Transracial adoption enlarges congregations
by Jane Greer
On June 1, twenty-five children gathered at the front of the sanctuary
at All Souls Church, Unitarian, in Washington D.C., for a dedication ceremony.
Half were children of color, and half of those were transracial adoptees.
The diversity among the children was a source of joy to parishioners,
many of whom have been working a long time to build a more inclusive congregation.
Transracial adoption is changing the face of Unitarian Universalist congregations
across the country. Although the adult population of Unitarian Universalist
churches is predominantly white, the religious education classrooms now
contain children with a variety of backgrounds, including a growing number
of transracial adoptees. While there are no statistics documenting the
number of transracial adoptees in Unitarian Universalist congregations,
the anecdotal evidence indicates that the number is growing, as is the
number of transracial adoptions in the United States as a whole.
All Souls, in downtown Washington, D.C., is just one of many congregations
experiencing a growth in transracial adoption among its congregants. All
Souls has a very diverse adult population, drawing members from both the
inner city and the suburbs. It was this diversity that attracted adoptive
mother Erin McVadon Albright to the congregation. Albright, the mother
of three adopted sons—two Mexican, and one Mexican American—was
immediately struck by the multicultural congregation. “At the first
service we attended, I remember looking around the congregation and realizing
that my kids would not be the only people of color.”
Albright is not the only adoptive parent drawn to All Souls because of
the diversity. Dave and Bill Kerlina moved from western Michigan to the
Washington area because they wanted their family, which includes two adopted
African American sons, to live in a multicultural environment. They were
attracted to All Souls because of the diverse congregation. “As
a white parent, I’m grateful to the All Souls congregation because
they can provide more insight into our children’s cultural background,”
says Dave Kerlina. The congregation also provides important role models
of color for his sons, he says. “The black role models they see
at church are different from those they see in the mainstream media. I
think it’s good for them to see successful people of all colors.”
River Road Unitarian Church in Bethesda, Maryland, also has many transracially
adopted childrent. Approximately fifteen of the 325 children enrolled
in the religious education program are transracial adoptees. The adult
congregation, unlike that of All Souls, is overwhelmingly white. Says
the Rev. Ginger Luke, minister of religious education, “Adoptive
families come here and when the parents walk into the RE classrooms, they’re
delighted to see children of all colors. They’re looking for people
who look like them.”
Transracial adoption began as a social phenomenon in the United States
in the 1950s with the adoption of Korean infants orphaned by the Korean
war. A new wave of adoptions started at the close of the Vietnam war,
when hundreds of Vietnamese orphans were sent to American adoptive homes.
Since then, adoption has spread to other countries where the United States
has not been involved in a war. Often, these countries are suffering from
widespread poverty or undergoing political or social upheaval.
International adoption brings with it moral complexities, says Luke.
Many parents struggle with the idea of taking children out of their own
culture. “People are trying to look at the bigger picture, not just
their own desire to have a child.” But, she adds, in many cases,
they’ve come to the conclusion that the children need more than
their own communities can provide. Adoption, in that case, can offer a
positive alternative for both parent and child.
Not all transracial adoptions take place abroad. Many occur in the U.S.
when a family adopts an American child of color. The number of these adoptions
has increased due to a shortage of available healthy white infants. However,
with the increasing number of biracial marriages, it is no longer unusual
to see a child with a parent of a different race.
The concept of family is also being enlarged by the growing number of
single adults and same-gender couples adopting children, all of whom were
previously discouraged or actively prevented from adopting. With the liberalization
of adoption laws in some states and countries, same-sex couples or singles
interested in adopting are now able to do so.
Domestic transracial adoption has not always been viewed favorably. In
1972, the National Association of Black Social Workers issued a statement
objecting to the adoption of black children by white families, claiming
that such placements would eventually lead to “cultural genocide.”
Black children, they feared, would grow up unprepared for the realities
of a racist society. Since then, the NABSW has revised its position, and
condones transracial adoption when black families are not available.
Transracial adoptions are helping to make the UUA more racially diverse.
Says Joseph Lyons, of the UUA’s Young Adult and Campus Ministry
Office, and himself a transracial adoptee, “If the UUA can stay
committed to young adults, churches will become diverse without even trying.”
Lyons is referring to the high attrition rate with UU youth in general,
and especially with youth of color. He adds, “The window of opportunity
for retention with white kids is larger that that with youth of color.”
The Rev. Meg Riley, director of the UUA’s Advocacy and Witness
Staff Group, and the adoptive mother of a Chinese child, is more cautious
in her outlook about the UUA’s diversification as a result of transracial
adoption. “My hope is that the growing number of transracially adopted
kids will motivate congregations to deal with antioppression and antiracism
issues,” she says. “My fear is that people will look at how
diverse our children are and say, ‘that’s enough.’”
Families thinking about transracial adoption need to consider carefully
the matter of race. James Coomes, a UU transracial adoptee who is a social
worker and consultant to adoptive parents, says there are two traps that
parents often fall into. The first is to believe that race doesn’t
matter, and the second is to talk about it too much. In the latter case,
a balance needs to be struck between a child’s ability to hear and
understand the race issue, and a parent’s need to talk about it.
Coomes says that the most successful transracially adoptive families approach
the matter with humility. “These are the families who admit they
don’t have all the answers but are willing to explore the issues.
It’s a learning process for both parent and child.”
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