The New York Times is soliciting input on the experience of transracial adoptees and their families, and will host a Facebook Live discussion tonight about it.
From the Twitter account of Times contributor Rachel Swarns:
What are the experiences of families that adopt across racial and ethnic lines? We asked and scores of readers responded with stories of joy and pain.
The chat is routed through the hashtag #RaceNYT. Swarns relayed a few early responses:
Born in Honduras, adopted by a white parent: “I didn’t fit in with white people, and I didn’t fit in with Hispanic people. I felt like I was on the outside of every circle, bubble or clique.”
African-American adoptee: “Being black and adopted by white parents I was afforded some of the spoils of white privilege. On the other hand … sometimes I don’t really feel like I have anyone I can really identify with because my skin is black, but my culture is white.”
Black, Hispanic and Asian adoptees described loving families: “The very fact that they chose me (especially an older age), I felt wanted. I see ZERO color lines.”
The Times will host a Facebook Live chat on transracial adoption tonight at 9pm. Click here to view the chat.
Congress passed the Multi-Ethnic Placement Act (MEPA) in 1994 to ensure that no child would be denied or delayed an opportunity for adoption based on the race, ethnicity or national origin of the child or prospective parents.
April Dinwoodie, a transracial adoptee and former CEO of the now-defunct Donaldson Adoption Institute, wrote for The Imprint in 2016 about the importance of discussing race with this population.
“Not impeding an adoption based on a parent’s race is an appropriate goal,” Dinwoodie wrote. “However, it should not be translated to mean we shouldn’t engage in transformational conversation surrounding race, class and culture in preparing and supporting transracial adoptive families.”