Helping Children Develop a Positive Racial Identity After Transracial Adoption


When you adopt a child of a different race, you have a responsibility to help him or her understand race and racism. Adoption experts, adoptive parents, and transracial adoptees share their perspectives on developing a positive racial identity.

Anti-racist individuals at a Black Lives Matter protest, showing support through actions, not just words

How to Be an Anti-Racist Adoptive Parent

and - August 7, 2020 - , ,

How to Be an Anti-Racist Adoptive Parent

and - August 7, 2020 - , ,

For years, many white adoptive parents of children of color have sought to claim the relatively passive “not-racist” identity, but now is the time to push beyond self-examination into action and become an anti-racist family. Learn how to interrogate your own white privilege; talk with your child about systemic racism, the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and too many others, and the resulting Black Lives Matter protests; and commit to working toward justice.

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Four of author Billy Cuchens's children through transracial adoption

“I Can Still Be Shocked” – Encountering Ignorance About Adoption and Race

- June 6, 2019 - , , , ,

Fifteen years into parenting in a transracial family, I thought I had heard it all—with appropriate comebacks at the ready—until an interaction with a racist (former) boss left me simply dumbfounded.

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author Billy Cuchens with his transracially adopted teenage son

“Home Safe Every Night”

- October 29, 2018 - , , ,

Isaac is 14 years old, but he’s six feet tall and almost two hundred pounds. He’s also black. He hasn’t been a discipline problem since the day he came home, but someone who doesn’t know him could see him as a threat. So what was I to do on a recent evening when he asked to bike home alone in the dark?

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A woman embraces three children on a heritage travel trip to India

Journeys of Discovery

- August 14, 2018 - , ,

A homeland trip can help kids connect "where I come from" to "where I'm going." Having traveled with thousands of adoptive families, I'm delighted to share my thoughts on the impact of homeland travel on identity formation.

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[EXCERPT] That Kind of Mother

- July 24, 2018 - ,

In this excerpt from That Kind of Mother, by Rumaan Alam, the white adoptive mother of a black child learns about importance of talking with her son about racism and interactions with the police.

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A little boy whose parents taught him about race and racism

Primer for Talking About Race and Racism

and - July 9, 2018 - ,

Racism exists, and it's our job as parents to talk about it with our kids. Start with this glossary of important terms.

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The Opher Shapiro family

“Our Journey to China to Adopt Our Daughter”

- June 26, 2018 - , , , , ,

We left our house this morning a family of three, but the next time we walk through our front door, it will be as a family of four.

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a mother on talking with her African-American daughter about racism in the U.S.

The Talk: Revealing the Realities of Racism to My African-American Child

- May 30, 2018 - , , , ,

Growing up in Trinidad, I didn’t use the word black to describe myself. But as the mother of two black children in the U.S., I walk the fine line of raising them to believe they are capable and worthy while understanding that everyone in this country has been taught to discount their value.

A phone call cemented a mother and daughter bond.

“This Is For Real”

- April 15, 2018 - , , , ,

An unexpected emergency tests the strength of a mother-daughter bond.

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A heart on graph paper

“Overcoming All Odds”

- March 26, 2018 - , , , ,

Although we knew our South American-born son would face challenges growing up in a predominantly white middle class suburb, we were totally unprepared for what was to come.

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A man holds his baby after adopting a child of a different race.

Are You Considering Transracial Adoption?

- March 22, 2018 - , , ,

If your family is thinking about adopting a child of a different race, spend some time answering these six questions to help determine if it's right for you.

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author Lena Choudhary and her family on a trip to her daughter's birth country

“Race…and Starbucks”

- March 19, 2018 - , , ,

My parents were immigrants from Germany and India, my husband also comes from a mixed background; we have one biological child, and one adopted from South Korea. What makes my daughter Korean? What makes her American?

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A Chinese adoptee contemplates being a "model minority"

Who You Calling a Tiger-Mom?

- March 18, 2018 - ,

As the parent of an Asian child, I am constantly called upon to help my daughter navigate between diminished achievements and heightened failures.

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Sherri Gragg and her three children

“Black, White, and the Cornrow in Between”

- March 2, 2018 - , , ,

While it might have been “just hair” to me, the emotions were far more tangled for them, with roots deep into the history of oppression between our two peoples.

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Three children sit on a swing.

8 Smart Diversity Strategies

- February 22, 2018 - , ,

Use these tips for building cultural diversity for children in your family, community, and school.

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