So Only Certain Fokes Can Adopt Black Babies???
Charlize Theron showed the world a gorgeous young man by the name of Jackson not too long ago. He appeared to have already mastered the art of the People's Eyebrow, so needless to say, he'll handle the paparazzi well.
Sandra Bullock found herself a nice young man from New Orleans and named him Louis. For some reason, he too, has mastered the art of the eyebrow.
I'm starting to wonder if it's a BLACK baby thing because I swear my kids did it.
I am joking about the BLACK baby mean mug because yeah, all kids look mad until age two.
MOVING ON!
Over the last few months, if not years, I have heard and read a lot of Black people lamenting over the adoption of our babies by White parents. On Tumblr, some mixed/adopted kids stated a frustration at being "forced to live in their culture" and "made to assimilate". Blogs around the web state a distaste for the "White savior" coming to "save" our kids from a life of "fill in the blank". It incenses me to read the comments. I don't comment because many times, those people's opinions are so strong and deeply rooted that anything other than agreement incites a riot.
As a Black woman raised by my Black family, I can't say I've been there. I don't know what it's like to be raised in a neighborhood in which your skin doesn't match your neighbors'. What I DO know is that minority babies SELDOM GET ADOPTED! Let's look at some numbers (because I'm in college so I feel the need to cite what I used to formulate my opinion).
*In California, 31% of kids in foster care are white, while 69% were of minority backgrounds as of 2001.
*Nationally, 59% of kids in foster care are children of color...and that was from 2010.
*Tennessee has one of the highest rates of kids aging out of foster care, meaning they turn 18 and are HOMELESS...
If it wasn't for the fact I was hungry, I'd get some more stats...but I think you catch my drift.
When I see those numbers, I see a sobering reality for minority kids, which is that they may never find the stability that many kids are blessed to have. Even those who didn't have "stability" had a parent or two. I think of my daughter and how she tells people she has three dads. (No scandal here fokes...she has her biological dad, her stepdad (my husband) and my ex-boyfriend who I dated for almost three years when she was younger. No DNA tests and Jerry Springer shit here). My daughter has a large "family" that encompasses bloodlines and lovelines...which is a blessing.
So what about the kids who don't have either?
I think about all the minority kids in the US who are a part of a system until the age of 18, and I get angry. Which is why I hate when people go into this diatribe about White women adopting Black babies. So what if their cultures are different? If I had to choose a different culture over a culture of the system, you damn well believe I would prefer the different culture.
Another thing that grinds my gears is that I don't know of or see many instances in which Black people adopt the Black kids in the system. Some argue that the costs and fees to do so are out of the reach of many Black families. I can imagine it is...especially with adoption ranging from $5k to $40k. Let's be real, that's not very attainable for MANY families. But there are resources available for those who need them.
I get that there can be a culture shock for some kids. Some of the minority kids were born and raised in a rough environment. Many more may have been relinquished from birth. Regardless, landing in a mostly White (if not all White) neighborhood with all your fro-ed or braided glory can be a shock. There is worry that White people can't "handle" Black hair. Hell, I can't handle Black hair and I got two Black kids! AND I'm Black! LMAO! But then I see blogs like Chocolate Hair, Vanilla Care, and it reminds me that these parents are fully aware that in adopting a Black child, you have to LEARN the Black child.
I didn't mean to rant.
Well, yes I did.
I just hate when we as Black people get caught up in certain things yet offer no solutions. Have any of the Black women complaining offered suggestions to help a White mom with her daughter's hair? Has a Brother seen a young Black boy and offered to take him to a barber shop with the abilities to care for his hair? On a larger scale, why not address the large number of our kids in the system? Let's find out why so many of our kids are yanked from their homes and what we can do to get them back home IF the home is suitable.
I love to see a Black family united. However, if Charlize and Sandra were better moms for those Black babies than Charletta and CaSandra, then so be it. Yeah, yeah, yeah, they have money. But again, we have to deal with the root problems...how are these babies ending up in the system in the first place? What fundamentally failed..resulting in terminated parental rights?
