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This thread has been going on for a long time, so I'm "late" to weigh in with my two cents! My husband and I are AA, and we JUST had the TPR go through for our daughter, who has been with us since April 2006. We're on the way to finalization, with an open adoption situation progressing quite nicely. (Can you tell how INCREDIBLY EXCITED I AM?!?)
Anyway, I have had dreams since I was little of adopting a "rainbow" of children from different cultures, races, etc. We are completely open to adopting children of different races, including White children. (Our daugher is AA, and her first adoptive placement was disrupted when the first adoptive family "returned" her because she was "too dark" and "didn't fit in with their family." And, no, it wasn't a White family who rejected her, it was a Black one.)
The issues surrounding our daughter's adoption have made us acutely aware that color consciousness and internalized racism are alive and well in our community--and it's sad. We hope that we can model for our daughter that differences are special and need to be honored, but, ultimately, we are all more alike than we are different.
What we struggle with as parents is not IF we would adopt a child of different race but SHOULD we do it. It's a hard issue to contemplate when you live in this American society that values your race less than other races, and you know that children in your race are (1) disproportionately available for adoption, (2) aren't always valued in the adoption world, and (3) could benefit from you as a role model. It's something that is hard to ignore, no matter how much we want the "rainbow" family ideally. I have absolutely no problem or issues with people of all races, sexual orientations, religions, etc. adopting, and I certainly don't think that Black children are "better off" with Black families. I do wonder, though, that since I am Black, how do I best want to use my racial experience to benefit others. It's not all of who I am, but it does give me a particular perspective in parenting. So, as you can see, I'm COMPLETELY on the fence. All of this was to say that it's not an easy topic for us, and I think it's an important topic to consider.
Oh, and I read in someone's post that interracial marriage and transracial adoptions will ultimately lead to less racism. This might happen, but the pessimist (realist?) in me thinks that the issue will then turn to color (like it did with our daughter--she was the same race, but she wasn't the right color for her first adoptive family). I think we have a lot of work to do to change this country, but I think conversations like this are a great way to get us to work toward it!
Sorry this post is so long, but I had so much to say!!!!
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