province of Leyte.

During the Japanese invasion of Leyte, in 1942, he was initially only placed under house arrest by the Japanese due to his status in the town. But he was caught in his office “attempting to remove something from the safe” and was sent to an Internment Camp at The University of Santo Tomas on January 16, 1943 and became a POW. His room in the camp was EB0114. He was relocated to the Los Banos Internment Camp, Philippines (He volunteered to take the place of a sick prisoner). US paratroopers from the 11th Airborne Division and Filipino guerrillas liberated the camp of February 23, 1945. The internees were evacuated over the Laguna de Bay by amphibious vehicles with “US fighters flying overhead and Japanese troops shooting at them from Mount Makiling”. News of Walter’s release was wired by the Red Cross to his family in the U.S. When finally freed during the American liberation of the camp in 1945, by the American forces, the "once heavyweight Walter" was a “skeleton of 95 pounds”  when found by his son Scotty at the camp. He died of pneumonia on May 18, 1945, at the age of 68 at the U.S. Army 5th Field Hospital, Santo Tomas University, Manila, Philippines. In a chronicle of the internees (Hartendorp), it was documented that the “Transportation King of Leyte, died of pneumonia”. He was buried in the University Santo Tomas Cemetery, Southwest Plot Manila, Capital District, National Capital Region, Philippines. Find a Grave Memorial 135545557. Walter was a Baptist, and a member of the Masonic Lodge, but he received the last rites of the Catholic Church.

Walter's only known biography is “Walter Scott Price, King of Leyte” by Father Raymond Quetchenbach, SVD, Leyte-Samar Studies 8, no. 1, 1974, 33-38. He is also mentioned on the book The MacArthur Highway and Other Relics of American Empire in the Philippines by Joseph P. McCallus (Page ix: “In the US, Lia Scott Price supplied info and contacts regarding her ancestor Walter Scott Price”): “The wealthy residents came to the court of an American known as “The King of Leyte”, Walter Scott Price.

Sources:

-“Walter Scott Price, King of Leyte” by Father Raymond Quetchenbach, SVD, Leyte-Samar Studies 8, no. 1, 1974, 33-38

-Walter Scott Price: US Census Records, US Army Enlistment Records, Birth, Death and Obituary Records from ancestry.com

-The MacArthur Highway and Other Relics of American Empire in the Philippines by Joseph P. McCallus, Columbus State University, Columbus, Georgia, Pg 53 “The King of Leyte and the Junkyard Oakie” (with a credit to Lia Scott Price, Walter's great-granddaughter.)

The book on amazon:

The MacArthur Highway and Other Relics of American Empire in the Philippines

Photos from the Price Family Album

Walter Scott Price and Simeona Kalingag Price

Walter Scott Price

The Walter Scott Price Family

The author L. Price's grandfather is Walter Scott ("Scotty") Price Jr.

[theivorybilledwoodpecker]

Yes, anyone can become disabled at any point. But you're talking about children. People who have been born.

A zygote/embryo/fetus is not a "baby."

Let me guess. "If you can't afford every possible financial cost that might occur, you shouldn't have kids, disabled or not!"

Welll, guess what. That would basically mean no one but the 1% would be allowed to have kids.

It's one of those statements that sound so simple, but implement that, and you'll be committing an atrocity:

The U.S. government used poverty as one of the many excuses to take Native American children from their families and give them to white people. Couldn't afford a refrigerator? You lost your kid. People today have severe PTSD from that.

Children of immigrants here without legal status have been taken from their parents and given to others.

Systemic racism means that some marginalized groups disproportionately experience poverty. Should they not be allowed to have kids?

And what should happen to children once born? Because I hate to break it to you, but some medical bills cost millions of dollars, and most people can't afford that. Should loving parents who don't have millions need to give up custody the moment a child is born because they might one day have a condition the parents can't afford? Let the system fill up until a 1% decides to adopt?

"Oh, I only meant emotionally!"

