THE SAD, STRANGE LIFE AND DEATH OF DEVONTE HART: THE CRYING BLACK BOY WHO FAMOUSLY HUGGED A COP

After Ferguson, a viral photo turned the tween into a symbol of post-racial America. But his murder — at the hands of his adoptive white mother — shows how much of an illusion that all really was

We don’t yet know if 15-year-old Devonte Hart died when his adoptive white mother, Jen Hart, 38, stomped on the gas pedal and drunkenly, intentionally, drove her 2003 GMC right off the edge of America. We do know the SUV plunged 100 feet down the cliffside and crashed into the Pacific Ocean, killing her, along with Sarah Hart, 38, Devonte’s other adoptive white mother, and four of his siblings: 

Markis, 19 

Jeremiah, 14 

Abigail, 14

Ciera, 12

The apparent murder-suicide remains an open mystery.

At present, Devonte is listed as missing. Local authorities haven’t recovered his body, nor have they located his sister, Hannah Hart, 16.

(Devontes bio mom) Sherry Davis’ children were forcibly removed from her home by Texas authorities due to her struggle with cocaine addiction. Davis, who was complying with her court-ordered drug treatment program, also fought to get her children home. But before she could get them back, they were adopted by a couple in Minnesota: the Harts. 

In light of what we now know about his murderous adoptive white mothers — who’d been cited for a pattern of repeated child abuse dating back to 2008 — this powerful image twists into a more potent symbol. A symbol of systemic failure. Far more heartbreaking than anyone imagined at the time.

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The neighbors are also interviewed. Hannah, one of the little girls, jumped out a window at 1 am to ask for help from the couple next door. The wife’s father called the police (the husband didn’t want to get involved). Nothing happened.

Neighbors gave the children food regularly because they weren’t fed. CPS was called numerous times. It wasn’t taken seriously because they didn’t “look” like abusers. Over and over again, their whiteness and “niceness” allowed them to abuse six black children. This was the home the system decided was more fitting than with extended family while the parent got treatment for her Illness.

When CPS finally came to investigate, they killed them.

And that’s not even the whole story.

I remember seeing that photo of Devonte hugging the cop and how it looked to be sending a certain message and everyone said it was staged.

“If you’re not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.”

What white people hear: never use sage ever, don’t ever buy it, don’t own it, don’t even look at it.

Look, y’all. There’s a couple of facets to my talk today.

1) Yes! You can buy sage! You really, truly can! Buy it from either native sellers (go to a powwow! Eat our food, buy our stuff, watch some dancing!) Or buy it from a seller who sources the sage from native people. Pick one. And no, buying it from 5 Below doesn’t count.

2) you CANNOT smudge. This isn’t just you “shouldn’t”— this is a YOU ARE INCAPABLE OF SMUDGING. Waving a sage stick around your doorways IS NOT SMUDGING. It is smoke clensing. Smudging, depending on the tradition and tribe, could easily have dancing and drums involved. You, as a white person, do not have the cultural BACKGROUND to even know how it works. At all. Period.

3) please, for FUCKS SAKE, stop making posts here on tumblr where you tell other white people about cultural appropriation and what they can and cannot do. Please stop, your license has been revoked because none of you bother to get the facts right. We native people are FULLY CAPABLE OF DOING IT OURSELVES. Consider instead: a) reblogging our posts where we talk about it! We’re here! We have made posts!! b) Making a post that states what we said and then LINKS BACK TO US. Screenshot with a link if you must. Stop centering your own voices in these conversations. You are already centered in everything, stop centering yourselves in a native space.

I’m tired of this nonsense, y’all.

i can recognize white people as a whole have systemically oppressed POC in america, which is where i live 

most people when they make white people jokes only mean the shitty white people and i am not a shitty white person