In Their Voices: Black Americans on Transracial Adoption

by Rhonda Roorda

Overview

While many proponents of transracial adoption claim that American society is increasingly becoming "color-blind," a growing body of research reveals that for transracial adoptees of all backgrounds, racial identity does matter. Rhonda M. Roorda elaborates significantly on that finding, specifically studying the effects of the adoption of black and biracial children by white parents. She incorporates diverse perspectives on transracial adoption by concerned black Americans of various ages, including those who lived through Jim Crow and the Civil Rights era. All her interviewees have been involved either personally or professionally in the lives of transracial adoptees, and they offer strategies for navigating systemic racial inequalities while affirming the importance of black communities in the lives of transracial adoptive families.

In Their Voices is for parents, child-welfare providers, social workers, psychologists, educators, therapists, and adoptees from all backgrounds who seek clarity about this phenomenon. The author examines how social attitudes and federal policies concerning transracial adoption have changed over the last several decades. She also includes suggestions on how to revise transracial adoption policy to better reflect the needs of transracial adoptive families.

Perhaps most important, In Their Voices is packed with advice for parents who are invested in nurturing a positive self-image in their adopted children of color and the crucial perspectives those parents should consider when raising their children. It offers adoptees of color encouragement in overcoming discrimination and explains why a "race-neutral" environment, maintained by so many white parents, is not ideal for adoptees or their families.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780231172219
Publisher:	Columbia University Press
Publication date:	11/03/2015
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	985,235
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Rhonda M. Roorda, M.A., was adopted into a white family and raised with two nonadopted siblings. She is a national speaker on transracial adoption and is the recipient of the 2010 Judge John P. Steketee Adoption Hero Award from the Adoptive Family Support Network (MI). In 2017, Rhonda was awarded the Friend of Children and Youth Award from the North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC). With the late Rita J. Simon, she coauthored a landmark trilogy of books on transracial adoption (In Their Own Voices, In Their Parents' Voices, andIn Their Siblings' Voices). She works as a fund administrator at an educational advocacy organization in Lansing, Michigan.

Table of Contents

Foreword, by Leon W. Chestang
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Moving Beyond the Controversy of the Transracial Adoption of Black and Biracial Children
Part I. Jim Crow Era (1877–1954)
Evelyn Rhodes, great grandmother and matriarch
W. Wilson Goode Sr., first black mayor of Philadelphia (1984–92)
Cyril C. Pinder, mentor and former National Football League player
Part II. Civil Rights Era (1955–72)
Arthur E. McFarlane II, great grandson of W. E. B. Du Bois and advocate for the preservation of cultural heritage
Lora Kay (pseudonym), principal of a charter school in Washington, D.C.
Chester Jackson, professional adoption worker and adoptive father
Henry Allen, professor of sociology
Part III. Post–Civil Rights Era (1973–Present)
Vershawn A. Young, author and scholar
Michelle M. Hughes, adoption attorney and adoptive mother
Mahisha Dellinger, CEO and founder of Curls
Deneta Howland Sells, physician and civil rights advocate
Tabitha, child welfare bureau chief
Bryan Post, CEO of the Post Institute for Family-Centered Therapy and adoptee
Shilease Hofmann, spouse of a transracial adoptee
Chelsey Hines, foster care alumna and transracial adoptee
Demetrius Walker, entrepreneur and cofounder of the dN|BE Apparel
Conclusion
Afterword
Appendix: Multicultural Adoption Plan
Notes
References

What People are Saying About This

Gina M. Samuels

In the fourth installment of In Their Voices, Rhonda M. Roorda delivers the missing voices of black and biracial nonadopted adults on the topic of race, family, identity, and adoption. The transcribed interviews, laid bare without analysis, convey the keen insights of her participants, as well as pieces of her own story. In journeying through the reflections of persons who grew up during the Jim Crow era, the civil rights era, and the post–civil rights era, readers will come to realize that the identity work for any person who is racialized in our society is complex, context-tied, and a lifetime process. This book is not preachy or overly academic, and it is unique for its historically situated organizing of the interviews by generation. Thanks, Rhonda, for keeping the conversation of racial socialization and identity going within and beyond the adoption community!

Julia Scheeres

An important and frank book that deepens the conversation around transracial adoption. Roorda examines the history of transracial adoption in America and the challenges black adoptees face in white households, broaching topics that few dare talk about but many think about. Every transracial adoptive family should have this on their bookshelf.

Betsy Vonk

A straight-forward statement on the problem of developing positive racial identity for transracial adoptees. It provides a clear context for the problem, and a creative response through sixteen interviews with persons who have credibility to speak to the issue.

Phil Bertelsen

At a time when a postracial society remains an elusive fantasy, In Their Voices is indispensable. This book represents the dinner party I wish my parents had thrown—full of interesting African Americans whose wisdom I now know reflects my own experience. Whether formed through adoption or marriage, multiracial families looking for tools to raise healthy children of color will find Roorda's latest book to be a valuable resource.