And most people who want kids do think they are prepared for one no matter what. But thinking in hypotheticals is very different from hearing reality. Textbooks can't prepare them for every situatiin.

Deciding to terminate a pregnancy for reasons of disability means they are not ready to raise a child with disabilities, not that they don't think any child with disabilities should be born.

"But that means if they have a child who develops disabilities, they won't be a good parent!"

Bitch, no. Because a child or baby is not the same as an embryo/zygote/fetus.

People who have been forced to give birth have been shamed when speaking out. People accuse them of not loving their children.

But that's not true. Because a child is not the same as a zef. It's not "ZEFs aren't children...except when diagnosed with a disability." They just aren't children.

A person can recognize, when they are pregnant, that they don't want a child or aren't ready to care for them, yet still love the child and do their best to care for them after they are born. Your logic is flawed.

Gentle reminder that you can be 100% pro choice and still understand that aborting a fetus because it will be disabled as a human is a eugenicist idea that comes from absolutely horrifying ideas that have been placed in western culture as a result of more overt eugenics movements in our past.

[whatisonthemoon]

Foreigners give babies to ‘Moonies’ The Anniston Star January 23, 1989

MOBILE (AP) – An investigator with the Mobile County Sheriff’s Department remains baffled by three adoption cases involving foreign couples that a Unification Church member said was motivated simply by love. “Why have these people come from these different countries to give their children to these particular people?” said Lark Dodd. But Ms. Dodd said her investigation into the cases was closed since no wrongdoing was discovered. Two of the foreign couples who traveled to Mobile to have their babies gave custody of the newborns to Unification Church members. A third couple returned to Canada with their infant son after the state launched an investigation. An attorney for the Unification church said the church has not arranged the adoptions or instructed members to have babies and give them to church members. “To the best of my knowledge these relationships were developed by the individuals themselves,” with no guidance from the church, said David Hagar, an attorney at the Unification Church’s New York office. Workers at Spring Hill Memorial Hospital told The Birmingham News that the Canadian woman refused to look at the 9-pound, 12-ounce baby boy she gave birth to on Sept. 21 and told them another woman would pick up the infant.

The bewilderment of hospital officials heightened when a 58-year-old woman appeared, saying she would take custody. “They had no adoption papers,” said Brenda Hutchison, clinical supervisor of the hospital’s pediatric department. “We had nothing that said this woman could have the baby.” While pondering the situation, hospital workers recalled a similar case just two weeks before. A woman from France had a baby boy and said she was giving the baby as a gift to a woman who would pick the child up. That case did have legal adoption papers. “They said, ‘God told me to do this’,” Ms. Hutchison said. “They both said these babies were gifts.” Interviews with law enforcement, hospital and Unification Church officials revealed the adoption cases involved the “Moonies” – followers of Unification Church leader Sun Myung Moon. Church members in Bayou La Batre, a hub for Unification Church activity in Alabama, paid for couples to fly to Mobile from Austria, Canada and France to have their babies born as U.S. citizens. Then church members in the coastal community filed for adoption, authorities said. “There’s nothing strange or unusual about the church,” said Martin Porter, president and chairman of Master Marine Inc., a Unification Church-owned shipbuilding business in Bayou La Batre.

Porter said that includes bringing church members from other countries to Mobile to have their babies and give them to Porter and Master Marine’s vice president, Paul Werner. 

Porter explained the motive for such a gift simply: “Why would you do that (give a baby up for adoption to a specific person)?” he asked. “It would be because you have a very deep love for the person. It would only be because they wanted to.” In addition to the babies born in September that Porter and Werner filed to adopt, four months earlier Werner filed for adoption of a baby boy whose mother came from Austria and gave birth at the University of South Alabama Hospital, said Ms. Dodd.

The three adoption cases prompted the state Department of Human Resources to investigate. 

The couple from Canada were forced by a court order to remain in the United States while the case was investigated and their baby was put in state custody. After nearly two months, the couple dropped the adoption procedure.

