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Yvette Turnage

Yvette Turnage was a Black American mother from Prince George’s County, Maryland. She was the daughter of Ivy and the mother of Malik, Brianna, Aaliyah, and Trinity. She survived sexual assault and coercion during adolescence.

Early Life and Background

Yvette was born in spring 1986 in Prince George’s County. At thirteen, she was assaulted by an eighteen-year-old man and became pregnant with Malik. She gave birth to him on March 19, 2000, while she was still thirteen. The same man fathered Brianna in 2002, Aaliyah in 2003, and Trinity in January 2005 across a continuing coercive relationship. Yvette escaped him after Trinity’s birth, while she was still in late adolescence.

Personality

Yvette remained a loving presence in her children’s lives through the years of coercion and afterward. She tried to protect them from the violence in their family history, particularly Malik, whose conception she and Ivy did not explain to him during childhood. They hoped that waiting would spare him some of the pain. Instead, neighborhood boys and men who knew his father disclosed it through taunts. Malik remained devoted to Yvette and did not hold her attempt to shield him against her.

Family and Core Relationships

Main article: Turnage Family Tree

Main article: Turnage Household

Ivy assumed substantial responsibility for caring for Yvette’s children while Yvette was young. Yvette was raising Malik and his sisters while still growing into adulthood in her mother’s home. As she matured, the two women shared more of the household’s daily parenting and authority.

Four births between 2000 and 2005 placed the working-class home under pressure. Yvette was both Ivy’s daughter and the mother of the children they were raising together. The children carried their mother’s and grandmother’s Turnage surname, a deliberate choice to identify them with the family that raised them rather than the man who had harmed Yvette.

Characters Supporting Characters Living Characters Black Characters Black American Characters Turnage Family