Traversing Racial and National Boundaries: Adopting Transracially and Internationally

Abstract

I come from an all-White family. No one is adopted and no one has married across racial lines. Raised in a primarily White and largely Catholic Midwestern city, I have a series of troubling memories about race from growing up. The worst happened when I was walking with my paternal grandfather in his recently racially-integrated neighborhood. A large Black family was hanging out on their porch, barbecuing on the front lawn, playing music, and simply having a grand ol’ time. I still feel sick remembering hearing my grandfather calling them “jungle bunnies” and going on and on about how the Blacks were bringing down his neighborhood.

With hindsight, I now realize that announcing to a family like mine one’s plans to adopt a child of a different race and from a different country should have been fraught with anxiety and negative anticipation. I guess I wanted to believe that my parents were less prejudiced than they really are. I was just so excited to share my big news. I simply couldn’t wait to let my family in on it.