“They were just blown away… by the legal machinery that was going to come at them,” said Hagar, who flew to Mobile at Werner’s request: “Any time a petition for adoption is filed, we are obliged to make an investigation and report to the (probate) judge,” said Jerry Milner, supervisor of the Department of Human Resources’ office of adoptions. He declined to comment on the case specifically. But it appears the two babies adopted and living with Porter and Werner will remain in their custody, Ms. Dodd said. She said all people involved in the adoption cases were Unification Church members who knew each other personally and could have arranged the adoptions outside official church channels. It would be illegal for the church to play a role in arranging the adoption, she said. 

Ms. Dodd also said Werner told her that he and Porter paid the expenses of the couples who had their babies in Mobile. To pay them a fee would violate state law against child-selling, she said.

“There’s no financial remuneration passing to anybody,” Hagar said. “This isn’t a baby auction.” Alabama Watchman Fellowship Director Craig Branch, whose evangelical ministry monitors the Unification Church, contends the adoptions must have been orchestrated by the church.

[longliveblackness]

Margaret “Peggy” Garner

Margaret Garner was born on the plantation of John Pollard Gaines in Boone County, Kentucky to a slave named Priscilla.

She married another slave from a nearby plantation, Robert Garner.

In 1849 John P. Gaines sold his plantation, including the slaves, to his brother Archibald Gaines.

In January of 1856, Margaret and her husband decided to flee along with their four children, his parents and a number of other slaves. Their path was to Covington, across the Ohio River to Cincinnati, and then on to Canada. At Cincinnati, the fugitive slaves split up for fear of being captured. Some of the party did make it to Canada. The Garners, however, did not.

At Cincinnati, they went to the home of relatives of Margaret’s for assistance in getting further north. Margaret’s relatives had earlier obtained their release from slavery from their masters. While at the home, Archibald Gaines and U.S. Marshalls surrounded the cabin to capture the fugitive slaves.

While Robert was trying to defend them with a pistol, Margaret not wanting to return to slavery, slit the throat of her two-year old daughter, Mary, then stabbed her other children and herself. While her daughter died immediately, Margaret and her other children were only wounded. The entire family were taken into custody and imprisoned.

A long trial ensued, in fact it has been called “longest” fugitive slave case. Because of the sensationalism of the case it was followed almost daily in the newspapers. Margaret hoped to be tried on charges of murder in a free state because that way she would be treated as a free person and her children would be considered free as well. The decision after two weeks was that this was not a murder case but a fugitive slave case. She and her family were viewed as “property.”

The family was returned to slavery.

They departed on the steamboat Henry Lewis for a Gaines plantation in New Orleans. Following a collision with another steamboat, Margaret and her infant daughter Cilla were thrown overboard. Margaret was saved but the child drowned.

While it has been said that following her rescue Margaret expressed joy that her daughter drowned rather than be returned to slavery and there were those who even speculated she assisted in the drowning of her infant daughter, her husband in a interview after her death said she never tried again to harm her children, but that she had often express that it would be “better for them to be put out of the world than live in slavery.”

He also said that before she died, Margaret urged him to "never marry again in slavery, but to live in hope of freedom."

Margaret “Peggy” Garner

Margaret Garner nació en la plantación de John Pollard Gaines, ubicaba en el condado de Boone, a una esclava llamada Priscilla.

Ella se casó con otro esclavo que vivía en una plantación cercana, Robert Garner.

En 1849 John P. Gaines vendió la plantación, incluyendo a los esclavos, a su hermano Archibald Gaines.

En enero de 1856, Margaret, quién estaba embarazada para este entonces, y su esposo decidieron escapar junto con sus cuatro hijos, los padres de su esposo y un buen número de esclavos. Su camino era por Covington, cruzando el río Ohio, hacia Cincinnati y luego hacia Canadá. En Cincinnati, los esclavos fugitivos se separaron por miedo a ser capturados. Algunos de los que formaban parte de la caravana llegaron a Canadá, sin embargo, los Gardener no lo lograron.