Randall Kennedy

Roorda has made a major contribution to the study of transracial adoption by introducing into the scholarly discussion the impressions and memories of adoptees and others intimately associated with this important, albeit neglected, facet of American race relations. While forthrightly sharing her own views, she displays an impressive ability to elicit and document a wide array of beliefs and sentiments that have played important roles in shaping the contours of interracial adoption policy. In Their Voices is a fascinating and intelligently edited compilation, one that should receive a broad readership.

Editorial Reviews

Roorda's newest text on transracial adoption comes at a timely and proitious moment.... Highly recommended.

Choice

A deft interviewer.

Adoptive Families

This book should be required reading for all White Americans with plans to adopt Black children. It is an indispensable resource for navigating the often challenging and unpredictable terrain of childrearing across the color line.

PsycCritiques

In Their Voices is a historical lesson in transracial adoption that adoptive parents shouldn't miss. It also provides a deep look at the policy and practices currently in place in the child welfare and domestic adoption system – these issues should also be deeply considered by the social workers, agencies, and others working in the adoption community.

Adoption Today - Kim Phagan-Hansel

In the fourth installment of "In Their Voices," Roorda delivers the missing voice of black and biracial non-adopted adults on the topic of race, family, identity and adoption. The transcribed interviews, laid bare without analysis, convey the keen insights of her participants as well as pieces of her own story. In journeying through the reflections of persons who grew up during Jim Crow Era, Civil Rights Era, and Post-Civil Rights Era, readers will likely come to realize that the identity work for any person who is racialized in our society is complex, context-tied, and a lifetime process. This book is not preachy, nor overly academic, and unique for its historically situated organizing of the interviews by generation. Thanks Rhonda Roorda, for keeping the conversation of racial socialization and identity going within and beyond the adoption community!

Gina M. Samuels

In the fourth installment of "In Their Voices," Roorda delivers the missing voice of black and biracial non-adopted adults on the topic of race, family, identity and adoption. The transcribed interviews, laid bare without analysis, convey the keen insights of her participants as well as pieces of her own story. In journeying through the reflections of persons who grew up during Jim Crow Era, Civil Rights Era, and Post-Civil Rights Era, readers will likely come to realize that the identity work for any person who is racialized in our society is complex, context-tied, and a lifetime process. This book is not preachy, nor overly academic, and unique for its historically situated organizing of the interviews by generation. Thanks Rhonda Roorda, for keeping the conversation of racial socialization and identity going within and beyond the adoption community!

Gina Samuels

A straight-forward statement on the problem of developing positive racial identity for transracial adoptees. It provides a clear context for the problem, and a creative response through sixteen interviews with persons who have credibility to speak to the issue.

Betsy Vonk

At a time when a post-racial society remains an elusive fantasy--In Their Voices is indispensable. This book represents the dinner party I wish my parents had thrown--full of interesting African-Americans whose wisdom I now know reflects my own experience. Whether formed through adoption or marriage, multiracial families looking for tools to raise healthy children of color will find Rhonda Roorda's latest contribution to be a valuable resource.

Phil Bertelsen

An important and frank book that deepens the conversation around transracial adoption. Roorda examines the history of transracial adoption in America as well as the challenges black adoptees face in white households, broaching topics that few dare talk about but most think about. Every transracial adoptive family should have this on their bookshelf.

Julia Scheeres

Rhonda Roorda has made a major contribution to the study of transracial adoption by introducing into scholarly discussion the impressions and memories of adoptees and others intimately associated with this important, albeit neglected, facet of American race relations. While sharing forthrightly her own views, Roorda displays an impressive ability to elicit and document a wide array of beliefs and sentiments that have played important roles in shaping the contours of interracial adoption policy. In Their Voices is a fascinating compilation, intelligently edited, that will hopefully receive a broad readership.

Randall Kennedy

A fascinating read.... definitely on the recommended reading list.

Fostering Families

09/14/2015
Who better than Roorda, “proud of being both African American and the product of a white family,” to traverse the sometimes rocky terrain of transracial adoption? Roorda, whose three previous books (most recently, In Their Siblings’ Voices) centered on interviews with transracial adoptees and their family members, here speaks to 16 black Americans whose lives illuminate the practice in the eras of Jim Crow, civil rights, and the present day. The interviewees have varied roles: non-adoptees interviewed include a sociologist, a social worker, one adoptee’s great-grandmother, another adoptee’s wife, and adoptive parents, while the adoptees include a former NFL player, an entrepreneur, a charter school principal, and a former mayor of Philadelphia. They are of many ages, locations, and levels of education and income. The interviews are addressed especially to white adoptive parents of black and biracial children, but they are also relevant to non-adopted siblings, social workers, adoption agents, and therapists. Roorda’s expressed goal, “to prepare white adoptive parents to raise culturally aware, self-confident, and centered children of color,” is admirably served by the book’s diverse viewpoints. An introduction briefly critiques previous research, and an appendix lays out specific and practical guidelines for transcultural and transracial adoption. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly