In Memory of Melanie Brown
By Julie Dempsey
A fighting spirit; a gentle hand
Boldly she stood apart.
The foundation; the cornerstone of hope
A mother by love; a pioneer by heart.
Courage in the face of adversity.
A hard path oft times tread.
Through determined spirit and relentless love
Generations to come, proudly led.
A life and love eternal.
A spirit answering a call.
Her name now a ringing mantra
To the pioneer spirit in us all.
So marching on before us
Guiding each to their own part
Of the unyielding battle of life.
A mother by love; a pioneer by heart.
©2002 Julie Dempsey and www.parentsrights.com
Click here for Melanie's Prayer
by Linda Johnson
It is with great sadness that the Coalition for the Restoration of Parental Rights announces the loss of one of our own. Melanie Brown, 33, of Worthington, Kentucky passed away Sunday, July 28, 2002 due to complications from surgery.
Melanie leaves behind a husband, David Brown, seven daughters and four sons: Christina Burkhart, Carolyn Renee Brown, Heather Nicole Brown, Helen Aleigha Brown, Odessa Jennetta Brown, Kendra Elaine Brown, Megan Rein Brown, Maxwell Allan Brown, Christopher Lee Lyons-Brown, Kyle David Brown and Isiah Justin Brown.
Melanie and David were foster parents who adopted seven of their foster children. Melanie, along with her husband, was also a foster parent mentor, guiding other parents into fostering needy children in Kentucky. It was one of the Brown’s adoptive children, ten-year-old Odessa, who brought Melanie and David to CRPR and into the national limelight in 2000.
Six weeks after the Brown’s adopted Odessa, whom they had fostered since infancy, the little girl’s biological grandmother sued the Brown’s for grandparent visitation. The grandmother, who had allowed her granddaughter’s foster care and adoption, threatened to flee with the child and made other harmful threats during the visitations, causing the Brown’s to fear for Odessa’s safety and well being.
Defying a court order and serving her daughter’s visitation weekends in the Greenup County jail, Melanie stood up for her rights as a mother and for the rights of her children. She was concerned with the message their court ruling would send to foster parents who chose to adopt and prospective non family adoptive parents. Melanie felt the ruling granting visitation to biological family members after a non family adoption conflicted with adoption laws that were placed to legally sever all biological rights following an adoption. Melanie Brown was a pioneer in the Kentucky parents’ rights movement and an inspiration to parents across the country. Paving the way for all Kentucky parents fighting for their rights. Citing their Constitutional, legal and moral rights to raise their children, the Brown’s took on a biased court system and finally won their family’s freedom.
Through adoption, fostering and a gentle loving spirit, Melanie Brown was a Mother by Love. Through fighting for the rights of parents in her state and across the nation, she was a Pioneer by Heart.
News Stories:
Parents Opt for Jail Over Visitation
High Court Decision Gives Local Families Hope
Visitation Rights Struggle Continues Between Parents, Grandparents
Adoptive Parents Win a Victory in Visitation Dispute
Press Release for January 2001