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In what is clearly a case of judicial overreach, a Tennessee child support magistrate a woman who came before her to change her 7-month-old son's name from Messiah to Martin. Judge Lu Ann Ballew told the new mother and father that the name "Messiah" is fit for one person although the original dispute was over the child's last name.
Shaming black mothers for the names of their children is common practice that should not be inculcated in the court system. The judge stripped the parents of the right to name their child and reaffirmed the bias that accompanies "non-standard" (read: non-Anglo) names.
Messiah's mother, Jaleesa Martin, says she will file an appeal.
Related:
The Name Game: When No One Cares to Correctly Pronounce YoursAn Odd Heiress: Thoughts From A Black Girl With A Strange Name
Embracing Who You Are: Growing Up African and African American
black motherhood judicial
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