[LadyBugz]

I've been following the Black Culture thread on the AA parents board with interest hoping it would answer me, but the turn its taken looks like it won't, so I'm going to ask you.

We are adopting through the state and are open to every racial background. One of the posts I read emphasized the need for the home environment to be multicultural. For the child to see his culture within the home environment. So I started wondering just what that meant I should have.

African tribal masks and safari animal prints seems to really minimize the breadth of black culture, and many black people do not even have roots in Northern Africa. We have friends from Africa, and the only discernable African "artifact" in their home is a small stool from their childhood that they would take with them to sit on at people's houses. We have several black friends, and their homes are typical middle-class homes. One could not discern that it was a black home over a white one. Our own house is overrun with books--a good amount of which are (fiction and non-fiction) multicultural. Toys are mainly neutral, but dolls include the spectrum of colors. Decorations are pretty much neutral as well-a cross collection, family pictures, that type of stuff.

So what exactly would you expect/hope/suggest to see in a home that intends to adopt transracially?

[sneezyone]

Honestly - I wouldn't expect to see much of anything special in a transracial home. Artifacts, artwork, books and toys are accumulated over time - they ought to have some meaning for you and your child and not just be tokens that announce your multiculturalism, KWIM? You don't need to stage your home to be prepared for a child of another race/ethnicity. Yes, it's nice to have art or statues, or what not. And books and toys that feature children of color are definitely important. But even more important, IMHO, are your social group, your child's social group, your community and the meaningful interaction you and your family have/will have/intend to develop with other ethnic minorities.

[leaabc123]

Adrienne hit it on the head. What does your social life and your child's social life reflect?

We have extended family that is AA, so our girls will always have family ties. When we purchased our home, we looked for an area that had a mix of people (both racially and economically).

We try to look for social activities that have a mix of children as well.

In our home, we try and have books, children's movies, toys that are across the board socially.

We just added some accesories to the girls' rooms and that included posters that reflect them. For example, big D does dance class and loves it so I got a poster of little AA girls doing ballet poses.

[quiescentfury]

I agree with the others have said. When looking for daycare and private school we really spent time visiting the schools to be sure they were mulitracial. We spend time with Cory's dad and his side of the family and also spend time with our AA friends.

I am very consious when I buy things for the home and children. I look for toys that have AA people in them. My six year old son has a doll that is a BR boy. He named him Alex and he loves him.

I buy almost every book I see that has AA children and families in them. We have so many books, but only a quarter have AA people in them. It is harder to find. I am hoping to really add to our library over the next couple months.

Clothing is another issue. Childens clothing many times had characters on them, it is hard to find anyting with AA people, so I stear away from clothing with people on them.

Artwork for the home is also a concern. I don't feel that I need to have African artwork as we don't have Italian or Irish artwork, but I make sure if I have an even display of AA people and CC people in the paintings I have.

We talk about AA history. We got this great book for Cory that is a children's guide to AA history. It is a workbook and has activities. It is really great because it does not just highlight MLK and slavery it talks about all aspects of AA history including inventors, wars, writers and so much more. I will have to get the name tonight when I get home.

I guess it is a general observance of everything that comes into the home and to make sure it is not all CC. I think it is important that my children see people that look like them every day.

[quiescentfury]

I looked on-line and I found info on the book I was speaking of.

It is called "A Kid's Guide to African American History" by Nancy Sanders

Here is a summary I found on-line

Gr 1-5-A chronological look at the history of African Americans from the pre-slavery days in Africa through today's celebration of Kwanzaa. With a straightforward, readable text, one- to three-page topics, and simple illustrative drawings, even young children can participate in this activity-based title. Although mentioning the hardships and inhumanities of slavery and Jim Crow laws, the brutal details are left out. The emphasis is on the contributions of African Americans, their courage, creativity, and inventiveness. The easy activities described in detail include games, crafts (with patterns), songs, recipes, and stories. An extensive bibliography of books, articles, and Web sites is included.

[AdrienneG]

Lived in by a family of people of different races.

[LisaCA]

not to nitpick, but most safari stuff and tribal masks on the open market don't come from north africa (many of them come from places like china, lol. global economy and all.) Most animal safaris take place in east africa, while the tribal masks on the market don't really appear to have one particular culture or region in mind.

I wandered around my home looking for clues to a non-anthropologists that people of color live here and here's what I saw: nothing really, aside from books, some hair products. dd's bookshelf is full of a ton of books with african americans, but also others. we don't have dolls, but if we did they'd probably be rather diverse in ethnicity (and I saw some great accessories to add to dolls to make them differently abled too). We have puzzles that show a variety of peoples too. Oh and family photos.

I think it's about you and your family integrating others into their household. if you have a ton of stuff celebrating, say, irish heritage, then you should have a ton of stuff celebrating your child's heritage.

but primarily it's about making sure you and your family are aware they are a multicultural household. It's all in the mind and in your actions, in your neighborhood, community, church and school.

