3 year old Cayden with his mother Sydney
Lest you thought the systemic devaluation of Black people in America was a thing of the past, consider the case of Gerod Roth. Gerod Roth, a.k.a. Geris Hilton, who is white, took a photo of the adorable son of his Black coworker and posted it on Facebook, accompanied by racist comments from himself and others. The boy, whose name is Cayden Jace, is 3 ½ years old, and his mother Sydney worked with Roth at Polaris Marketing Group in Atlanta.
Taking a photo of a minor and publicizing it is egregious enough, not to mention without the parent’s knowledge. However, to exploit and attempt to dehumanize a child in such a blatantly brutal, offensive and degrading manner demonstrates how common racism still is in America.
Atlanta Blackstar spoke with Cayden’s mother Sydney Jade, and his grandmother, Susan Hardy. These two Black women want to set the record straight about Cayden and the Facebook incident, and to convey the positivity surrounding this child.
“He’s my grandson. He’s not deaf, he’s not mute, he’s not abandoned,” Hardy said regarding rumors which spread about Cayden over social media. She said her grandson is bright and loving, and advanced beyond his age. “His mother reads to him, and they go over the ABCs, so when we hear things like deaf, dumb and abandoned, our hearts are broken. It has been heartaching that my child and grandchild have to go through such hate, and for an innocent child–who [in] this day and age attacks a child?”
Hardy adds that the viral nature of Roth’s Facebook post has had serious implications for their family.
“All this hate came about,” she says. “And now my daughter and my grandson are across the nation. He put not only Cayden but Sydney in danger by posting Cayden.”
She also mentioned her concern about the exploitation and trafficking of children which takes place on the Internet.
“Our office is a small office, there’s only 10 people. We all hang out,” Jade said of her office, which she described as a tightly knit group.
As the Facebook post of her son became viral she was unaware until a friend brought it to her attention.
“I was really caught off guard, and the fact the picture had been posted September 16th, and he wasn’t fired until the 29th, and acting like nothing happened,” she says. “He just went about like nothing even happened. It went on for days, a week and a half before anyone found out it even existed.”
She adds that she’s grateful for her employer’s swift action once the post was discovered.
“It makes you feel good to know your boss has your back, even though he couldn’t do anything to prevent it,” she says.
Most of all, Cayden’s mother and grandmother wanted to focus on the positive.
“On Friday morning when this happened, I didn’t expect this massive outpouring I’d get in the next few days. I never in a million years expected it to be this massive,” Jade says. “If it has to start with us, I’m going to finish it. It was my son put in the limelight. And not only my son but a child, a 3-year-old, someone who can’t defend himself.”
Polaris acted swiftly in firing Roth, as others who made racist replies to Roth’s post reportedly met a similar fate from their employers.
Meanwhile, Roth’s Facebook post went viral, and the hashtag #HisNameIsCayden has received a great deal of traction on Twitter.
#HisNameIsCayden … Meet the beautiful baby in the awful picture that #GerisHilton took. pic.twitter.com/IhGR03kuzd
— ☥ Ife Johari ☥ (@IfeJohari) October 2, 2015
Cayden’s mother took to Facebook to comment on her son, the incident and the aftermath:
His mother Sydney speaks about her beautiful son… #HisNameIsCayden pic.twitter.com/Hrp8zsjw6O
— ☥ Ife Johari ☥ (@IfeJohari) October 3, 2015
In addition, Cayden’s grandmother, Susan, weighed in on Twitter as well:
Meet Susan…. She is very upset about the lies being spread about her precious grandson… #HisNameIsCayden pic.twitter.com/2Yq9dYB3AL
— ☥ Ife Johari ☥ (@IfeJohari) October 2, 2015
Ma’am, you have a beautiful family!!!! #HisNameIsCayden https://t.co/3tsO1tOCoS
— CloreenBaconskin (@CloreenBacNSkin) October 4, 2015
A year ago, Jade and her son were in a car accident, during which their car rolled over six times. Yet, mother and child emerged relatively unscathed, leaving Cayden with a bruise on the neck and Jade, who had a concussion, walked away with a stitch on the knee and finger.
“I told Sydney God is trying to tell you something,” Hardy said. “If you had seen that accident, you would not understand how she walked away from that accident. She decided the next day that ‘I am walking on faith.’ Then, Sydney’s friend bought her a one-way ticket from Detroit to Atlanta.”
Hardy says the family is grateful for all of the support they’ve received.
“Sydney doesn’t get food stamps… she doesn’t get government assistance, she works hard to take care of her child,” she added. “Sydney is standing on her own. And as a single Black mother I can say I am proud she is standing on her own.”
