In Their Own Voices: Transracial Adoptees Tell Their Stories

by Rhonda Roorda, Rita Simon

Overview

Nearly forty years after researchers first sought to determine the effects, if any, on children adopted by families whose racial or ethnic background differed from their own, the debate over transracial adoption continues. In this collection of interviews conducted with black and biracial young adults who were adopted by white parents, the authors present the personal stories of two dozen individuals who hail from a wide range of religious, economic, political, and professional backgrounds. How does the experience affect their racial and social identities, their choice of friends and marital partners, and their lifestyles? In addition to interviews, the book includes overviews of both the history and current legal status of transracial adoption.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780231506410
Publisher:	Columbia University Press
Publication date:	04/27/2000
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	480
Lexile:	900L (what's this?)
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

The late Rita J. Simon was University Professor in the School of Public Affairs and the Washington College of Law at American University.

Rhonda Roorda was adopted into a white family in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. She 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). She is coordinator of financial and support services at a nonprofit educational advocacy organization in Lansing, Michigan.

Table of Contents

Introduction
I: Argument, Rhetoric, and Data for and Against Transracial Adoption
Legal Status, History, and Review of Empirical Work
II: Transracial Adoptees Tell Their Stories
Introduction
Interviews
Donna Francis*
Jessica Pelton
Andrea
Kimberly Stapert
Shecara*
Laurie Goff
Chantel Tremitiere
Nicolle Tremitiere Yates
Rachel
Iris*
Aaliyah*
Rhonda Roorda
Reverend Keith J. Bigelow
Daniel Mennega
Tage Larsen
David T. Adams
Dan O'Brien
Seth D. Himrod
Lester Smith Sr.
Ned
Pete
Britton Perry
Taalib*
Chip
III: In Their Own Voices: Summary and Concluding Remarks

Editorial Reviews

This book is the story of every person who has lived in an environment in which he or she didn't quite fit.... Yet, while the stories in the book are universal, they are also deeply personal and incredibly touching. You cannot read this book without being changed.

Lifelines

Extremely informative and emotionally compelling.

Social Work in Health Care