[joskimo]

My family has been multiracial for 14 years - I'm CC and dh is NA/CC - and our home really does reflect that mix, we own a lot of native artwork. Our youngest daughter is AA, and right now that's reflected mostly in her stuff like dolls and books as well as my bookshelf and magazines. Because we do have so much celebrating the NA part of our home, I definitely want to add her AA heritage to our home so that it's not off balance. We also have a lot of hispanic artwork for no good reason other then we love it.

[Roon63]

EEk, I looked around my home to see if we decorated in the multi racialness of my children. (we have caucasian, hispanic and zuni indian).
What a scary thing, I decorate just like my mom, early american (but with way cooler and vibrant colors!!) I love trading spaces and color on my walls!!
We have sea scapes on the wall,and teacups in the kitchen. Most of my home is pictures of friends and family, on the wall, tables etc. Our home decorations have nothing to do with the race or culture of our children. The love and protection you put into your kids is what is going to shape their lives, not knick knacks. this is said with love and caring, not a slam or meant to be hateful
Our lives are multi-racial, or interracial by accident. I don't look at the color skin of a doll, a person or a book to bring to my home, I look to see if it is kind, has something to learn, or if I just like it.
My daughters (Zuni Indian) pick bald white babies at the store everytime, but color all their people orange in coloring books. My son's (one white, well he is more pinkish, one hispanic) both loved to use purple for their people's skin in coloring.
I guess what I am trying to say is, your home will reflect who you are, not who you want? Your best bet is just to make it children friendly (remove the glass vases, breakables or family heirlooms that kids can and will break)
Our SW said she knew we could enjoy kids, because she saw our cereal (kept on top of fridge), and there was Capt Crunch among them!! Now those darn kids (all races of 'em) eat my Cap't Crunch.

[LadyBugz]

Thanks so much so far for all the recommendations, especially the book! I am so happy to have all you seasoned vets here to ask these things to!

[rredhead]

Hi,

I didn't see this addressed, so I hope it helps. My husband and I are very much into theatre and music. After reading one of the adoption books, he decided that we needed to have a music and entertainment collection that included black artists. The idea being that a young person needs to see and learn about people who look like him, who can be role models or just there to say, "Hey, if that guy can do it, so can I!"

He got recommendations from friends of all races and we added Ray Charles, Alicia Keys, Anthony Hamilton, and I can't think of all the rest. DH has always had jazz around, as he played the sax, and we're playing that for DS sometimes. ("Music makes you smarter!" - music executive trying to sell more stuff to neurotic parents?) We also have a decent collection of R&B and old-school rap, much of which was here long before we decided to adopt.

We also have a large collection of comedy done by black comedians: Bill Cosby, Richard Pryor, etc. Again, this is DH's interest. We're trying to take advantage of our interests and learn more about black people in those areas.

I hope this all makes sense! It's late!

-Robyn

[joskids]

I am caucasian. Hubby is black. My birthchildren are caucasian. Our adopted children are AA, biracial and multiracial. Our home looks like a warm home with lots of love, family photos, dolls of all colors, a very diverse neighborhood with very diverse schools. I think the diversity is a bigger factor than whether you have "tribal masks" thrown up in your home because you thought you SHOULD. My children are in school with children of Asian, Hispanic, Middle Eastern, black, biracial and caucasian backgrounds. I grew up in a very non-diverse suburb of Detroit where I didn't meet anyone unlike myself (other than in personality) until I graduated from high school. What a shame, I know, but I've opened myself up to learning about and having friendships with people of many racial, ethnic and relgious backgrounds and that has taught me more about who we all are than any photos or artifacts on my walls. We buy artwork that we like and sometimes it has black folks pictured and sometimes it's "Mapplethorpe" florals and sometimes it's non-cultural. We also belong to a group of interracial families that get together monthly so that the children can see other families that "look like theirs" and so that the parents can discuss topics of interest, some which include hair tips and raising children in a non-traditional family (multicultural or same-sex parenting). One thing God did when he made us all different was to be sure that if we were opened to it, we'd learn much. Those that remain closed learn nothing and stay ignorant and that is the biggest shame.

Hope this helps.

Josie

[hotspice58]

Books, toys and magazines. You can also have NA artwork/crafts.

[hotspice58]

Wow, Rrhead, that's a great idea about music!!

[ahimsa]

I think that there is no one way a transracial house should look. I think that a person's home should reflect their tastes. If that includes African masks, then fine. But we shouldn't put up stuff just because we think it reflects our kids' culture.

The funny thing with us is that we have a lot in our house that shows Jamaican and Rastafarian culture. Yes, their faces are black, as are our children's, but our children are African American, not African Jamaican. However, they see the racial similarity and they like it. My son wants dreads like Peter Tosh someday!