Transcription
What's good, y'all? Welcome back to the Onyx Report, black masculinist news for the day. Hope everybody's doing well. Like, share, subscribe, join, donate, hit the hype button, support the show so we can continue to bring you this independent black male thought.
Well, today I want to talk to you about what would seem to be a case coming back after 30 years, but it's actually more about me posting it and what that seems to mean in today's media reality, right? So, we're going to talk a little bit about um a woman in New Jersey who's making some waves after a long period of time.
Now, I will say this. The release of this information is a bit strange. Let me show you this real quick. This was how I came across the article. It was as it was sent to me. This is what it read when you initially posted it. It says, "Dad pleads as New Jersey mom who burned her toddlers alive could still walk free." That was initially what posted. After a while, I noticed something interesting. The title shifted shifted. And like the next time I came back to my Facebook post, it now read, "Parole hearing for Maria Montalvo raises alarm in Monmouth County." I thought that was interesting because it reminded me of this kind of edict that I've been detecting over years. You know, even though feminists will talk about how black women are critiqued and torn apart and talked about left and right, but what I seem to notice is that you really can't critique them. And I couldn't help but notice the the extent to which this seemed to confirm that idea. So, the shifting in the title I found inter- interesting. And on first first glance on my page, you would think why am I even posting this? What's this about? You know?
But anyway, just to give you a little bit of context, we'll watch a couple things. That should give you a bit of an explanation about what this why this woman is important. So, here we go. Hours before he left office, outgoing Governor Phil Murphy granted clemency to Montalvo, making her immediately eligible for parole. I can't for the life of me figure out why he did what he did. The timing is important. I mean, he did it on literally on the way out. So, I think he knows that this was not going to be one that wasn't going to be well received.
The public defender's office issued this statement on Montalvo's behalf. Maria's case deserves a second look after more than three decades of incarceration and documented rehabilitation. For over 26 years, she has had no disciplinary infractions and has completed more than 180 educational and therapeutic programs. Montalvo now goes before the parole board for a hearing to determine if she will be released. For more on this developing story, turn to app.com and the Asbury Park Press. This is Kathleen Hopkins.
All right. Now, this seems to be a YouTube made um you know, a piece that summarizes what actually happened. Episode 1, the flames of despair. It was a typical morning in Union Beach, New Jersey. The tranquility of Buttonwood Avenue was shattered at 9:40 a.m. when Maria Montalvo, a 29-year-old registered nurse, drove her Volkswagen Jetta into the driveway of her in-laws' home. The scene would soon become one of unimaginable horror. Maria's in-law, Tomasa and Raul Aponte, her husband, were inside the house. Raul had sought refuge there following a heated argument with Maria the previous night. Little did they know the morning would turn their lives upside down. Tomasa Aponte stepped outside as Maria parked the car. As she approached, she noticed a metal container of gasoline on the floor in the front of the passenger side. Before she could react, Maria threw something toward the passenger seat. In an instant, flames erupted, engulfing the car in thick smoke. Raul's anguished cries echoed through the neighborhood as he ran towards the burning vehicle, screaming for his children. His neighbor, Delano Rather, emerged in his underwear, grabbing a metal bar to break the rear window in a desperate attempt to save the children. The flames were relentless. Raul's and Delano's efforts to unlock the doors and reach the children were in vain. The fire was so intense that it burned Delano's Jeep parked nearby. The children, son Rafael aged 28 months and daughter Zenaida Aponte aged 18 months, died instantly, trapped in the backseat. As the car transformed into a fireball, Maria was pulled from the vehicle, her coat of flames. Prosecutor John K revealed that Maria might have been attempting to kill herself along with her children. What drove Maria Montalvo to commit such a heinous act? Detectives discovered she had purchased gasoline shortly before arriving at the house. Her clothes reeked of gasoline, indicating she might have poured it over herself and inside the car. Detectives had evidence that Ms. Montalvo might have been trying to commit suicide in the fire. Two days earlier, the couple had argued in their home and Raul left and moved into his parents' home. He filed a report with the police that asserted Maria had assaulted him. The motive remained unclear, but the previous night's violent argument with Raul suggested a deep-seated turmoil. The community of Union Beach was left in shock. Neighbors described the children as well-mannered and Maria as a good mother. Maria was treated for burns. On January 17th, 1997, Maria Montalvo was sentenced for two counts of murder and arson. Maria, now 60 years old, is not eligible for parole until February 2054. The once-quiet neighborhood would never forget the flames of despair that consumed the lives of Rafael and Zenaida Aponte. The tragic story of two innocent children and Maria Montalvo, a nurse driven to commit such an ugly crime, turned a quiet morning into a nightmare and remains a haunting memory. What do you think were the key factors that led Maria Montalvo to commit such a desperate and tragic act? Peace and love. Follow for more real crime tales.
