Justin Sean Brooten

Luanne Brooten, Justin's Mother wanted to share the following statement: "My son Justin died yesterday of a drug overdose. He really never had a fair chance in life. When we adopted him at 6 months old in 1974 he had been turned down by a white family because he was part black, and a black family because he was part white. He showed signs of neglect at the foster home and suffered from milk anemia. We worked with our wonderful Dr. Watson to care for him and return him to good health. We thought by adopting him we could fix him and give him a wonderful life. We tried our best to give him a safe and loving home. He and his younger sister Jessica had a good relationship and brought us much joy. Then we adopted Susan, so he had two sisters. When he started school, the racism directed at our darling boy was heartbreaking and relentless. We did what we could to fight it, but it hurt him on so many levels. Then, as he reached his teenage years, he developed behavioral and chemical dependency problems that were devastating to our family. Counseling and repeated rehab stays did not seem to help. Then Steve read a book called "The Broken Cord" by Michael Dorian that described Justin perfectly. The medical people agreed that Justin was born with fetal alcohol effect. There was and is no known treatment or cure. The brain damage from his birth mother drinking while pregnant was irreversible. Then, as he reached adulthood and was on his own, he made mistakes that lead to jail time and the unfairness and destruction of the criminal justice system. Justin like so many other black, brown, and mixed-race people did not have a chance and it breaks my heart. Justin just wanted to be accepted and loved. He sought the love of a good woman over and over. I truly hope his final relationship was loving and supportive. And now we must go on like so many parents who lost their sons too soon."