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I have known aa bmoms from my support groups who have expressed this stigma among their family and community about placing a child. It must be hard, in addition to the general stigma in society, to have the added family pressure. I also worked with a group of aa women who were once discussing adoption, along with a few latina women, and they all agreed that you simply NEVER place a child for adoption outside the family. I was having lunch with them when this conversation came up, but could not bring myself to mention I was a bmom as their feelings were so strong and it seemed they viewed any mother who would "give away" her baby as almost criminal.
I remember reading something once that the way aa people view adoption outside the family has its roots in the history of slavery, where their children were often ripped away from them, never to be seen or heard from again. Also, in aa and latino cultures you often see a greater focus and importance on family. It's not unusual for multiple generations and extended family to live together, even under not-so-ideal circumstances.
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