Search Results for: blog choosing whether and how to adopt transracially our decision

Book Review: Adoption, Race and Identity

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This volume contains the results of studies done in 1972, 1979, 1984 and 1991 on a consistent group of families with transracially adopted children. The authors hope to show the range of experiences of transracial adoptive families by comparing the same families over time. The formal study was conducted in 1972, 1979 and 1984 with families who had at least one transracially adopted child, with that child being between the ages of three and eight at the beginning of the study in 1972. Therefore the children were between ages twelve and nineteen at the study’s formal conclusion with the 1984 … Continue reading →

Barriers to Transracial Adoption

A survey of 405 adult transracial adoptees (conducted by the TransRacial Adoption Group, which is upfront about being “committed to promoting transracial adoptive placements as a viable form of adoption”) found that 97 percent of participants agreed with the statement that white adoptive parents are capable of developing a positive sense of cultural identity in an adopted black child, 86 percent did not believe that preference should always be given to an African-American couple when both a black and a white family were interested in adopting a particular black child, and 93 percent thought it was not necessary for agencies … Continue reading →

Is Transracial Adoption Necessary?

The National Association of Black Social Workers (NABSW) issued a statement against transracial adoption in 1972, excerpted below. “Black children belong physically and psychologically and culturally in black families where they can receive the total sense of themselves and develop a sound projection of their future. Only a black family can transmit the emotional and sensitive subtleties of perceptions and reactions essential for a black child’s survival in a racist society. Human beings are products of their environment and develop their sense of values, attitudes, and self-concept within their own family structures. Black children in white homes are cut off … Continue reading →

Media Review: Opposing Viewpoints: Adoption

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The Opposing Viewpoints Series from Greenhaven Press is a series I have long admired as a student, citizen and prospective educator. The series contains over 90 books ranging from Abortion to Welfare Reform. The series has been in existence for 25 years but is frequently updated. Each book organizes itself around four or five main questions relating to a topic. The editors seek out both prominent and lesser-known voices on various sides to give opinions from multiple viewpoints. So what is controversial about adoption? More than you might think. Some essays in the book directly oppose each other. The first … Continue reading →

Introducing My Family

It’s good to be back up and running here at the adoption blog, and great to be working with Rachel. I will miss hearing about Ed’s boys, but I’m thrilled for Rachel’s newest addition (and addition-to-be!) The final two blogs of my series on children’s books with adoption themes are now published, so I invite you to check them out! It’s occurred to me that, while I’ve shared important pieces of our family’s story and some of my feelings along the way, I’ve tended to be more informational and reflective in my writing. I don’t intend to change that, but … Continue reading →

Choosing Whether and How to Adopt Transracially–Our Decision

Adoption workers usually advise people considering transracial adoption to consider how their families and communities will accept and support a child of a different race, realizing that the child will not be a baby forever–transracial adoption means having a teen-ager and grandchildren of other races. The next question is whether the parents have resources to help the child feel pride in his/her culture, and whether the child will see role models who look like him/herself. We felt that the first issue was not a problem. (In fact my parents had nearly adopted an African-American boy themselves—that adoption never took place … Continue reading →