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Black Dad, White Daughter
In "Raising Katie," Newsweek explores the life of an average family in Baltimore. To the outside observer, though, the family is not average. Guardians Mark and Terri Riding are African-American. Fourth grader Katie O'Dea Smith is white.
The transracial family endures stares, rude comments and glares. Well-meaning folks have followed them around the mall and out of stores, checking to make sure Katie hasn't been kidnapped. And Katie, herself, faces challenges at her primarily white school: "They'll ignore me or yell at me because I have a black family," she tells Newsweek.
Transracial adoptions have been the topic of much research and discussion. Last year, the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute recommended that race and ethnicity be allowed to be considered when placing a child with an adoptive family and when considering a child's best interest. Race was removed as a factor in adoptions by the Multiethnic Placement Act of 1994 and the Removal of Barriers to Interethnic Adoption Provisions of 1996.
Reader reaction, as you'd imagine, runs along a spectrum of support for the family to questioning why they chose to adopt a white girl versus many black children in need of a home. Both the story and the comments raise questions about how we view multi-racial families.
Wrote veewat in the story comments:
"As the parent of an adopted child who is not of my race I can say that we are as a people (and I mean those of all races) not programmed at the most basic level to simply slide by a picture that doesn't fit ancient patterns. To say this is racist is true, it is racism in it's most basic form. It is not, however, as laden with baggage as we might presume -- this has less to do with American history as it does with choosing to break a pattern and learning to live with the path we choose. This family would have been very naive indeed if they had not anticipated the unusual responses to their family dynamic. My husband and I chose to adopt a child who needed love, support, nurturing, and a future. We stepped out of our comfort zone and helped in a very small way to move the way of the world forward into a more integrated understanding of what makes a community, a family, a picture. But to expect that a million years of racial division to disappear simply because of our good intentions, is unrealistic. The family will do well when they focus on the small strides they make together in society, and the giant strides they make within their family."
Adds Gracieblu:
My husband and I are white and we adopted a black child 6 months ago. Not once have we had to deal with the suspicious gazes (curious, yes, but not suspicious) this couple experiences all the time. Transracial adoption may not be the perfect answer, but this is not a perfect world and it gets children into families and that is important. Plus, I think parents who adopt transracially are uniquely motivated to end racism because they want their children to grow up in a better world. I know I do.
Some believe the issues this family faces is tied to a combination of gender and race, in particular, the fact the the father is a black man:
"Frankly, if this were a story about a black woman holding the hand of a little white girl, no one would blink an eye. The problem is people see a black man holding the hand of a little white girl, and they are uncomfortable, because whites still cling to the myth of the unstable, angry, violent black man, strung out on crack, committing crimes for drug money."
Keeping today's comments thoughtful and appropriate, do we societally and in our daily lives still see race when we are interacting with transracial families? As African American Dad asks in his blog on the article, "Does race yet again play a bigger role in our lives than we are willing to admit?"
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In "Raising Katie," Newsweek explores the life of an average family in Baltimore. To the outside observer, though, the family is not average. Guardians Mark and Terri Riding are African-American. Fourth grader Katie O'Dea Smith is white.
The transracial family endures stares, rude comments and glares. Well-meaning folks have followed them around the mall and out of stores, checking to make sure Katie hasn't been kidnapped. And Katie, herself, faces challenges at her primarily white school: "They'll ignore me or yell at me because I have a black family," she tells Newsweek.
Transracial adoptions have been the topic of much research and discussion. Last year, the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute recommended that race and ethnicity be allowed to be considered when placing a child with an adoptive family and when considering a child's best interest. Race was removed as a factor in adoptions by the Multiethnic Placement Act of 1994 and the Removal of Barriers to Interethnic Adoption Provisions of 1996.
Reader reaction, as you'd imagine, runs along a spectrum of support for the family to questioning why they chose to adopt a white girl versus many black children in need of a home. Both the story and the comments raise questions about how we view multi-racial families.
Wrote veewat in the story comments:
"As the parent of an adopted child who is not of my race I can say that we are as a people (and I mean those of all races) not programmed at the most basic level to simply slide by a picture that doesn't fit ancient patterns. To say this is racist is true, it is racism in it's most basic form. It is not, however, as laden with baggage as we might presume -- this has less to do with American history as it does with choosing to break a pattern and learning to live with the path we choose. This family would have been very naive indeed if they had not anticipated the unusual responses to their family dynamic. My husband and I chose to adopt a child who needed love, support, nurturing, and a future. We stepped out of our comfort zone and helped in a very small way to move the way of the world forward into a more integrated understanding of what makes a community, a family, a picture. But to expect that a million years of racial division to disappear simply because of our good intentions, is unrealistic. The family will do well when they focus on the small strides they make together in society, and the giant strides they make within their family."
Adds Gracieblu:
My husband and I are white and we adopted a black child 6 months ago. Not once have we had to deal with the suspicious gazes (curious, yes, but not suspicious) this couple experiences all the time. Transracial adoption may not be the perfect answer, but this is not a perfect world and it gets children into families and that is important. Plus, I think parents who adopt transracially are uniquely motivated to end racism because they want their children to grow up in a better world. I know I do.
Some believe the issues this family faces is tied to a combination of gender and race, in particular, the fact the the father is a black man:
"Frankly, if this were a story about a black woman holding the hand of a little white girl, no one would blink an eye. The problem is people see a black man holding the hand of a little white girl, and they are uncomfortable, because whites still cling to the myth of the unstable, angry, violent black man, strung out on crack, committing crimes for drug money."
Keeping today's comments thoughtful and appropriate, do we societally and in our daily lives still see race when we are interacting with transracial families? As African American Dad asks in his blog on the article, "Does race yet again play a bigger role in our lives than we are willing to admit?"
..
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