En Cincinnati fueron a la casa de uno de los familiares de Margaret buscando asistencia para poder subir hacia el norte. El familiar de Margaret había recibido su libertad, la cual fue dada por su antiguo dueño. Mientras que se encontraban en la casa, Archibald Gaines y alguaciles estadounidenses rodearon la cabaña para poder darle captura a los esclavos.

Mientras que Robert estaba tratando de defenderlos con una pistola, Margaret al no querer regresar a la esclavitud, le cortó la garganta a su hija de dos años (Mary), luego apuñaló a sus otros hijos y a sí misma. Mientras que su hijo murió al instante, ella y sus otros hijos solo se encontraban heridos. La familia entera fue llevada en custodia y luego encarcelada.

Luego de que se comenzara un largo juicio, de hecho fue llamado “uno de los juicios de esclavos fugitivos más largo de la historia”.

Debido al sensacionalismo de el caso, era seguido casi diario por los periódicos.

Margaret esperaba ser acusada por asesinato en un estado libre porque de esa manera ella sería tratada como una persona libre y sus hijos serían considerados libres también. Después de dos semanas, la decisión fue de que este no era un caso de asesinato sino un caso de esclavos fugitivos. Ella y su familia eran vistos como “propiedad”.

La familia regresó a la esclavitud.

Partieron en un bote Henry Lewis a una plantación perteneciente a los Gaines, ubicada en Nueva Orleans. Después de un choque contra otro bote, Margaret y su bebé (Cillia) fueron tiradas por la borda. Margaret fue rescatada pero la bebé se ahogó.

Aunque se ha dicho que después de ser rescatada, Margaret expresó alegría porque su bebé se ahogó y no tendría que regresar a la esclavitud. Muchos han especulado de que ella asistió en el ahogamiento de su bebé. Su esposo dijo en una entrevista después de la muerte de ella, que nunca volvió a tratar de lastimar a ninguno de sus hijos pero que a menudo solía expresar que “era mejor que fueran quitados de este mundo a vivir en esclavitud.”

También dijo que antes de morir, Margaret le animó a “no volver a casarse en esclavitud y que viviera con esperanza de libertad.”

Spanish translation by Long Live Blackness

Traducción al español por Long Live Blackness

[littlefeather-wolf]

Sacagawea ... short Biography (c. 1788–c. 1812)

Lewis and Clark Expedition

Sacagawea and her husband lived among the Hidatsa and Mandan Indians in the upper Missouri River area (present-day North Dakota). In November 1804, an expedition led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark entered the area. Often called the Corps of Discovery, the Lewis and Clark Expedition planned to explore newly acquired western lands and find a route to the Pacific Ocean. The group built Fort Mandan, and elected to stay there for the winter. Sacagawea was a Shoshone interpreter best known for being the only woman on the Lewis and Clark Expedition into the American West.

Who Was Sacagawea ?

Sacagawea, the daughter of a Shoshone chief, was captured by an enemy tribe and sold to a French Canadian trapper who made her his wife around age 12. In November 1804, she was invited to join the Lewis and Clark expedition as a Shoshone interpreter. After leaving the expedition, she died at Fort Manuel in what is now Kenel, South Dakota, circa 1812.

Early Life  ... Born circa 1788 (some sources say 1786 and 1787) in Lemhi County, Idaho. The daughter of a Shoshone chief, Sacagawea's name means "boat puller" or "bird woman" (if spelled as Sakakawea). She was a Shoshone interpreter best known for serving as a member of the Lewis and Clark expedition into the American West — and for being the only woman on the famous excursion. Much of Sacagawea's life is a mystery. Around the age of 12, Sacagawea was captured by Hidatsa Indians, an enemy of the Shoshones. She was then sold to a French-Canadian trapper named Toussaint Charbonneau who made her one of his wives.