The exploitation of Black children in America is nothing new, as it goes back to the days of slavery, when Black babies were used as alligator bait, as a video recounted on reunionblackfamily.com. Moreover, the negative marketing of Black children over the years has helped to paint them as the other in “popular media” and the public white consciousness, rather than as cute or adorable, as other children are depicted in the media. The grotesque stereotype of the pickaninny, the child version of the coon, with bulging eyes, exaggerated red lips and disheveled hair is one example. Books, films, cartoons, advertisements and even board games featured these humiliating and disempowering images of Black babies. In the twenty-first century, this negativity is perpetuated through social media.
If there is a positive outcome from this incident involving Cayden, it is the overwhelming response of Black Twitter and the Black community to this family, which feels besieged in the midst of racial hatred, yet is blessed with a gifted Black child. As Black lives are under threat in the streets, at the hands of police, in prison, online and every walk of life, Black children, sadly, are not immune.
Shame on the #racistsGerodRothakaGerisHilton #HisNameIsCayden and he is adorable!
Precious handsome lil angel!❤️
Where is the father? Is she a single mom, taking her son with her to work everyday? Just curious.
She is indeed a single mother, but she doesn't take her son to work with her everyday. Her son is in daycare/school who comes to her job everyday after school. The father's whereabouts are not disclosed as it is not relevant to the dispicable thing this man did to this child.
Tat, I agree that this person posting someone's else's kid photo and all of the comments were very inappropriate. However, you say he comes to her job everyday after daycare. Who does that?! I find that very interesting. I question if she's a single mom because as a two parent home, she would not have a need to bring her kid to her workplace everyday after daycare. If people made better decisions by being married before having children a lot of the issues with daycare, etc. would not be an issue. I would be annoyed if I'm trying to work and everyday there's this one person who brings her kid to work after his daycare. I'm sure this guy isn't the only one in this office that had something to say and who was very annoyed.
Such a cutie! This incident has just made my blood boil. And this moron is in Atlanta. Hope I don't run into him.
Aloha from Hawai`i for this beautiful Child, his Mom, Momʻs employer, and the rest of his family and friends. Keep shining your light!
THIS IS READY STUPID TO POST HERE AND YOU'RE GOING TO GET REPORTED
Princess Lee you sound like a very narrow minded person. You actually sound like the kind of person who would have made incorrigible comments about this child. You know nothing of Ms. Shelton's history. You don't know if she has been married or is currently divorced. You simply make assumptions. Does Cayden's presence at her job after daycare infer that she is not married or that there is no father present in Cayden's life. Your name does not reflect your comments and maybe even your character! .A princess you are not. Malevolent…..yes!
Princess Lee , Does it even matter if she does it all, or has a partner to share the load? She obviously adores him, and provides for him. He appears to be well presented and happy. Her boss is happy to have the child at his table, and to have him in the workplace, after day-care. Sounds like a good family environment, and a child friendly work place. Kudos to Sydney, her beautiful son, and her understanding boss (who probably gets better results from her, because she doesn't need to worry about Cayden, or feel guilty that he he is somewhere he doesn't want to be).
Reported as spam.
It saddens my heart to know that people can be so cruel to an innocent child or to any other human. This viscousness comes from the heart and reflects the character of these uncaring people. This is a handsome child who is loved by his family and I am sorry that Cayden and his family had to endure these degrading comments. I am glad that Gerod Roth was fired and I wish that those who left the ugly comments about Cayden could be fired from their jobs as well.
Shameless twit, using this post for your gain.
Princess Lee You're ridiculous! A lot of marriages end in divorce and the mothers are then completely responsible around the clock for all the children… yet people like you blame the mothers and shame them for not being married. Most of the time they WERE married! Then again, so what if a woman never was and has a child anyway. Good for her for carrying and keeping her baby! If you're so easily distracted doing your job, maybe you're just not that talented.
Kinda buried the lede there. What did the person say about Cayden?
Have to read the posts from friends on the side of the picture, sick and ignorant! Glad they posted all the names to expose the bigots.
It is abundantly clear that Geris Roth is a liar and a coward. Why on earth would anyone who has an ounce of self-respect and self-confidence take to the Internet to attack a toddler? Surely there is something in the law books that can be dropped firmly on his head — assuming, of course, that he's capable of learning anything from it.
Cayden, his mom, his grandmother, and everyone else involved, on the other hand, are dealing with this in a very civilized and mature fashion, and they deserve every drop of love and respect that they get. Who's-his-toes doesn't get *any*.
Prinshit Lee, I find it interesting that your parents brought you into the world when there is enough evil as it is and the last thing we needed was another brainless psychopath. What were they thinking? Who does that? If people made better decisions about the type of kids they raise, then a lot of these issues with racists writing excreta on the internet and supporting lumps of dung like #GerodRoth wouldn't happen. If your parents hadn't made you, I wouldn't have had to waste 1 minute of my life writing this. Why did your parents make that awful decision? I am sure the other commenters are also annoyed that they had to respond to your comment and waste that precious minute. If people like you made better decisions about what thoughts they chose to process and what links they chose to make between cause and effect – then the good people of the world could spend more time solving problems, rather than reacting to you idiots.
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