All right. All right. So, now this was the article that I actually posted on my Facebook page. Uh it is dated April 17th, 2026, and it reads as it initially did, "Dad pleads as New Jersey mom who burned her toddlers alive could still walk free." Uh it says, "A woman convicted of pouring gasoline on her two young children and setting them ablaze may still go free from state prison despite receiving a 100-year sentence. Parole hearing reignites outrage across New Jersey. On Friday, Maria Montalvo stepped before the New Jersey State Parole Board. Her closed hearing was the result of a decision made by then Governor Phil Murphy on January 20th. The outgoing Democrat commuted her sentence for one of the two murders and made her eligible for parole. A wave of outrage and disgust followed from the residents, state lawmakers and Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago. Among them was the father of the children who were burned alive. The father, Raul Aponte, sent a letter to the parole board begging its members not to let Montalvo out of Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for women. Aponte shared the letter with the Asbury Park Press, which published parts of it in a published report. According to the press, Aponte was never consulted or even notified before the killer of his children was granted clemency. He found out about Murphy's decision in a text from a friend and compared the feeling to being punched. 'I was suddenly thrust back to February 22nd, 1994 at 9:22 a.m. Since the day I found out what Governor Murphy did, I've been forced to relive that day over and over and over,' Aponte said in the letter. The reality is that he was assured that the only way this ends is when the good Lord calls me home. Aponte could only watch as his two young children died. A gasoline fire that spewed from Montalvo's car prevented him or first responders from doing anything to save 16-month 16-month-old Zenaida and her 2-year-old brother Rafael. Prosecutors say killings were deliberate. Prosecutors said Union Beach mom spent $3 to fill a gas can and then drove to Aponte's parents' home. Aponte's mom, children's grandmother, said that she saw Montalvo pour gasoline on the Volkswagen Jetta and then stoop, bend, and throw something into the vehicle before the flames erupted. Montalvo was badly burned as well. Her clothes were soaked in gasoline and caught fire. According to prosecutors, it was purposeful and planned a crime. Aponte had ended his relationship with his wife, Montalvo, days before the killings. So, that's the crux of it right there. He broke up with her and in response, in retribution, she tried to kill herself and the kids, right? Despite her convictions, Montalvo has remained has maintained her innocence for more than three decades and appeals defense attorney said the gas can was leaking fumes. They claim Montalvo was sitting in the vehicle when she lit a cigarette, creating a flash fire. Her story has the support of the ACLU of New Jersey, which celebrated several commutations by name, including Montalvo. She was one of their 16 Clemency Project clients. By restoring dignity and hope for those working toward redemption, he has proven that compassion is strength. I'm grateful for Governor Murphy's commitment to addressing injustices in the criminal legal system throughout this his term.' Said ACLU-NJ Executive Director Amol Sinha. On Friday, the Parole Board denied parole to Montalvo. Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago, a Democrat appointed by the former governor, celebrated the decision. 'I'm elated to hear that the Parole Board recognized that releasing Maria Montalvo is incompatible with justice, especially for someone who refuses to fully accept their actions. Thank you to the Parole Board for listening to the pleas of Raul Aponte, the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office, and the community at large. Releasing Montalvo would be inconsistent with the justice that is due to Rafael and Zoraida.' Said Santiago. But her full sentence of 100 years in prison is not reinstated. She will be eligible for parole again in 36 months. If she's denied at that time, she will only have to wait another 3 years, and Montalvo only needs one Parole Board decision in her favor to achieve freedom.
