What adopting a white child taught one black family

...The Ridings, for their part, are taking Katie's racial training into their own hands. They send her to a mixed-race school, and mixed-race summer camps, celebrate St. Patrick's Day with gusto and buy Irish knickknacks, like a "Kiss Me I'm Irish" T shirt and a mug with Katie's O'Dea family crest emblazoned on it...


I have to commend the Terri Smith-Ridings and her husband for stepping up to help her 70 year old mom raise Katie by being de-facto parents. It's unfortunate that these black parents have to endure such blatant racism and insults, but what can you expect living in the south (south of the Mason Dixon line)? Although I think this family is doing a wonderful job exposing Katie to mixed schools and camps, I think it will be equally important to make some associations with white people so that Katie can make those vital connections with her people. Children need to spend time with people who look like them.

By the way Brother Cook that was a really great article so much so that I saved the link.

I think maybe we should consider being less critical of white people who adopt black children and be more critical of black people who don't. And vice-versa.

The ultimate point for me though is whether or not a child is benefiting from the love, support, and provisions he/she would *not* have had absent being adopted. For that reason, I don't care who's adopting who as long as the child is well-loved and well provided for. I'll be glad when we as the human race can get past the black and white issues. I'll be glad when it really is just about what we have to bring to the table as people (not as black people or white people) but people.

I know we're far from that, but a sista can hope, can't she?

Blessings...

I have always dreamed of being in the position of adopting a black child. If you see the foster children in schools, you get the bigger picture of Mozell's point. You would never know some white students are in foster homesin comparison to how you can easily tell the black ones who are.

A few years back, I adopted a child from one of those Save-the-Children organizations. My adopted son was from Sierra Leone and his name was fortune. I committed to sending money monthly and I started out with maybe about $50.00 as I was sooo committed to saving this child from hunger, disease, etc.

Well, I got my "Welcome" package the next month with a million and one restrictions and a "fake" photo. I was sooo disgusted and angry because one of the rules was that you could not send like toys, coloring books, things that children love. So, it is personal for me when I see white people traveling across the world and returning with Asian babies or white ones with black children. I don't know their hearts so I cannot question if they truly ove the child, etc. but it makes me angry nonetheless (maybe jealous cuz all I could was send money to the organization that probably never reached the child anyway). I did quit my adoption and put Fortune's picture on the refridgerator and everytime my family entered the fridge, we prayed for Fortune and others.

I see so many of our children in school who I want to rescue from Foster-home nightmares. I have talked with family/folks who say, "Do you know how much money you could get?" It's disgusting when that happens.

So, I weigh in that black adults who can adopt, should adopt our own child because on the social ladder whites will come first, Asians, and somewhere at the bottom will be mixed kids and then the very last rung will be black kids.

Ms. Levine, I've seen foster kids in school. As a matter of fact, I was great friends with a few in jr. high and high school. I've also known some-- black and white-- who got abused in foster care and couldn't wait to escape when they were of age.

I get Mozell's point...fully. I just don't entirely agree. I don't care about color. I care primarily about the love and provisions.

And please, don't misunderstand my point. They ALL deserve to be adopted and it's not fair that black children seem to be the last considered, which is all the more reason why when any family wishes to adopt a black child, regardless of that person's race or ethnicity, as long as they love and provide for that child, AMEN. Thank God. That's one left at the bottom of the pile.

Blessings...