Race Controversies

I love controversies, but this one makes me uncomfortable. Opinions about race and adoption have made us waiver in our hopes to adopt more than anything.

Growing up white in a 99% white community, I haven't had much experience with modern racism. I haven't noticed racism in any of my work locations. And I'm not really around many people other than children who aren't white in Utah, probably the whitest state in the nation. I've had friends that didn't share my European decent, but I didn't consciously notice that the color of their skin, the texture of their hair, or the shape of their eyes was different from most everyone else's.

According to many of the well-educated adoption "experts" and adoptive parents that share their opinions online, my skin color, experience, and environment leave me most under-qualified to parent someone with brown skin. These aren't folks that rant in random forums either:

1. The National Association of Black Social Workers. While they've softened their rhetoric and added some good solutions to racial problems, they've held since 1972 that placing black children in white homes is "racial genocide".

2. Pact, An Adoption Alliance. This is a referral, counseling, and education service for adoptive families, adopted children, and birth parents, especially for children of color. It is very supportive of transracial adoption, as long as it takes place in a diverse community. I've found their articles very informative, even if a little discouraging.

3. Adopted: the Movie. This is a documentary with interviews of parents, adult adoptees, and those who have studied how adoption affects families. I found the clips on YouTube very informative, but Brett found them a little discouraging--the importance of a diverse community comes through here too.

It's easy to come away from this believing those who claim that because I'm white, and I can't fully understand what it's like to be black in America, I would cause deep and avoidable pain in the life of a son or daughter of color. How very intimidating!

But I'm thankful for their opinions, their research, and the ease of sharing their experiences on the internet. I have learned and thought much about transracial adoption issues, and should we adopt a black child, I will continue to do so.

After reflection, I agree with some of what all of these pessimistic folks are saying, and even recommend reading Pact articles and definitely watching Adopted. But not without rejecting the notion that transracial adoption in our situation would not be good for everyone involved. I'll soon share some ways that other transracial families are thriving, right here in Utah. They may be a picture of what our family will look like!