Mother’s Racist Rants Puts Lawrence Judge In No-Win Position Amid Custody Dispute

By Noah Taborda, the Kansas Reflector

January 28, 2021

TOPEKA — A district judge’s ruling in an ongoing Lawrence custody case to keep four children with their mother, despite racist recordings where she is heard attacking the Black father, has come under scrutiny from activists and advocates on social media.

In the recordings, Brynee Baldridge, the mother, can be heard verbally berating Kendrick Shorter, the father, in front of their children, calling him a n***** and telling him to go pick cotton. She can also be heard making unrequited sexual advances toward Shorter.

At one point, it sounds as if Baldridge has a knife out as one of the children asks her to put it away.

In a December hearing, Douglas County District Judge Mark Simpson chose to maintain joint custody and residency with Baldridge. Shorter would have every other weekend and Wednesdays after school.

Shorter said he has been recording every day of his life since 2016, partially in preparation for defending himself in court. He says Baldridge has been going out of her way to keep his children from seeing him, despite the court order.

“I want to make sure my kids are OK because my kids are all failing in school. That was one of her biggest things is that she takes care of the kids. Well, the kids aren’t thriving,” Shorter said. “It should be where she has visitation with the kids somewhere supervised based on her behavior.”

Simpson argued despite the recordings, Shorter presented a more dangerous option for the children. However, activists say the judge’s decision to withhold expanded custody from Shorter will put the children at further risk of racial attacks.

In the hearing transcript acquired by the Kansas Reflector, Simpson said a 2016 domestic battery conviction against Shorter combined with the recordings made the temporary decision one he is not particularly confident in.

On one hand, you have a mother behaving in a manner he described as “inappropriate” and “emotionally damaging to the children,” Simpson said. On the other hand, the father has a history of domestic violence.

At one point last summer, Baldridge alleged she left her home because of violence from Shorter.

“These parents are not behaving in a way that is good for their kids,” Simpson said during the hearing. “That’s going to have to change because it’s hurting the kids and, I’m sure they’ve already been hurt by it.”

Simpson said a significant factor in his decision to keep residency with Baldridge was not wanting to shake up the status quo for the four children. The children, who are not attending school remotely amid COVID-19, require a parent who can take care of them, at least part of the time, during the day, he said.

Shorter’s job keeps him on call and often requires long hours.

“The information from the parties is that mom’s the one who does that,” Simpson said. “Father has sort of assured the court that he has a plan for how he would take care of the children during the day while he’s working but there really weren’t any details on that.”

Shorter, however, disputed the domestic battery charge was for legitimate reasons. He said the charge stems from an incident in which he alleges Baldridge was drinking and smoking late at night on their front porch.

“I took her inside by her arm after she was drunk, and the police officer stated that I was in an angry state of mind when I was taking her inside,” Shorter said. “It’s like two in the morning, we’re supposed to be doing stuff the next day and she’s smoking cigarettes. We were arguing, and the police get called. Next thing you know, I’m getting domestic charges.”

While his job may be time-consuming, Shorter insisted he is still able to work with a local youth football team and help his children with their homework after school.

Baldridge declined to comment on the dispute. Casey Forsyth, Baldridge’s attorney, did not respond to requests for comment.

In an earlier December hearing, Forsyth said Baldridge’s conduct, while wrong, does not equate to Shorter’s alleged wrongdoing.

“Mother does admit that in the heat of arguments that she has used inappropriate language referencing race,” said Casey Forsythe, Baldridge’s attorney. “She acknowledges this is a mistake and does not hold a racist ideology.”

Shorter and Baldridge were set to appear in court again Thursday moring.

Since a Dec. 15 video with the recordings was posted to Facebook by Jalisa Jordan, a Lawrence activist and family friend of Shorter, there has been an outpouring of support for the father. Several Facebook posts by local activists have called for Simpson to reverse his decision.

Jordan said she used to be friends with Baldridge but cut ties once she discovered her racial prejudices. She vouched for Shorter’s strong ethic as a father and called on Simpson to give the father increased residency privileges.

Ariane Davis, a community activist in Topeka, said she was shocked when she listened to the recordings and heard of the judge’s decision. When the initial shock faded, it was replaced with sadness.

“It was sadness for these children. I cried and cried and cried because of what these children have to endure and the mother’s action against her children,” Davis said. “I don’t think they’re anything short of deplorable. It is not physical abuse that I know of, but it is psychological, emotional, racial, verbal abuse.

She said Baldridge was attempting to whitewash her children of “who they are as black children and their culture.”

As part of the court orders, Simpson assigned a Guardian Ad Litem to investigate what living arrangement would be in the children’s best interest. He also requested Baldridge, Shorter and the children all be enrolled in therapy.

Becca Spielman is the executive director of the YWCA Center for Safety and Empowerment in Topeka, where one of many services they provide is providing advocacy and support for children caught in situations where one or both parents may be perpetrators of domestic violence.

She was not able to provide comment specific to the case but provided general testimony to how being caught in an unhealthy parental relationship can be detrimental to both the mental and physical health of the children.

“They may experience difficulty with sleeping, and they may have long-term physical and mental health or cognitive developmental delays, which can be a consequence of the violence that they’ve witnessed or that has been directly focused on them,” Spielman said. “You start to see the PTSD and complex trauma that some of these kiddos face.”

Spielman said therapy or counseling, as recommended by the judge in this instance, can help children feel safe and supported.

“It takes time to really process through what that trauma has really done, how it’s really impacted them,” Spielman said, “And so giving them a safe space to do that space that they can just express any feelings and emotions that they have, I think is really critically important.”

Programs and Services on Domestic Violence

Kansas Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence

Counties served: Statewide (Find information on your local shelter or advocacy center on their website)

24/7 Kansas Crisis Hotline: 888-363-2287

YWCA Center for Safety and Empowerment

Counties served: Jackson, Shawnee, Wabaunsee

24/7 help line: 888-822-2983

National Domestic Violence Hotline

800-799-7233 or text “LOVEIS” to 22522

The Kansas Reflector seeks to increase people's awareness of how decisions made by elected representatives and other public servants affect our day-to-day lives. We hope to empower and inspire greater participation in democracy throughout Kansas.