Interracial Adoptions

Should people adopt children not of their own race?

With the seemingly scary world of private adoptions here in the States, many couples and individuals are turning to foreign lands and their overburdened orphanages. The paperwork, counselling, money, background checks, and time weed out potential baddies from the parenting pool as well as cement adoptions.

But what about those children here in our group homes and orphanages? Many children outside the infant the years wait impatiently for people to bring them into their homes and give them last names that stand for love and committment and security. And, sadly, many of these children are African-American boys.

In any case, whether it be an infant, Asian girl from China or an African American, male toddler from Tennessee....should a parent outside the child's race adopt him/her? Would a white mother be able to provide the cultural history for that child? Will the child lose part of his/her identity being immersed in a culture and surrounded by a race not of his/her own? Or are there too many children out there that have been abandoned and discarded, waiting for homes and love that color and culture do not matter?

I want to know your thoughts. I'm not swaying you with my opinions....yet.   

Comments

[Carrie]

How much do I want to say "no, no, no!!"? But I just can't. Too many children have been abandoned to the system and too few parents are adopting them. It is always my hope that a child finds a good home rather than be forced to live in the system. HOWEVER, a white family can never provide the cultural background you mentioned. A black child in a white family will not know his/her true identity, in regards to what it means to be African American.
With regard,
Biracial

[Hannah]

No way are you being racist. I'm white and my sister in-law adopted an African American child. While I can honestly say he is not treated any differently at family functions, you can tell, even at 5 years old that he knows something is different. I suppose it's different for each child.

But there's nothing wrong with it and I applaud you for adopting!

I am waiting on interracialfriends.com.