The Black Mothers Fighting to Get Their Kids Back, in “To Be Invisible”
Myah Overstreet’s film follows two women trying to regain custody of their children and explores the injustice of family separation.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00I got blue, your favorite color, y'all's favorite color.
00:24Put it in y'all's room.
00:29Okay. Okay.
00:34Y'all want to see other toys. What other toys do you guys want to see?
00:43Scary one. That's a scary one.
00:47I heard your tummy hurt today in school.
00:54Yeah.
00:57Yes. Look, I got a book for y'all.
01:01It says, Going to the Firehouse. Can you see it?
01:05You see it? Tell Prince to come to the phone, Zion.
01:08Well, I think he's right there, but move a little bit closer.
01:12Look. Look at the firehouse.
01:14It says, Today my class is going to the firehouse.
01:19Look, it says, I dress like a fireman. Time to fight a fire.
01:25You see it? Look at the phone, baby.
01:30Okay. And that will happen soon, baby.
01:32But right now, I want you to be good. Do you understand?
01:35I understand you want to come home. I understand.
01:38And Mommy loves y'all. But Mommy still wants you to be good.
01:41You understand? You understand?
01:45You heard me? You heard me, baby?
01:51You said why you have to go to different houses?
01:53Look at me. I know it's tough. I know it's tough.
02:00But y'all are coming home soon, okay?
02:02What do you want to be, Prince? You want to be an astronaut?
02:05You want to be an astronaut too?
02:12All right. Mommy got to get ready to go, okay?
02:16I got to get ready to go, okay? Mommy love y'all, okay?
02:23You don't have to do anything but rest.
02:26You don't have to do anything but inhale through your nose
02:30and out through your mouth.
02:35Allow yourself to go to a place that brings you joy,
02:40peace, abundance, prosperity, happiness.
02:48Where are you? Who is there?
02:53What does it feel like? What does it smell like?
02:59Does it have a taste? A sound?
03:08Create the perfect dream, the perfect reality,
03:13the perfect moment of peace.
03:23You love Mommy? I love you too. Give me a kiss.
03:26Give me a kiss. Give me a kiss. Say cheese.
03:35We're going to take about another minute or so.
03:38These journals are yours to have, to keep, and to hold.
03:43But the more that you practice, the more you choose it,
03:47the more you move forward, the more you heal,
03:50the more you begin to realize that you really are
03:53fully in control and that you always have been
03:57and that you are the winner.
04:05Dear Alexis,
04:09I know right now you are feeling overwhelmed
04:12because you've been fighting the corrupt and broken system of CPS
04:16for your babies for three long, hard years.
04:19These three years of dealing with CPS has been extremely difficult,
04:23having your babies ripped away from you,
04:26when God has blessed you with these beautiful gifts, your babies.
04:32This morning, amen.
04:34Amen!
04:39I still have to go to work.
04:42I still have to still provide for my children,
04:46even though they're not with me. I pay child support.
04:49So I still have to be there mentally for my children.
04:53I have to go to my visitations
04:55and watch my children suffer before my eyes.
04:59And when it's time to leave, what rips my heart the most
05:05is the fact that when my children cry and beg to come home
05:08and follow after me, I just want to pick them up
05:11and just take them with me.
05:14But I know I can't right now.
05:18It's a lot of things that I wish I could go back and change.
05:24They took my daughter, and then I had my son in 2020,
05:31and then they also took my daughter.
05:34I don't know what I'm going to do with her.
05:37I don't know what I'm going to do with her.
05:40I don't know what I'm going to do with her.
05:43I had my son in 2020, and then they also took him.
05:48I've been fighting to get them back for almost four years now.
05:54I had a case open with Tykel.
05:56They closed the case because he's well taken care of.
06:00And now they're trying to terminate my rights
06:03and place my oldest two children up for adoption.
06:06Their reasons on doing that is because the case been open for so long.
06:11I've done everything that they asked me to do,
06:13and they still won't give me my kids back.
06:17Well, we are certainly in agreement with the children coming home, you know,
06:24especially you have done what they have asked you to do.
06:28And so now they need to do what's right and give them back to you.
06:35Father, we bring your daughter to you.
06:37Carely, right now, in the name of Jesus Christ,
06:40we ask you, Father, for mercy right now.
06:42Father, I ask you, you touch every official, every judge, every lawyer,
06:48everybody, God, that is involved in this case.
06:51We plead the blood over her right now, Father.
06:54And, Father, I ask you, Lord, that you lift up her countenance
06:56in the name of Jesus Christ.
06:58Give her peace and joy in the name of Jesus.
07:01Strengthen this woman of God.
07:03Hallelujah.