Yeah. Um Oh, wow. It's a lot of brothers on the list for parole. Geez. Uh it's not like I don't know these things, but sometimes [music] just seeing it um is daunting. [ __ ] Can tell who they built these prison systems for. Look at this. This is just one state. Look at that. And you got people that either understand that this system has targeted black men in a unique way, or they've decided that black men are just the most villainous beings in the world. And even within the black community, can't always tell which direction they'll go.
All right. So, after all of that, um how could I put this? I had an exchange, a bit of a debate, with a colleague of mine about this whole issue. And [music] what I can say is that uh it got very interesting. And I think I want to share with you a little bit of what that looked like. So, let me just go ahead and set this up real quick so that you can actually see it, or at least, I'm sorry, you can hear it, because I'm going to read it to you. This was a text exchange, after all.
So, when I posted the article that I just read to you, what I actually said when I posted it was, "This woman burned her children alive. This is tragic. There's no other way to put that. But these days, people are happy to use tragedy to access resources. So, unfortunately, I have to ask, will there be any think pieces on this? Any calls to massively overhaul black womanhood, womanhood, women of color womanhood? Mass charges of toxic femininity? Women being called to be responsible for her behavior? Stats on mothers who killed their children? And there are stats on that, by the way. Right? Um will we objectify black women as stand-ins for this woman and suggest that they're murderers by nature? Or Latina women, whichever she I don't know how she designates, I don't know. Is this all black women's fault? Will people um shame black women for not chastising each other enough to somehow prevent mentally ill people from doing something tragic? Will someone decide to use this to advance their politics and secure resources for or do we just ignore it, as usual? Hopefully, we'll do none of the above and actually start talking about improving support for people with mental illness, and hopefully deter such events such events from happening before they occur. Sadly, I think this will sooner be blamed on black men than anything else."
A woman colleague responded. She said, "I have to challenge you academically on this. I get the point you're trying to make, that black men are being disparaged and called into question as a group over the actions of a relative few. And you're right, women aren't called into question nearly as much as men. Yet the rate of women killing their children Like I have to remember where I'm on YouTube. Yet the rate of women deleting their children is much lower than the amount of black men who delete black women. So, why would there be a call to blame women or call into question women as a whole? Males are primarily responsible for pediatric homicides across all age groups. 31 to 56% of child homicide victims are black. 540 children were killed by abuse or neglect in 2023. Not all of that was perpetuated by women. Studies indicate that in the cases of child deletion by parents, filicide, women account for roughly 55% of deleters. So, by those percentages, roughly 297 black kids were deleted by their mother. But it also means that 45% were killed deleted by black men. Now, that's not necessarily true, because when you look at the analysis, it doesn't immediately say that it's black men. You have uh mothers, of course, and then you also have everything from sitters to daycare workers, so on and so forth. It's not immediately a jump from mothers to fathers. Which is particularly telling when 67% of black households are run by single mothers who are largely the primary caregivers for kids while they're young. The fact that men aren't the primary caregivers and the rate of children um is still almost 1/2 says a lot about the violence that is perpetuated and accepted by black men in the black community. All right, so she's trying to basically argue that even though women are the primary caregivers, if men supposedly are doing all these child deletions, that speaks [music] to their monstrousness, their, you know, when in actuality, much of it has to do with a number of other figures before we get to fathers. But anyway, I'll continue from here. Uh she says, "I have to say all of those numbers are disquieting to me. Coupled with the black male violence statistics of 733 black females in 2023 deleted by males in single victim, single offender incidents. This represents some of the highest percentage rates of all violent statistics. There's just no way around black males clocking the vast majority of violent acts in our community, and I believe black male studies needs to address these stats head-on and address black men on them."
See, so we're back we're back to the idea that black men need to challenge other black men. That's that's the going analysis on this by many uh a black feminist. Right? Just as I think women studies needs to address the higher rate of infanticide perpetuated by black women, I can most certainly agree with you that the expansion of availability and access to mental health is a huge step towards stopping these tragedies from occurring. Right?
