[im.em]

Dear adoptee, adoptive parent, birth parent, child welfare worker, etc,

We are graduate students in Portland State University’s Conflict Resolution program. For a class project on intercultural conflict resolution, we are studying transracial adoption and the experiences of those involved. Rather than creating a questionnaire based on what we want to know, we would like to structure our project around the stories you feel are important to tell.

This is an invitation to share those stories with us in the form of a letter. These can be letters you have never written before, letters you have already sent, letters you wish you could send, letters you hope to send one day. If you are an adoptee, this could be a letter of advice to your younger self, or a letter to an adoptive parent, a birth parent, or another adoptee. If you are a birth parent, you might write to your biological child, the person or people who adopt that child, etcetera. All letters that we share will be anonymous, so don’t feel pressured to add any names, but please indicate how you identify and to whom your letter is addressed.

These letters may discuss issues of race and intercultural interaction, but please feel free to personalize them and reflect on your experiences however you wish. Thank you in advance for sharing your stories, experiences, and families of all kinds with us. We feel honored to be able to listen.

Please send all letters to kara.n.choi@gmail.com by Friday May, 22. Questions and comments can be directed to the same address.


Go Well,
Kara, Emily