[Archive]

Originally Posted By bren

Hi! My husband and I have two biological sons and are adopting a beautiful bi-racial newborn girl. We are cauc and would like to hear from other couples who have adopted a bi-racial child.

[Archive]

Originally Posted By Sarah

Hi! You should probably know that biracial is no longer an acceptable term. Your beautiful little girl will always be considered, by the public at large, black. We are awaiting a transracial placement right now. You may want to read the books (pardon the quotation marks) "Color Complex" and "You're Chocolate, I'm Vanilla." They are both very readable, but contain invaluable insights to the journey you are beginning into being a multicultural family. Good luck!

[Archive]

Originally Posted By Lisa Ellen

We have adopted nine times. We plan to adopt one more time in the near future. Our experience with transracial adoption has been wonderful. Not ways easy but wonderful. To assume that her child will be considered black is to assume that when she said biracial she ment cauc/AA. Perhaps she does, but not all bi-racial people are that combination. We have bi-racial (which simply means of two race groups) children that are cauc/korean, AA/hispanic, cauc/hispanic. Just a thought.

[Archive]

Originally Posted By Christy and Kennedi

I am a caucasian, single, women who has recently adopted a beautiful african american child. I would love to chat with you. purplebutterfly252001@yahoo.com

[Archive]

Originally Posted By mpliget01@aol.com

We are caucasion and have an OLDER caucasion daughter by birth, and adopted a biracial baby girl two years ago. Please email me and we can talk!

Warmly, Donna

[Archive]

Originally Posted By cyndi

Hi, Ihave adopted two biracaial children and we are awaitng the birth of our third. They are the joy of our lives. Feel free to contact me and we can talk donandcyndi@hotmail.com

[bichonlover]

My wife and I adopted a biracial boy (AA and caus)when he was a newborn (09/2001). We have had a great expereince and have learned a lot. His dry skin and hair appears to be more AA and that created a problem for awhile until we talked with some friends and they educated us. He's the love of our lives and we definetly would do it again. Love matters not the color of your skin. Look inward to really see the true person, not at the color of his/her skin.

[Autore3]

We adopted our biracial daughter in 1997, at 7 weeks old.She is Korean and Black. And most of all beautiful! We were just recently recertified and are waiting to be placed with our second biracial child. Please email me if you have questions.

[mary johnson]

By saying a the term biracial is old is untrue. Biracial means two different races - thats it. I am a Biracial couple and beleive me the term that all biracial children are considered Black is racist in its own term - that saying of one ounce of black blood makes you black comes from the days of slavery. Thats the thinking we need to stop a biracial child DOES NOT mean they are black - it means TWO races have mixed.

[Jeanne21]

I have to disagree with the last post... it is not blood that makes a person black, but instead it is their looks that will make others see them as black. Legally, one was considered black if they had black blood, but I don't think that biracial people being defined as black is driven by the forces you say it is. Race is a social definition, and biracial people are perceived to be black by mainstream culture. Black, as a term in the US, would not mean African if race was biologically derived. The vast majority of African Americans have "white" blood, as rape of slaves was extremely common. When there was legal racial segregation (as opposed to the defacto segregation that exists today), blacks were discriminated against on the basis of being black, as defined by their appearance. Race is defined by social perception of one's appearance, and because of systemic racism, the social perception that gets listened to is the mainstream white perception. Therefore, biracial people are defined as black.

Bob Marley, Malcolm X, Halle Berry, Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Dubois are all biracial people. When one thinks of them, what race do you think they see?

[Jeanne21]

Here is a quote from an adoption agency, known as "Adoption-Link, Inc." that deal only with African-American, bi-racial and multi-racial children:

"Adoption-Link does not allow families to specify the racial heritage of a child. In our society even part-African-American persons are considered African-American and this heritage needs to be acknowledged and celebrated."

I think this points out that bi-racial children, although having parents of two different races, are considered African-American. If you do not acknowledge this, you are doing your "bi-racial" child harm.

