As Real ID enforcement takes effect, another South Florida woman said she is stuck in bureaucratic limbo, unable to obtain a valid state identification card because she was never issued a birth certificate.
Born at home, but not on paper
Jessie Lovette of Miami Gardens has been trying for years to renew her Florida state ID, but without a birth certificate, she can’t meet the stricter documentation requirements imposed by the Real ID Act.
Lovette was born in Marion County, Georgia in the late 1940s, during segregation and Jim Crow. She said her mother gave birth at home with the help of a midwife, but no official birth certificate was ever filed.
Lovette said the lack of documentation has haunted her throughout her life. “It’s like I’m nobody. That’s how I feel. I was embarrassed to tell my children.”…