Coin :

Over the years, tributes to Sacagawea and her contribution to the Corps of Discovery have come in many forms, such as statues and place-names. She was even featured on a dollar coin issued in 2000 by the U.S. Mint, although it hasn't been widely available to the general public due to its low demand. Covered in brass, the Sacagawea coin (aka the "golden dollar") was made to replace the Susan B. Anthony dollar. Sacagawea, her husband, and her son remained with the expedition on the return trip east until they reached the Mandan villages. During the journey, Clark had become fond of her son Jean Baptiste, nicknaming him "Pomp" or "Pompey." Clark even offered to help him get an education ... Sacagawea left the expedition, the details of her life become more elusive. In 1809, it is believed that she and her husband — or just her husband, according to some accounts — traveled with their son to St. Louis to see Clark. Pomp was left in Clark's care. Sacagawea gave birth to her second child, a daughter named Lisette, three years later ... Only a few months after her daughter's arrival, she reportedly died at Fort Manuel in what is now Kenel, South Dakota, around 1812. (There were stories that it was another wife of Charbonneau who died at Fort Manuel, but historians don't give much credence to this.) After Sacagawea's death, Clark looked after her two children, and ultimately took custody of them both., let’s get out those tools for scraping off those layers of cultural whitewash and mansplainery,  and see a little bit more of what’s really going on in this story.Now, those aren’t bad reasons for telling stories… except that in the case of Sacagawea, they aren’t the whole truth. And the parts of the truth that they are hiding are really, really important parts of the story. And there is also a story underneath that is not being told.December 22, 1812

In August 1812, after giving birth to a daughter, Lisette (or Lizette), Sacagawea's health declined. By December, she was extremely ill with “putrid fever” (possibly typhoid fever). She died at 25, on December 22, 1812, in lonely, cold Fort Manuel on a bluff 70 miles south of present-day Bismarck ...

[beardedmrbean]

WEST PALM BEACH - A woman who left her newborn baby in a trash bin pleaded guilty to attempted murder and child abuse, agreeing to a seven-year prison sentence and potential deportation.

Two maintenance workers at a Boca Raton apartment complex heard faint crying sounds coming from the bin and rescued Rafaelle Sousa's 6-pound 8-ounce baby. She was taken in by her boyfriend, who named her Sarah.

Sousa's lawyer says the 38-year-old Brazilian woman didn't know she was pregnant until she went into labor, and was in shock when the baby was born three years ago.

"People look at her and think they see this monster," attorney J. Samantha Vacciana said outside the courtroom. "What they're looking at is someone who had a severe traumatic experience that caused them to have an even more severe mental break."

Sousa, who was already caring for her 3-year-old son, had taken Tylenol and diet pills in the months before the birth to cope with pain and sudden weight gain, but wasn't able to afford a doctor's visit and did not know she was expecting another child, her lawyer said.

When the newborn's head hit the toilet seat, she was blue and not breathing, Vacciana said. Sousa thought the baby was dead, and she was losing blood quickly. She placed her in a garbage bag, and then into another bag with trash and coffee grounds. Police found napkins used to soak up the blood inside them, along with receipts that led them to Sousa.

She later told investigators she returned twice over the next three hours trying to see if the baby was really dead, but couldn't get close enough because people were in the parking lot.

The attorney said that Sousa had only lived in the United States for four years and couldn't read, write or speak English. She lost custody of both children following her arrest, which breaks her heart, Vacciana said.

Palm Beach County Senior Judge Barry Cohen asked Sousa on Wednesday if she understood that her guilty plea subjects her to deportation after prison. Sousa never obtained U.S. citizenship.

"Si," Sousa said.

Vacciana said she had health care professionals prepared to testify had the case gone to trial, to explain why the Sousa responded the way she did to the birth. But she wasn't confident jurors would accept the defense.

"Being poor and unsophisticated sometimes is a crime," Vacciana said.