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Update (August 7, 2019): An Iowa couple pleaded guilty to subjecting their two Black adopted children to abuse and were only sentenced to two years of probation. According to the Des Moines Register, 42-year-old Kenneth Fry and 40-year-old Kelly Fry both struck a plea deal in summer 2019 after being charged with two counts of child endangerment in 2018. The two have been ordered to complete 100 hours of community service by the end of the year and pay a civil penalty of $12,500. Despite the immoral instances of abuse undergone by the children now ages 10 and 11, the couple responsible will not serve any time in jail. The children were just 8 and 9 years old when they were removed from the home. Officers responded to a call from a concerned neighbor who called authorities after seeing the children knocking on the front door of their home for 45 minutes, begging to be let in. “I can't say exactly what they were saying, but I could hear crying out,” the concerned neighbor told local news station KCRG. “I just thought, ‘Something is not right.’ Just knowing it was so cold outside and those poor kids were locked out.”Though medical professionals examined the young girl and determined she had “distention of her abdomen” and the young boy was too small for his age, the original charges of child endangerment causing bodily injury and neglect or abandonment of a dependent person were dismissed.Original: Kenneth and Kelly Fry of Osceola, Iowa were arrested last week for neglecting two children (an 8-year-old girl and a 9-year-old boy) they adopted from Ghana, according to the Des Moines Register.The couple, who are the parents of seven children, faces charges of neglect or abandonment of a dependent person, child endangerment causing bodily injury and child endangerment.The two children have been removed from the home and have given an account of the conditions in which they say they were forced to live to local officials. According to the children's statements, they were forced to use a plastic bucket as a toilet.An alarm was reportedly added to their bedroom doors after the children were caught sneaking to get food. The girl reported she wasn't fed adequately and told investigators she was "hungry."The couple disciplined the children by forcing them to do squats and pushups, and would withhold meals from them if they didn't clean their toilet buckets outside. The children told officials the couple would feed them oatmeal for breakfast, lunch and dinner but the other children in the house had better food options. A state Department of Human Services caseworker contacted officers after receiving a child abuse complaint the day prior, brought by a neighbor who claimed the two children knocked on their door for 45 minutes in tears, begging to be let in. The caseworker said Kelly Fry claimed the children chose to use the buckets as toilets.A week after leaving the home, the children were placed with relatives and examined by a nurse who found both to be underweight and suffering from malnutrition. The girl weighed 50 pounds, while the boy weighed in at 69 pounds. In the months after leaving the home, the children have undergone therapy and have gained weight.The Des Moines Register also reports Kenneth Fry is the younger brother of Republican State Representative Joel Fry, of the 27th District. The Frys have been released from Clarke County Jail on $17,000 bond. The Iowa Attorney General's Office will prosecute the case. Now, check these out: 3-Year-Old Boy's Reaction After Being Adopted Is The Most Heartwarming Moment EverOne Texas Teacher Adopts Her 16-Year-Old Student Giving Him A Forever Family In Time For The HolidaysBeing Adopted Does Not Turn You Into A Mass...

After her daughter Amelia jammed her finger, Karen Dresser rushed her to urgent care center in Maryland to see a doctor. Instead of being admitted, Dresser faced questions concerning her guardianship as staff seemingly failed to believe that the white woman was a mother to her black daughter. “They ask me for guardianship papers,” Dresser recalled in a Facebook post. “I let them know that I don’t carry them with me. They (the clerk and her supervisor) told me I needed them for her to be seen.”So here is the story of today: Amelia jammed her finger last night and it still hurt today so we went to Patient First. ...Posted by Karen Dresser on Wednesday, September 19, 2018According to Dresser, the situation was even more strange because Amelia had been to the clinic multiple times across a span of 12 years. Despite this, the mother and daughter were still turned away. “At first, I was just numb. I was in disbelief, actually,” Live 5 News reported Dresser saying. “We are a family in every sense of the word, and for somebody just to make the assumption that we weren’t is hurtful.”In shock, Dresser asked other mothers in her post if they had also been asked for proof of guardianship when visiting a clinic, to which she received a resounding ‘no.’“By the time I was home, I had lots of people saying, ‘No, never,’” Dresser continued. “So i know it was a color issue.”In response to the incident, Patient First released a statement saying:“During registration, if a minor patient is accompanied by an adult who states that they are the patient’s parent, we take them at their word. If the adult states that they are the child’s guardian, we require documentation to confirm that before the patient can be registered.”Dresser, however, claims she insisted that she was Amelia’s mother, and believes, “people out there need to understand that families come in all shapes and sizes and that it’s important to respect all families,” Live 5 News reported. Now, check these out:3-Year-Old Boy’s Reaction After Being Adopted Is The most Heartwarming Moment EverBiracial Woman Still Stands With Kaepernick Despite Being Disowned By White MotherWhite Adoptive Parents Of 1-Year-Old Black Girl Who Died After Being Left In Hot Car Reportedly Have Yet To Be...

