Therese Patricia Okoumou (c. 1973- ) is the woman who climbed up on the Statue of Liberty in New York on July 4th 2018. She was protesting President Trump’s immigration policies:
“Michelle Obama, our beloved First Lady, that I care so much about, said, ‘When they go low, we go high.’ And I went as high as I could.
“Trump has ripped this country apart. It is depressing. It is outrageous. I can say a lot of things about this monster, but I will stop at this: His draconian zero-tolerance policy on immigration has to go. In a democracy we do not rip children, we do not put children in cages. Period. There is no debating it. Nothing you can say to me can justify putting children in cages. Only a stupid, unintelligent coward and insecure – I will add, a maniac – will rip a tender-age child from its mother. Reunite the children now.”
“Children should not be separated from their parents, especially on a holiday like this.”
While she was saying all of that she was wearing a black T-shirt that said:
“White supremacy is terrorism”.
Okoumou with her lawyer, Rhiya Trivedi, in front of the federal courthouse in Manhattan, July 5th 2018. (Via The Mary Sue)
On July 4th she had been taking part in a Rise and Resist NY protest when her heart told her to climb to the top of the statue. She got as far as the place behind Lady Liberty’s right foot. It is unclear how she got even that far – it took police ropes and ladders to reach her.
Cover of the New Yorker magazine, July 2nd 2018, showing immigrant children hiding in the dress of the Statue of Liberty.
She said she would not come down till “all the children were released.” She hid in the folds of the Lady Liberty’s dress fearing the police would shoot her. After three hours the police grabbed her and brought her down. Thank God no one got hurt!
President Trump called her a “clown” and praised the bravery of the police.
According to the latest government numbers there are nearly 3,000 children who have been taken from their parents and not yet returned. Trump put in place no system to match parent with child.
The police arrested Okoumou on three federal misdemeanour charges: trespassing, disorderly conduct, and interference with government agency functions. She could get up to six months in prison for each. After a night in jail, the judge let her go on her own recognizance. Her court date is August 3rd.
She is herself an immigrant. She came to the US in 1994 from the Republic of Congo, what Trump would call a “shithole country”. She lives in Staten Island, where New York police killed Eric Garner. She is a US citizen.
Her lawyer says she was drawn to the US by the words found at the base of the Statue of Liberty:
“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
Okoumou feels those words are betrayed every time a family is separated, every time an immigrant is criminalized.
– Abagond, 2018.
See also:
- Statue of Liberty – a symbol of immigration since the 1930s
- Fourth of July – US independence day
- Donald Trump
- Eric Garner
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Abagond 
I am certainly apalled by the government endorsed kidnapping of children so young they will likely be unable to provide enough information to identify their parents. The potential for abuse, or trafficking of these children is horrifying especially since there seems to be so little oversight.
However, history teaches about the values of the culture which have been transmitted clandestinely even while “civil rights” were officially imposed. True empathy towards “the other” is by no means guaranteed. Remember, black kids were fed to alligators in the South, a tradition celebrated in various Jim Crow era items:
https://www.historyonthenet.com/authentichistory/diversity/african/3-coon/7-alligator/
Many people, even other so-called POC, have attempted to silence black Americans when they speak about injustice during the Obama era. I think the Trump era will be quite an object lesson for many.
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A standing ovation to Patricia.
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Reblogged this on League of Bloggers For a Better World.
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I was so amazed by her bravery and calm. That image of her sitting with her legs crossed just waiting makes me want to cry.
In the coming days, those of us with a conscience are going to be called to commit our item acts of resistance.
Be ready. Be brave.
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Just when i’m trying to define how deep being an american, or an uberlib goes, this happens, wow.
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She’s very brave and I admire her gesture of protest. I am sure she has many detractors. Much respect to this sister.✊🏿🗽
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Thank goodness she wasn’t shot or brutalized in the attempt by law enforcement to get her down and halting her protest.
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This kindred soul got me very emotional.
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I am sure the foul orange orangutan views Miss Okoumou’s country as a $hit hole as well.
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Miss Okoumou is braver than Trump will ever be. Because he cannot buy or bully his way to the inner strength she has.
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Come over! Never go to your court date!
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Ms. Okoumou has a great sense of humor:
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Trump is a snake-oil salesman and has swindled many people, getting them to go against their best interests. I’ve taken these events in stride ever since before the elections because this wake up call was probably necessary.
A news story about the deportation of a marine’s wife prompted this comment.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-immigration-deportee/u-s-deports-mexican-wife-of-american-marine-veteran-idUSKBN1KO268
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