07:04Father, for you have great and mighty things for her.
07:06Protect those children, God.
07:08Hallelujah, God, wherever they may be.
07:10And, God, we believe and we trust that you're going to bring them back home to her
07:15in the name of Jesus Christ.
07:16Touch, Father.
07:17You can do what we can't do.
07:21So I'm just ready.
07:22I'm ready for my kids to come home.
07:24And then the power of just going right on down, right to the other one.
07:29Right here and now.
07:30How are you feeling?
07:31I'm ready.
07:32I'm ready for my babies to come home.
07:33I'm going to keep fighting.
07:37No matter how many stumbling blocks they try to put in my way,
07:40I'm not going to give up.
07:41I'm going to keep fighting for my babies.
07:42I know.
07:43That's right.
07:44And they're coming home.
07:45Y'all ready to go, yeah?
07:46Yep.
07:47Bring our babies home now!
07:49Right now!
07:50Now!
07:51Right now!
07:52We are not trying to stop until our babies come home.
07:57Father, if you don't say something, you are a part of the problem.
08:02These mothers are out here fighting for these children,
08:06fighting for these children,
08:07and we want you to understand that your patience keeps them in this system.
08:11Wake up, North Carolina!
08:13Wake up!
08:14Wake up, North Carolina!
08:16Wake up!
08:17Wake up!
08:18Wake up!
08:19Wake up!
08:20Wake up!
08:21Wake up!
08:22Wake up!
08:23We are talking to you!
08:26These children have been in custody for three years!
08:30Bring them home!
08:31Now!
08:32Bring them home!
08:33Now!
08:34Bring them home!
08:35Now!
08:45One.
08:47Two.
08:49Three.
08:51Four.
08:53Five.
08:56Five.
08:59Kelly, you have been through a lot.
09:03You have changed for the best of you and your children.
09:06Right now, I am so proud of you,
09:08because even though you have so much going on,
09:11you keep your head up high.
09:13You don't let anyone or anything get in the way of you getting what you need to get done.
09:18Each and every day, I hope for my babies to come home with me and their brother
09:24and all the people that love them and care about them
09:27and that will do anything to keep them safe.
09:43Mommy's almost there, okay?
09:46Alright, I'm going to see you when I get there, okay?
09:49I love you.
09:51Alright, bye-bye.
09:54Bye-bye.
10:00Look at his little baby.
10:06I want to come home.
10:08I know you want to come home.
10:11Just a little while longer, okay?
10:13You'll be home soon.
10:25Mom?
10:27You are?
10:43Happy birthday to you.
10:48Happy birthday to you.
10:53Happy birthday to you.
10:58Happy birthday, dear Phyllis.
11:04Happy birthday to you.
11:24I see you.
11:27Look.
11:30My whistle.
11:35Mommy, can I blow the mic?
11:38Your whistle? Yeah, you can.
11:42Whoa, it's a bubble party.
11:47Happy birthday to you.
11:50Oh, wait.
12:08I'll run some more.
12:10Thank you, Mr. David.
12:12Alright.
12:14Bye-bye.
12:20I have a court date tomorrow on the 5th,
12:23and it's reunification time.
12:28And I'm hopeful and believe and trust
12:35that my children and I will be reunified tomorrow.
12:45Pretend like none of us are in this room
12:47and you talking to this judge,
12:49and when you finish saying what you say,
12:52the judge is going to say,
12:53I believe you, your kids are going to come home.
12:55That's the kind of passion, and that's how you need to speak.
12:58It's okay to read it.
12:59It's not about memorizing the words.
13:01It's about saying it from the heart
13:03so that they can see you as a human being,
13:05because right now you a number,
13:06a case number on a piece of paper.
13:08Right.
13:09Okay? So do it that way.
13:11Okay.
13:12I would like to make a statement
13:14because my voice have been muted for far too long.
13:18I'm standing before you as a mother
13:20who has been robbed of irreplaceable time with my children.
13:23I'm standing before you as a mother
13:25who has been forced to watch my children,
13:28Zion and Prince, suffer trauma on top of trauma
13:32because all of these people refuse to stop and listen
13:36and see the truth.
13:38This is the 1,082nd day my children have been in foster care.
13:43We cannot allow it to be day 1,083.
13:47This past Thursday,
13:48Attorney Abney called my attorney
13:50and told her that the department would be recommending
13:53my children come home today.
13:55For the first time in almost three years,
13:58I was able to sleep peacefully
14:00because I could feel the moment
14:02my babies were going to walk through the door to our home.
14:05My family has been through enough.
14:07We've been through enough.
14:08I'm not here today asking for more time with my children.