At a time when social media is often used as a vehicle to share troubling, yet significant, news on current events around the world, people often rejoice in uplifting stories shared on the internet. Such was the case when one Twitter user shared her journey of meeting her biological family. Her tweets have since gone viral. Twitter user @albreanna89, whose name is Albreanna Watson according to her public Facebook account, began a thread over the weekend on July 7, sharing that she had reportedly met members of her biological family for the first time. Her tweet has garnered more than 80K retweets and 280K likes."I found my biological family," she wrote. I’m a daughter. I’m a sister. I’m an aunt. I’m a granddaughter. B***h I’m a relative!!! A thread..."What followed was a series of events capturing her journey meeting her biological family, with anecdotes and heartwarming video footage. Watson shared on Twitter that she was adopted at birth and knew nothing about her biological family other than information that her mother is Thai and her father is black. I found my biological family. I’m a daughter. I’m a sister. I’m an aunt. I’m a granddaughter. Bitch I’m a relative!!! A thread...— Kitty (@Albreanna89) July 8, 2018 First of all a little about me. I was adopted at birth and never knew my family or where I came from. I just knew my mom was Thai and my dad was black and I was on a mission to find them. pic.twitter.com/KG4oRR3H1x— Kitty (@Albreanna89) July 8, 2018Watson said that a man contacted her through ancestry.com and said he believed Watson was his biological sister. He also noted they had two other siblings; all four of the siblings share the same mother. "So he gets me on group FaceTime with all my siblings," Watson wrote. "We all share the same Thai mom but different dads. Mom was a rolling stone back in the day."So he gets me on group FaceTime with all my siblings. We all share the same Thai mom but different dads. Mom was a rolling stone back in the day. pic.twitter.com/wYRmaauPWO— Kitty (@Albreanna89) July 8, 2018My siblings and I instantly connect and I can tell they was my blood. 🙄😂 pic.twitter.com/ybvDHdaIRE— Kitty (@Albreanna89) July 8, 2018 Watson shared on Twitter that she had since met her siblings and that her brother who initially reached out, lived about 30 minutes from her in the Los Angeles area. She and her siblings then set out to meet their mom, who hadn't met Watson and had no idea she was joining her three siblings to meet at an airport. In one video, Watson can be seen anxiously awaiting her mom's arrival. In the next video, Watson's mom can be seen getting emotional as she learns Watson was there to meet her. Watson then shared videos featuring the pair enjoying bonding time. Fast forward it’s about to go down. pic.twitter.com/F3qYRjnfiD— Kitty (@Albreanna89) July 8, 2018 We meet! My brother’s shirt was soaking wet she only 5’2 pic.twitter.com/KPjmcdodON— Kitty (@Albreanna89) July 8, 2018She is loud, crazy, and wild just like me! pic.twitter.com/ygDqNQm9Al— Kitty (@Albreanna89) July 8, 2018 My mom got my name tatted on her ankle the next day after she gave me up. She told me she was never going to forget about me. And she didn’t. 😩 pic.twitter.com/uvBueGl0eN— Kitty (@Albreanna89) July 8, 2018I am complete. I’m a child who found ppl who look like me. Act like me. It’s crazy that my mom and I share the same mannerism but never grew up around her. pic.twitter.com/36CVddy7Mn— Kitty (@Albreanna89) July 8, 2018Many on Twitter replied to Watson's thread sharing the story had made them emotional:😭 this is so amazing !!! Made me tear up! I’m so happy for you and this completely new chapter for you and your family!! 🔥♥️— Jaimee Rando (@JaimeeNicole_) July 9, 2018 Gurl stop making me cry, I dont even know you 😭❤️— Sand😎 (@san_deeeeee) July 8, 2018 This whole thread is so beautiful! 😩😭 I’m so glad you met/CONNECT with your biological family. This is heartwarming 💖💖— Cierra Jaye' (@MissThrilla) July 8, 2018My eyes are leaking! @TheEllenShow give this family a free amazing, awesome, and inspirational bonding trip please!— Mary (@msmarypryor) July 8, 2018 "I am complete," Watson wrote in one tweet. "I’m a child who found [people] who look like me. Act like me. It’s crazy that my mom and I share the same mannerism but never grew up around her."Blavity has reached out to Albreanna to get more information on her story, but she has not yet...

As you have no doubt heard by now, on Wednesday, February 14, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz opened fire on Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida killing 17 people. Each time a white terrorist goes on a murder spree, we have the same circle-jerking conversation that just ends in more “thoughts and prayers” and no actual change. The same conversations about using mental illness as a scapegoat for racists whites, and how white terrorists are coddled and humanized. But this time, the information on the shooter that has been released even further "humanizes" him, and a conversation I originally decided to stay out of, I just have to say my piece about. Nikolas Cruz was adopted. Photo: Broward County JailNow, look, as an adoptee myself—a transracial adoptee, at that, what you will not do is exploit our experiences to get white terrorists off the hook. Cruz’s adoption literally has nothing to do with what he did. I don’t give one, two, three or four f*cks, when he was adopted, who adopted him or where he was adopted, because it doesn't matter. Yes, adoption has many complications, and many of us adoptees experience mental health issues and trauma, but it does not turn you into a racist mass murderer.We are not going to dismiss the experiences of adoptees who actually have problems and are dealing with real issues, because this white boy, (who was adopted by family friends btw) allegedly went to white supremacy summer camp and decided to go on a murder spree. Being adopted didn’t make him do this, being a privileged white boy who was never held accountable for anything, did. The FBI was warned about him, his family knew about his issues, he posted on social media that he wanted to be a professional school shooter and still, nothing was done. He was allowed to murder 17 people simply because America doesn’t believe white people can do wrong.Let’s dead this nonsense and keep the experiences of adoptees out your mouth and think pieces. We are not a part of this act of violence and never will be. This is a white problem, not an adoption problem.—Signed, an adoptee who hasn’t murdered...

White Iowa Couple Skips Out On Jail Time After Pleading Guilty To Abusing Their Adopted Ghanian Children

A Black Child Was Turned Away From Urgent Care When Staff Didn't Believe Her Mother Was White

adoption

Woman Shares Journey Toward Discovering Her Biological Family In Fascinating Twitter Thread: 'B***h, I'm A Relative!'

"I am complete. I’m a child who found [people] who look like me. Act like me..."

Being Adopted Does Not Turn You Into A Mass Murderer

This isn't an adoption issue, don't make it one.

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adoption

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