#JusticeForKemari
A Life Stolen. A Family Torn Apart. A System Exposed.
9/16/23-5/24/25
On May 24, 2025, a 1-year-old child was found dead in the foster system.
His name was Kemari Morgan.Â
  Kemari's mother, Briauna Morgan, has been denied information about his death by Person County Department of Social Services and the NC Department of Health and Human Services. Instead, they are forcibly silencing her and holding her other children hostage.
Who was Kemari Morgan?
Kemari Morgan was a bright, happy, and healthy one-year-old. He was the baby of six siblings. Born on September 16, Kemari brought endless joy and warmth to his family. His smile could light up a room, and his laugh was contagious. He loved to be held, cuddled, and surrounded by the love of his mother and siblings.
A Timeline of Injustice
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June, 2024: Person County Department of Social Services (DSS) forcibly removed three children–Zachari, Zariyah, and Kemari–from their mother, Briauna Morgan, due to racial and class biases embedded in the system. Zariyah and Kemari were put in the same foster placement. Â
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May 24, 2025: Tyler Terry, Program Manager at Person County DSS called Briauna at work to tell her one-year-old son, Kemari, was found dead in his foster home. She offered no information about the cause of death–and told Briauna that because it was a holiday weekend, she would have to wait until the following Tuesday to get answers.
- May 26, 2025: Briauna contacted the on-call DSS worker in Person County, to ask questions about what had happened. The DSS worker didn’t know anything, and wasn’t even sure if anyone from the department had gone out to the home to investigate.
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May 27, 2025: First thing the next morning, Briauna went to the Person County Sheriff's office. There, she spoke with the Sergeant assigned to the case, who told that Kemari had not had a normal night before he died. He was fussy, wouldn’t eat, and couldn’t sleep–but the foster placement didn’t seek any medical attention. Instead, they put him to bed around 3:00 a.m. They didn’t check on him until 10:00 a.m., when they found him unresponsive.
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That same day, Briauna met with DSS leadership, Director Carlton Paylor and Deputy Director, Kristy Perry, who had no answers and offered no accountability.
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May 27, 2025: Briauna learned that Kemari’s foster placement was no longer licensed. Their foster license expired inFebruary of 2025.
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May 29, 2025: Person County put Briauna Morgan on trial days after her son was found dead in his foster home. The Department of Social Services held a hearing to determine if Briauna’s two other children, Zachari and Zariyah, would return home to Briauna. Judge Adam Keith denied Briauna custody of her children.Â
Currently, Zachari and Zariyah are placed with two different family members—even though their great grandmother has been approved for placement and has been willing, since the very beginning, to care for all of the children.Â
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May 30, 2025: It was not until May 30th that she got to see Kemari again. For days, Briauna was not allowed to see her son’s body. She had to fight to know that her baby was safe—even in death.Â
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June 10, 2025: Kemari was laid to rest on June 10, 2025. Through unimaginable grief, Briauna continues to stand strong in the face of the system that stole her child.Â
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July 24, 2025: Briauna will go to court to demand the system bring Zariyah and Zachari home. Every day they remain in custody is a violation of their rights—and an active harm to their entire family.
How Did This Happen?
Even in the face of this tragedy, people still ask: “Why were Briauna’s children taken away?” As if they are looking for an explanation that could morally justify a child’s death in the custody of the state.
Let us be clear: the so-called “child welfare” system–or what we call the family policing system–stole Briauna’s children not because of harm, but because of the racial and class biases that are embedded in the system. Although Black children make up just about 27% of North Carolina’s youth population, they account for over 40% of new foster care placements.Â
This racial disparity is not an accident. With roots in chattel slavery, the family policing system was designed to surveil, punish, and profit from Black families.Â
If you want to understand more about this system and how it operates, we encourage you to visit the Movement for Family Power Resource Library to learn more.
Visit Resource LibraryTAKE ACTION NOW
You Can Help By Taking The Following Actions:Â
- Contact Kristy Perry, Person County Deputy Director, at 336-503-1132 or [email protected] to demand the immediate reunification of Zariyah and Zachari to their mother.   Â
- Pack the Person County Court on July 24, 2025 at 9am to support the Morgan family. Â
- Think about what else you can personally do to uplift what happened to Kemari Morgan.
Share this page I Make a post on social media I Write a blog I Discuss on your podcast I Write a news article I Fill out the form below to organize with other local Person County residents to resist the Family Police.
- Contact the Person County Commissioners, who currently govern Social Services and demand that they investigate the death of Kemari Morgan and the delay in reunification. Â
Get Connected
Are you a local Person County resident or in driving distance? Do you agree that there needs to be serious change in the way Person County Department of Social Services impacts the lives of families? Do you want to organize to do something about it?
If you answered yes to all three questions—we want to hear from you.
Fill out the form below to share your contact information.
Support Our Work
We understand the financial strain that the family police has placed on parents. We do not want that to deter families from doing what is necessary and required to protect their children and their rights.
Our dedicated team is here as servant leaders and want to be able to do all we can to ensure that justice is served. If you are able to financially support the work that is required to zealously advocate for the countless other families in need of change agent services, click the link below.