[Brat]

I know this is an ooooolllld thread, but it's Sat AM, and I was searching around and found it.

I am AA and married to a CC man. When we first started talking about children, I would always say that our children will be AA because society views them as AA.

This really bothered him, and it took me a long time before I could take off my PC blinders and really listen to what he had to say. I was denying his heritage, and reducing it to a level of unimportance. I certainly wouldn't tolerate it if he said such things to me.

Personally, I am not concerned with what that agency you mentioned had to say, Jeanne. I know where their hearts were, and I know what you are trying to say, but what I think really harms children is asking that they deny any part of themselves. IMHO, if the child is also adopted, that kind of child-rearing goes hand-in-hand with asking them to deny that they have a whole 'nother family.

I have a biracial friend (AA/CC). The quickest way to get her ticked is if anyone calls her a white girl. She completely and totally embraces her blackness. This is good. But on the other hand, she's consistently hostile in regards to part of who she is--her whiteness. Why? Because society told her that she is Black and that if she embraces the White part of her as well, she is a sell-out, a traitor, or worse, just plain ignorant. What kind of hate speech is she reciting to herself, what kind of personal peace can she ever find?

This world is changing. I want to raise children who embrace every part of who they are on every level, to be leaders within that change. I don't want to insist that they adhere to Jim Crow laws when here it is, 2003. Because for every biracial person who completely denies a whole side of who they are, society is not placated, society suffers.

[bellazmama]

Hi Brat!

I reviewed my old post on here and realized that I was responding based upon the premise that some people will adopt a biracial child over an AA child because they think a biracial child will be "less Black." Well, that is the very reason why we chose to adopt a biracial child in the first place. Our families woiuld NOT have been as supportive if we adopted an AA child. We didn't want to raise a child that would be looked down upon by anyone in our family. Was that selfish? You bet! However, since Bella has come into our family, I have ben able to educate most everyone to the fact that she is, indeed, Black, and will probably be viewed as such by society at large. Does that mean we will ignore the other part of her heritage? NO WAY!!! She is not only AA, but also Polish, German, and Italian! Her birth mother's surname is Sicilian. (That may explain the temper--LOL!) So, you see, I've learned a LOT about what makes a multi-racial person the individual they are and it's not just based upon how a person looks.

We are updating our homestudy right now. What "kind" of baby will we go after this time? I don't know yet. We're not there yet. Do I try to adopt another biracial baby so that Bella will have someone in the family like her so that she will have someone to empathize with as a transracial biracial adoptee or do we adopt whatever race child God wants to place with us? Who knows? Only with time and prayer will we be able to answer that question.

If this post offends anyone, I am sorry. It is the whole truth, coming right from my heart.

Sarah

[allabouthorses]

I'm 1/2 jamaican, 1/4 cree indian, 1/8 lebanese, and 1/8 scottish, and I get referred to as "black" all the time. It kind of bothers me, but not because I'm ashamed of my Jamaican background. I am just really proud of my other ethnic backgrounds, and I feel like society is blind to the other parts of me.

Also, I find that there are a lot of stereotypes about black people. Most of the ones I have encountered have actually been positive, but I still don't like being classified as black, when i've been raised by caucasian parents and have none of the "black culture" that is considered so "cool" with young people.

My sister, who may or may not be completely jamaican, but who is much darker than i am, has seeked out black friends, and she feels the need to "get in touch with her 'blackness'". it has always seemed kind of strange to me, almost like she was trying to rebel against her upbringing, like it wasn't good enough.

Anyways, these are just my thoughts...

[joymom]

allabouthorses-

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and experiences on this. It helps me understand my kids better and what they will encounter when I hear thoughts/experiences from someone who has "been there". This "issue" (multi-racial/AA/biracial identity) is pretty new in adoption, so it seems folks are still figuring things out (as is evident from this thread). All I know is I want to do right by my kids!

Thanks for sharing. Y'all always make me think.