In the meantime, I'm just thankful those kids have a home.
Sandra Bullock found herself a nice young man from New Orleans and named him Louis. For some reason, he too, has mastered the art of the eyebrow.
I'm starting to wonder if it's a BLACK baby thing because I swear my kids did it.
I am joking about the BLACK baby mean mug because yeah, all kids look mad until age two.
MOVING ON!
Over the last few months, if not years, I have heard and read a lot of Black people lamenting over the adoption of our babies by White parents. On Tumblr, some mixed/adopted kids stated a frustration at being "forced to live in their culture" and "made to assimilate". Blogs around the web state a distaste for the "White savior" coming to "save" our kids from a life of "fill in the blank". It incenses me to read the comments. I don't comment because many times, those people's opinions are so strong and deeply rooted that anything other than agreement incites a riot.
As a Black woman raised by my Black family, I can't say I've been there. I don't know what it's like to be raised in a neighborhood in which your skin doesn't match your neighbors'. What I DO know is that minority babies SELDOM GET ADOPTED! Let's look at some numbers (because I'm in college so I feel the need to cite what I used to formulate my opinion).
*In California, 31% of kids in foster care are white, while 69% were of minority backgrounds as of 2001.
*Nationally, 59% of kids in foster care are children of color...and that was from 2010.
*Tennessee has one of the highest rates of kids aging out of foster care, meaning they turn 18 and are HOMELESS...
If it wasn't for the fact I was hungry, I'd get some more stats...but I think you catch my drift.
When I see those numbers, I see a sobering reality for minority kids, which is that they may never find the stability that many kids are blessed to have. Even those who didn't have "stability" had a parent or two. I think of my daughter and how she tells people she has three dads. (No scandal here fokes...she has her biological dad, her stepdad (my husband) and my ex-boyfriend who I dated for almost three years when she was younger. No DNA tests and Jerry Springer shit here). My daughter has a large "family" that encompasses bloodlines and lovelines...which is a blessing.
So what about the kids who don't have either?
I think about all the minority kids in the US who are a part of a system until the age of 18, and I get angry. Which is why I hate when people go into this diatribe about White women adopting Black babies. So what if their cultures are different? If I had to choose a different culture over a culture of the system, you damn well believe I would prefer the different culture.
Another thing that grinds my gears is that I don't know of or see many instances in which Black people adopt the Black kids in the system. Some argue that the costs and fees to do so are out of the reach of many Black families. I can imagine it is...especially with adoption ranging from $5k to $40k. Let's be real, that's not very attainable for MANY families. But there are resources available for those who need them.
I get that there can be a culture shock for some kids. Some of the minority kids were born and raised in a rough environment. Many more may have been relinquished from birth. Regardless, landing in a mostly White (if not all White) neighborhood with all your fro-ed or braided glory can be a shock. There is worry that White people can't "handle" Black hair. Hell, I can't handle Black hair and I got two Black kids! AND I'm Black! LMAO! But then I see blogs like Chocolate Hair, Vanilla Care, and it reminds me that these parents are fully aware that in adopting a Black child, you have to LEARN the Black child.
I didn't mean to rant.
Well, yes I did.
I just hate when we as Black people get caught up in certain things yet offer no solutions. Have any of the Black women complaining offered suggestions to help a White mom with her daughter's hair? Has a Brother seen a young Black boy and offered to take him to a barber shop with the abilities to care for his hair? On a larger scale, why not address the large number of our kids in the system? Let's find out why so many of our kids are yanked from their homes and what we can do to get them back home IF the home is suitable.
I love to see a Black family united. However, if Charlize and Sandra were better moms for those Black babies than Charletta and CaSandra, then so be it. Yeah, yeah, yeah, they have money. But again, we have to deal with the root problems...how are these babies ending up in the system in the first place? What fundamentally failed..resulting in terminated parental rights?
In the meantime, I'm just thankful those kids have a home.
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