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Community vigil held for siblings killed in 'intentional crash'

By Rhodesia Muhammad -Contributing Writer- | Last updated: Apr 25, 2018 - 1:20:00 PM

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A vigil was held April 16 in Houston in memory of six children killed in what authorities said was an intentional car crash. Three of children were from Houston. Attorney Pamela Muhammad (second from left) and Nathaniel Davis (far right), step-father of three of the children killed participate with other residents.
HOUSTON—The Coalition for The Preservation of Black Families recently held a vigil at the Harris County Family Law Center for the six children killed when their adoptive mother drove their family SUV off a 100-foot cliff near Mendocino, Calif. Authorities stated the crash appeared to be intentional.

Community activists and organizers stood in front of a makeshift memorial on April 16 chanting, “We’re fired up and ready to roll. We’re fired up, can’t take no more,” after Devonte, 15, Jeremiah, 14, and Sierra, 12, all biological siblings from Houston, Texas, died in what authorities are calling an apparent suicide. The bodies of Jennifer Hart, 38, and Sarah Hart, 38, the adoptive parents of the six children were also found at the scene March 26.

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Participants at vigil accuse Harris County Courts of bias and discrimination when it comes to Black children and families in foster care.
A toxicology report stated that Jennifer Hart was over the legal alcohol limit when she plunged her van over the cliff. The report also stated Sarah Hart, and two of the children in the van had Benadryl in their system, a medicine known for causing drowsiness. Both adoptive parents were White and the three children from Houston were Black. They were adopted by the Harts in 2009.

The children found at the crash scene were Markis Hart, 19, Jeremiah Hart, 14, and Abigail Hart, 14. Authorities found the body of Sierra, 12 on April 17. There are still no signs of Hannah, 16, or Devonte. Authorities stated their bodies were probably washed away.   Devonte gained attention at age 12 after a photo of him with tears in his eyes while hugging a White police officer at a rally in response to the Ferguson Police shooting of Michael Brown went viral.

According to the California Highway Patrol, data from the vehicle’s software air bag module suggested the driver got a 70-foot start and accelerated off the cliff without breaking. There were no skid marks or brake marks at the scene.

Advocates held signs at the vigil accusing the Harris County Courts of biased practices against Black families. They argue that judges refusing to give Black children back to their families is an epidemic.

“I did everything they asked me to do to get my son back and I still didn’t get him back,” said Jessica Garrett, an advocate for the re-unification of Black families. “I grew up in the system, so I know both sides and the ends and outs of this system and sadly, those judges would rather give our children to White people than return them to their biological families,” she said.

Nearly three weeks passed before Sherry Davis, the biological mother of Devonte, Jeremiah and Sierra, heard about the incident.

“We didn’t believe it at first,” said Nathaniel Davis, their stepfather. “We got the call from the children’s biological aunt who said a reporter had given her the news of their death. Those children should’ve been with us,” he said grief stricken. “If they were, they would still be alive.”

Mr. Davis said that he received reports that his children were being abused.  Devonte, the oldest of the three, had complained to a neighbor in Woodland, Washington, where they lived that they were being deprived of food on more than one occasion. The neighbor reported it to Child Protective Services (CPS), but by the time they investigated the family had left town, Mr. Davis stated. Days later, they were reported dead. Sarah Hart pleaded guilty to assaulting one of the children in 2010.

“I wanted to keep the children, but because I wasn’t their biological father and I had health issues, I was denied,” Mr. Davis told The Final Call.

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This photos shows the Hart family of Woodland, Washington at a Bernie Sanders rally in Vancouver, Washington. Authorities in Northern California said they believed all six children were in a vehicle that plunged of a coastal cliff in late March. The vehicle was driven by Jennifer Hart, one of the adoptive parents of the children.

According to KOIN, a Texas CBS news affiliate, a 2010 Texas appeals court noted the children’s aunt, Priscilla Celestine, fought to keep custody of Devonte, Jeremiah and Sierra. The station also reported the children’s biological mother struggled with drug abuse and had a history with the Department of Family and Protective Services dating back to 1985. “Devonte, Jeremiah, Sierra and a fourth child were removed from her care after she tested positive for cocaine following the birth of her seventh child in 2006,” the station reported.

According to KOIN, the aunt was originally given custody, but they were allegedly removed “after less than six months when it was discovered that the children’s biological mother had visited them—a visit the children’s caseworker did not approve.”  

Ms. Celestine’s attorney, Shonda Jones, told KOIN removing the children after a “single mistake” was an “injustice.”  She described the children’s aunt as a hard-working woman who would have been a good influence on the children, reported cbsnews.com.

Social service and professional advocates for youth point out that if there are no family or community alternatives present, children must be safe but argue that Black children and Black families are often denied opportunities to care for loved ones despite kinship care laws. Often, Black children get lost in the system, activists contend.  

According to Attorney Pamela Muhammad, Harris County, Texas CPS often breaks up Black families and sends Black children to live with White families. It’s genocide, she charged.

“The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan called for us to help make our communities better and as a result of that many of us advocates came together and formed the Coalition for the Preservation of the Black Family,” she told The Final Call.

“We have to step up,” she said addressing the crowd that gathered to pay tribute to the dead children. “Give our community, our loved ones, our family, the tools so this senseless stealing of our children is not so easy. We’ve got to give them a fight because our children are worth it,” she said.

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Student Minister Abdul Haleem Muhammad of the Nation of Islam (left) and Nathaniel Davis, stepfather to three of the children killed.
Student Minister Dr. Abdul Haleem Muhammad, Nation of Islam representative for the Southwest Region, opened the vigil in prayer. He accused the the Harris County Family Court system of being the modern-day equivalent of the slave auctioneer.

“This system sells our children to the highest bidder for adoption and foster care, thereby breaking up families, as was done during our centuries of bondage and chattel slavery. The Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan teach us we can never be a strong nation without strong families. This unjust court system must be abolished,” he declared.

Community members held hands in prayer asking for those children who are still missing to be found expeditiously and safe.

“Devonte, Jeremiah, and Sierra have been away from home long enough,” said P.K. McCary, of Think Peace International, Inc. “We want their bodies shipped back to Houston. They deserve the respect and honor to be laid to rest with the family that loves them.” (Final Call staff and Associated Press contributed to this report.)