On August 11, American Idol star Syesha Mercado watched tearfully on the side of the road in a now-viral video, as Florida deputies demanded she surrender her breast-feeding newborn daughter. “How could you guys do this? You have no heart,” she cried.
But this wasn’t the first baby the system has stolen from her.
Back in February, Mercado’s 1-year-old son was forced into Child Protective Services when Mercado faced the normal struggle of weaning a baby onto solid foods. When they took him to the hospital for help, he ended up being sent to a white foster family – not back to his parents or another family member.
But why did that happen?
The custody battle started with physician Dr. Sally Smith, who has a history of using “unfounded child abuse allegations” to force young children into foster care – a system that disproportionately abuses and separates Black children from their families.
Deputies claimed they took Mercado’s newborn because she “did not inform authorities” she’d given birth. But that doesn’t explain why they ambushed her on the side of the road! Her daughter has been thankfully returned, but Mercado is still in the fight to get her son back.
When "wellness checks" mean police kidnapping babies from their parents, we know the system doesn't actually have our health as a priority. They see us as property, not families!