14:10I'm here requesting the immediate return of Prince and Zion
14:13to my care and custody
14:15and the determination of the department and court's jurisdiction
14:18over my family.
14:20That is the only way my family can begin to heal.
14:24I need to be able to love all my babies tonight
14:26without the thought of dealing with the same people
14:29who have been the cause of our trauma and pain.
14:32But I'm at peace right now
14:34because I believe you will see me today.
14:37Alexis Nguyen, the mother of Prince and Zion,
14:39remember my babies.
14:41These are the human beings caught in the middle of all of this.
14:45Just send my babies home.
14:47Thank you, Your Honor.
14:50All right.
15:03So...
15:05Okay, well, we, I mean, at this point,
15:07we just need to send our energy to Dutch,
15:10and tomorrow we hear the final decision of if the boys come home, right?
15:14And we got to believe that.
15:16I'm going to say this real strong.
15:18And if you don't listen to me at this point, it is what it is.
15:23Use your voice tomorrow.
15:25Ask to read your statement.
15:27Ask to read your statement.
15:29You need her to see you as a person, as a mother.
15:34And a mother is going to make a strong argument
15:37about why her children needs to be at home.
15:40And this is what I have done.
15:42I was in a terrible situation, but this is where I'm at now.
15:45And this is how my family has worked to heal.
15:48She didn't hear any of that today.
15:53Zion and Prince...
15:58Mommy can't wait till y'all come home
16:01so that we can make up for all the missed times.
16:08But Mommy will always be your superhero
16:10because I'm not going to stop fighting for y'all.
16:13Sometimes superheroes have bad times, bad days.
16:17Sometimes they may lose something in the moment,
16:20lose a battle in the moment.
16:22But one thing they always do is get back up,
16:24and they keep fighting until they win.
16:26And Mommy's going to win this case and get y'all back home.
16:44I have more visitations with my children,
16:46meaning that I have unsupervised visitations.
16:49I get to take pictures of my kids again.
16:52I get to have my virtual calls back.
16:56And I'll be spending time with my kids this Saturday at our church.
17:02And the SS tried to recommend that I go to church,
17:06but they didn't want me to go.
17:09So I'm happy about that.
17:11She has done everything.
17:13She's done everything that she was supposed to do.
17:16And so, like, this system has a way of, like,
17:20giving us crumbs and making us feel, you know what I mean?
17:23And that's just the reality of the situation.
17:25But at the same time, we have to, you know,
17:28we have to make sure that we're doing the right thing.
17:31We have to make sure that we're doing the right thing.
17:34We have to make sure that we're doing the right thing.
17:37And we have to, like, feel that, accept that, and move forward.
17:46I'm sorry?
17:50Oh, how are you?
18:03Okay.
18:08Do you want to reschedule it to the week after?
18:10Or do you just not want to have it?
18:12No, that's fine.
18:13I'll just wait, then.
18:15I was trying to, you know, get a meeting going before the court hearing.
18:20But that's fine.
18:22Okay.
18:24And just to also let you know, just so it can be on your mind,
18:27because you are representing yourself sometimes when there's, like,
18:30information that needs to be shared because you are, like, quote, unquote,
18:33like your own attorney.
18:35My attorney will have to be there as well, so.
18:38Okay.
18:40Yes, ma'am.
18:41But thank you so much.
18:42Okay.
18:43Bye-bye.
18:44Bye-bye.
18:47♪♪♪
18:57♪♪♪
19:08Ready?
19:11Dear Amayah, Phillip, and Jaquel,
19:13Mommy is fighting so we can all be a family.
19:18I spend every day trying to get you, Amayah, and Phillip home,
19:22where you guys should be.
19:24I love y'all.
19:26I knew I loved y'all the first time I held y'all in my arms.
19:30I knew then we were meant to be.
19:33I feel so bad that I can't come and get y'all,
19:36and I feel even worse when y'all ask to come home with me.
19:40And I have to say that y'all can,
19:42and that y'all will be home soon,
19:44because y'all should be home now.
19:46I miss y'all so much that I can't even explain.
19:49I want y'all to know Mommy love y'all,
19:53and it is nothing that anyone or anything that can stop that.
19:57You guys will always be Mommy's number one, no matter what.
20:10♪♪♪
20:20♪♪♪
20:31Show me.
20:33Show me.
20:35I see.
20:37Hey!
20:39Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.
20:42Jump!
20:44Jump, jump.
20:46Jump, jump, jump, jump, jump, jump, jump, jump, jump.
20:56They're jumping.
20:58What?
21:00You jumped high.
21:06I see you.
21:14Whoa.
21:16I jumped high.
21:17You did.
21:19Jump, jump.