Search Results for: blog resources for responding to racism

November in the Adoption Blog: Month in Review

I began the blog on All Saints Day with a tribute to certain “Saints” in U.S. Adoption and Pioneers in International Adoption. Then I wrote a tribute to the founder of my daughter’s Korean adoption agency, who has lived an exciting and multifaceted life and is remarkable for his humble concern for children. In honor of National Adoption Month, I wrote two blogs on Top Ten Myths about Adoption. For Part One, click here. For Part Two, click here. Then I wrote a blog about events on National Adoption Day, Saturday November 17. These events included finalizations of thousands of … Continue reading →

Resources for Responding to Racism: Hate Hurts: How Children Learn and Unlearn Prejudice

In my last blog I mentioned recent incidents of racism against adopted children. One resource parents can use for talking to their children, and recommending to their children’s teachers (perhaps Scout leaders and religious leaders too) are the book Hate Hurts: How Children Learn and Unlearn Prejudice, written by Caryn Stern-LaRosa and Ellen Hofheimer Bettmann and published by the Anti-Defamation League (a portion of the proceeds from the book go to supporting the League’s work). One weakness is the book’s statistics on U.S. population by race, which were taken from the 1990 census, making them old even when the book … Continue reading →

Resources for Responding to Racism

As a thirty-something raised in the Pacific Northwest, I have always known about racism, but seldom witnessed it. I lived a very sheltered childhood, and thirty-some years later still feel a bit of shock whenever I hear of a racist incident: “That happened here? Nowadays? Really?” My daughter’s Camp Fire group had a member who was adopted from Ethiopia. The mother and I began comparing adoption experiences. I was shocked when she told me her daughter had been experiencing blatant racism at school. Fellow second graders had been taunting her on the playground, “You don’t belong here. Go back where … Continue reading →

Most Controversial Disney Films Pt. 2

On Monday I took a look back at some of Disney’s more controversial movies from the 1940s through the 1960s. Today I’m going to finish my examination of their hot-button films, and try to find some sort of resolution about how we should approach them today. “Aladdin” (1992) – “Aladdin” sparked protests from Arab-American groups for its opening sequence. The original lyrics to the song “Arabian Nights” contained the line “where they cut off your ear if they don’t like your face” when describing the Arabic land/culture. The DVD release of the movie changed the line to “where it’s flat … Continue reading →

Combatting Stereotypes in Children, Part One

Our kids are growing up in a global society where they will have to feel comfortable with people of other races and religions. I really recommend the book Hate Hurts: How Children Learn and Unlearn Prejudice and the resources I listed in my blog Resources for Talking about Skin Color. The Public Broadcasting Service website offers the following suggestions from experts who contributed to PBS shows: Be aware of how and when children’s attitudes are formed. Children develop attitudes and identity through their experiences with their bodies and their social environments. Very young children perceive differences in skin color but … Continue reading →

Book Review: Made in China

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Two years ago, I wrote about books for kids who were adopted from China. Since then, there has been a veritable explosion of new books on the subject. One of them, Made in China, is actually a three-way story: the text, the illustrations, and the material inside the covers (more about that later). Made in China could also be an entry in my Adoption Books with Great Art series. I usually like the books with delicate watercolors, but these illustrations are noteworthy for the medium chosen by illustrator Kristin Blackwood: linoleum cut prints and computer coloring; unusual for children’s books. … Continue reading →

Celebrating ALL Cultures

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I just returned from a Culture Day celebrated by local college exchange students and au pairs, together with their host families. We had absolutely amazing food—Thai and Chinese and Korean, Indian, South African, Costa Rican, Chilean, Swedish, German, and a cheesecake with the Canadian Maple Leaf on top. The Thai au pairs and the children they care for demonstrated children’s games from Thailand. Several South African students showed visual aids they had made with pictures of their countries’ wildlife and beaches, and its many official languages! One host family—including the parents– joined their Indian au pair in a “Bollywood” dance—in … Continue reading →

“Being Adopted Means Being Born in Another State”….??

It’s hard to tell what kids know, remember, or are in denial about. My almost-eight-year-old is very intelligent. She has pictures of her foster mother and a whole scrapbook about her adoption, which she presented to her preschool class. She seemed happy to have me read books explaining adoption to her first grade class last year. Recently a new friend, who wasn’t at the school last year when I did the presentation, asked me (in front of Meg), “Is Meg adopted?” I tried to deflect the question to Meg, trying to avoid a repeat of the “Can she speak English” … Continue reading →

Book Review: The Christmas Menorahs: How a Town Fought Hate

My last blogs have talked about racist incidents a few adoptees have recently faced and resources for responding. The Christmas Menorahs: How a Town Fought Hate, by Janice Cohn, is based on the true story of events that happened in Billings, Montana in 1993. In 1993, a group in Billings sent out leaflets saying hateful things about several ethnic groups and Jewish people in particular. They spray-painted threats on a Native American home, threatened an African-American church, and damaged a synagogue. As Hanukkah began, rocks were thrown through several windows of homes displaying menorahs. One of these large rocks shattered … Continue reading →