Story Archive

The Youngbloods

A West Babylon, N.Y., nursing home says a patient committee unanimously chose an entertainment program. But when Franklin Youngblood visited his mother and saw a picture of her with the entertainer, he got angry: the performer was a stripper. “This might be great for 32-year-old single girls,” said Youngblood’s attorney, but not for “an 86-year-old traditional, African-American woman who doesn’t want white men sticking their private parts in her face.” Bernice Youngblood did put money in the stripper’s briefs, but at her sons’ press conference, she said she “felt terrible” when she did it. The nursing home argues that its residents have the right to choose their own entertainment, but Youngblood’s lawsuit argues that his mother lacked the capacity to consent to the sexually charged interaction. Youngblood also claims that when his mother gave him power of attorney — well after the incident — she did have the capacity to consent. (AC/WCBS New York, Los Angeles Times) ...Then the two sides agree: when she consented to what they wanted, she had the capacity to consent.