So, my response is as follows. I said, "I would disagree with anyone who argues that all black men should be responsible for three uh or so black men who have mental breakdowns. Right? Or have a mental breakdown. That makes no sense to me. Your notion that the rate of black women killing their children should somehow be considered good in comparison to the number of black men who delete black women makes no sense. When you factor in how many black men are deleted at the hands of other black men, it dwarfs both numbers. So, by your logic, stats about stats about black children and black women at the hands of black men should be considered minuscule in comparison, and thus less relevant. You pointed out that black men deleted 733 black females in 2023, and yet black men deleted 12,276 other black males that same year. Black male studies has dealt with these issues and talked about why rates of homicide are high across the board in the black community due to environmental and historical factors. There's been no running from these numbers. We deal with them explicitly. Hence, why black women deleting black men in intimate partner homicide contexts are six times higher than white women deleting white men. Our numbers remain high across the board. That being said, does that mean that because the numbers are so much higher, the lower numbers should be dismissed or downplayed? I think we agree that shouldn't be the case. Therefore, downplaying the number of black women who have deleted their children doesn't serve any purpose. But if you want to continue going down that line of logic, how many black women have aborted their children since the 1970s? The number is around 20 million. And that rate is much higher than that of any other group. So, when exactly is black women studies going to have critical conversation about holding black women accountable for their actions? I've been in higher education since 1992, and I either I either took gender studies courses or or were first forced into them, excuse me. Courses that weren't even earmarked as gender studies, but became such anyway. And never once have I heard black women scholars or gender studies courses talk about black women's behavior in a critical manner, particularly in regard to the homicide of men, children, or fetuses, other than to suggest that black women should retain the right to continue deleting unborn children. Nor have I seen any large collection of black women get together and critically hold black women accountable who've committed these acts. Yet black men have been told for decades that they're responsible for each other's actions toward black women, no matter the context. And most black men often accepted this responsibility. Can black women say the same? My main purpose in posting this was not to justify anything that took place recently with the Fairfaxes or any other black families. Right? Especially in regard to women and children. The [ __ ] is horribly tragic and lamentable. My point was that you can't turn two or three individual men who suffered mental breakdowns into an attack on all black men. The fact that you're arguing this is mind-blowing to me. So, how responsible is your husband or son for the Fairfax for Justin Fairfax's actions? The connection just doesn't make sense to me. More to the point, despite how feminists like to play with numbers to make it sound like some type of apocalypse that black men are committing against black women, remember that the percentage of men engaged in acts that delete black women is infinitesimally small. In fact, .0017% of black women are deleted by an intimate partner via intimate partner homicide, and approximately uh .003% to .004% are even involved in the deleting of black women in any given year. Mind you, involved does not mean committed, and this number is not about IPH and can include anything from car collisions to accidents. This means out of 43.1 million black non-Hispanic folks in the United States, there are literally between 3 to 500 black women and about 150 or so fewer black men killed every year by an intimate partner. Now, obviously, this varies year to year, all the numbers do, but that's roughly how it generally plays out. And that doesn't include the men killed by other men sent to do so by women. Contrary to what black feminists on the internet will tell you, black men are not killing women en masse, nor are they being deleted by intimate partners every hour of the day. This means that nowhere near even 1% of black men delete black women. So, I'm not opposed to having a critical community discourse about trauma and dysfunction as it relates to life, health, and well-being, but I'm never going to concede to the idea that somehow black men need to be responsible for anything and everything an individual black man does who's suffering a mental breakdown. Any more than I would expect black women to do the same with this case with Lauria Montalvo. Lastly, black male studies has been the only entity I've ever heard of in my life to try and bring context to this. And I find it interesting how openly attacked scholars in the field find themselves when pointing out facts. Prior to the advent of black male studies, black women would do this every time an incident would take place in the community, and it was a no holds barred attack against black men as a whole with nobody offering any counterpoints to contextualize what took place. So, it's only been since about 2018 that black male studies scholars have even pointed these things out, while black women have had whole institutions and fields of study advocate to fields of study to advocate on their behalf, regardless of their behavior with no pushback and nobody saying anything. But now it's a problem when black men respond. So, that was my response to that.
Interested to hear your thoughts. Let me know what you've experienced. What kind of debates have you seen taking place recently in regard to the issues that have been in the news and how they reflected on perceptions of black men. Because at the end of the day, the the idea that black men are public enemy number one has been centuries old, and it seems to still have a stronghold on our daily reality. Let me know your thoughts. Look forward to hearing from you. Peace.