Devonte Hart was 12 when he was photographed hugging a cop during a BLM protest in Oregon. When the white cop who murdered Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, was exonerated, cities across the nation erupted. This moment was caught on film.
The image of a weeping Black child clutching a white cop went viral, as viewers interpreted it as an appeal for peace, humanity, and hope. Unfortunately, Devonte’s life was anything but peaceful and humane.
Devonte, two of his siblings, and three other children were adopted by two white women with previous records of abusing their foster kids. The Hart siblings were separated from an older brother desperate to reunite with them, heavily medicated, and severely underfed. Often the women photographed Devonte at protests where he held a sign offering “free hugs,” mostly to other white adults.
When the troubled mothers drove their SUV off a California cliff in 2018, killing themselves and all six children, the truth came to light. Investigations revealed that the deaths of the Hart children were the fault of a racist foster care and adoption system that snatches Black kids from their families at twice the rate of white children. The Hart children aren’t the only victims.
The system targets Black families for separation and exploitation. For centuries our children have been torn from us and put into a system where they are destined for abuse, poverty, and lifelong troubles. How can we reimagine care for ourselves without a system hell-bent on destroying our families?