For 78 years, Jessie Lovette lived without proof that she was born. On Friday, that changed when the Miami Gardens resident opened her mailbox and found her long-awaited birth certificate.
“Thank you, Jesus! I was so happy. I ain’t been this happy in a long time,” Lovette said. “It’s a long time coming, and I’m glad that everything is over.”
A lifetime without papers
Lovette was born at home in Georgia in the 1940s, during segregation, and never received a birth certificate. For years, she managed with a state ID card. But when the federal Real ID law took effect, she suddenly needed documentation she did not have.
Her son, Derrick, stepped in to help. He began the legal process of proving his mother’s existence…