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:	9780231118293
Publisher:	Columbia University Press
Publication date:	04/27/2000
Pages:	480
Product dimensions:	6.08(w) x 9.03(h) x 0.86(d)
Lexile:	900L (what's this?)
Age Range:	18 Years

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

What People are Saying About This

Barbara Davidson

In Their Own Voices sheds light on a very complex and controversial debate. The debate would be richer and wiser if those who seek to defend or condemn transracial adoption read this book first. It should be required reading for anyone who is thinking of adopting or has adopted a child from another race.

— Barbara Davidson, civil rights advocate and adoptive mother

Thomas Sowell

This much needed study brings hard facts and personal experiences to bear on an important subject too often dominated by dogmas and arrogance. It is a breath of fresh air in the fetid atmosphere of racial politics.

— Thomas Sowell, Stanford University

Former Senator Howard M. Metzenbaum

This book's suggestion that American families find it easier to adopt children from other countries than to adopt transracially within this country is saddening. This is particularly so when we see hundreds of black children moved from one foster home to another. Those of us who believe in transracial adoptions owe Ms. Simon and Ms. Roorda a continuing debt of gratitude.

— Former Senator Howard M. Metzenbaum, author of the Multiethnic Placement Act of 1994

Former Senator - Howard M. Metzenbaum

This book's suggestion that American families find it easier to adopt children from other countries than to adopt transracially within this country is saddening. This is particularly so when we see hundreds of black children moved from one foster home to another. Those of us who believe in transracial adoptions owe Ms. Simon and Ms. Roorda a continuing debt of gratitude.

Phil Bertelsen

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 Roorda's latest contribution to be a valuable resource.

Randall Kennedy

No one has contributed more useful empirical research on interracial adoption than Professor Rita Simon and her associates. In Their Own Voices is an important supplement to that scholarly tradition that will further illuminate one of the most interesting corners of race relations in American life. The stories told in this collection are fascinating, poignant, enlightening, inspiring. They deserve a broad audience.

— Randall Kennedy, Harvard Law School

Editorial Reviews

Extremely informative and emotionally compelling.

Social Work in Health Care

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

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 Roorda's latest contribution to be a valuable resource.

Phil Bertelsen