Syesha Mercado Biography – Wiki
Syesha Mercado is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and model. Mercado was the finalist for third place on the seventh season of American Idol. Before Idol, Mercado was on The One: Making a Music Star and won Florida Super Singer. Her musical influences are Whitney Houston, Etta James, Alicia Keys, Zap Mama, Lauryn Hill, and Aretha Franklin.
The ten-day-old baby of “American Idol” star Syesha Mercado was forcibly taken from her by the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office in a heartbreaking moment captured in a now-viral video. According to Mercado, this is her second child who has been “forcibly and legally kidnapped” by the authorities in the last six months. This came months after the “Broadway” performer and her partner, Tyron Deener’s 15-month-old son Amen’Ra, were separated from them and placed in foster care earlier this year.
On June 25, 2009, it was officially confirmed that Mercado had landed the title role of Deena Jones on Dreamgirls’ US national tour which also opened internationally in Japan. The tour began at the Apollo Theater on November 7, 2009.
She attended Booker High School for the Performing and Visual Arts Theater Program and graduated with a certificate of specialization in acting in Sarasota, where she appeared in various productions. At the 2005 Florida Theater Conference and the 2005 South Eastern Theater Conference, Mercado won “Best Supporting Actress” for her role as Sour Kangaroo in Seussical the Musical. Mercado also appeared as a contestant on the failed ABC talent show The One: Making a Music Star in the summer of 2006.
Age
Syesha Mercado is 34-years-old.
Family & Siblings
Mercado was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, on January 2, 1987. His mother, Zelda, a former Motown backup singer, is African-American and his father, José, is of Puerto Rican descent. Mercado grew up in Bradenton and Sarasota, Florida.
Education
Mercado attended Daughtrey Elementary School and Manatee School of the Arts, both in Manatee County. Dreaming of becoming a gospel singer one day, Mercado signed a contract at age nine with taking Stock in Children, a scholarship program for “low-income families who show potential for college, but are unlikely to be able to afford one. higher education”.
Mercado graduated from Booker High School in 2005, where she served in the Visual and Performing Arts Department of Theater, and she also attended Florida International University in Miami, majoring in theater.
Separated from her ten-day-old Baby by Police
On Wednesday, August 11, while Mercado and Deener, both black, were driving with their daughter in their SUV, officers stopped them for a roadside wellness check. Officers then took the little girl away to a hospital for reportedly a physical checkup. The devastated parents shared an hour-long video of the incident that took place near Whitfield Drive and Lockwood Ridge Road on Instagram with a caption that read, “OUR BABY WAS TAKEN AGAIN!” The video, which showed multiple police vehicles flashing lights as two officers presented a warrant to the couple, soon went viral with more than 170,000,000 views.
Social media video showed Mercado and Deener sitting in their car while the former cradled the baby. When the officers approached them, they said they would like to take the little boy to the hospital. The couple also added that a doctor had just checked her daughter and considered her perfectly fine. But they didn’t listen to Mercado and Deener and insisted on taking the baby with them.
“My baby is a few days old and you are taking it from me. You do not have a heart. This is very bad, ”the 34-year-old model can be heard saying in the clip. She added: “All I had to do was call the lawyer. We have all the paperwork. You have created a lot of trauma. They just wait for me to come out and say hello guys, you guys are my friends. You are not my friends. ”
The latest issue arose when Mercado and Deener legally fight to get their son back from the Manatee County child protective services agency in Florida. Their firstborn was taken from them after they took him to a hospital for help as they struggled to get him to accept fluids. The parents wanted the girl to drink fluids as Mercado’s breast milk supply began to run out after she conceived a second time. But Mercado and Deener were accused of malnutrition by the authorities, who took the boy away from his parents.
Meanwhile, several have criticized authorities for taking Mercado’s children from him. Dana Sussman, deputy executive director of National Advocates for Pregnant Women, said: “This system is rooted in our country’s history of slavery and regulates the reproduction of black mothers and families. It is rooted in the country’s belief that they can judge who and when people can become parents … and is inextricably linked to racist systems of police, violence, and poverty. ”
Sussman added: “If that mother becomes pregnant again, the fetus is essentially already in the system to be evaluated later and the family must be watched. What I saw was that kind of suspicion … continuing with the [Mercado] family. They’ve been through a lot already. … It’s just another traumatic interaction with the system. ”
Several people also sympathize with Mercado and Deener as they show their anger at the authorities in the comment section of the Instagram video. One user wrote: “They are doing their best to break everyone and I pray for their strength …”. Another commented: “I really hate seeing this. I am holding my breath. Clearly, this family is under attack. “It’s strange how they don’t help children in abusive homes, but rather voluntarily and repeatedly tear apart perfectly good families! “Added the third user.