Fall 1996, Volume XII, Number 1 Family Law Transracial Adoption: A Community Conversation by Gail Leftwich One of a series of conversations in Cambridge, Massachusetts (under the ABA's National Conversation on American Pluralism, Identity and Law, funded in part by the NEH), addressed the issue of transracial/interracial adoption. It was held at the First Parish (Unitarian Universalist) in Cambridge. At the invitation of Conversation Leader Gail Leftwich, the discussion was led by Rev. Thomas Mikelson, Senior Minister of First Parish, who with his current wife (an immigration judge who also attended the conversation) had been involved in an unsuccessful custody case concerning his transracial adopted children from his first marriage. Whenever I teach courses which touch on social issues (e.g., "Contemporary Moral Issues," "Contemporary Social Philosophy") I stress the importance of detecting, articulating, and critiquing these philosophical presuppositions. Consider just two examples. The participants in the conversation included about 10 parents of adopted children with varying ethnic and cultural backgrounds, together with several scholars who have written about the issue of transracial adoption, including Professor Elizabeth Bartholet of Harvard Law School, who is also the parent of an adopted Chinese child. One issue the group initially confronted and returned to throughout the discussion was the challenge of how to describe what we were exploring -- was it transracial, interracial, transcultural, or biracial adoption, and what did the perceived difference associated with those terms signify? Indeed, the slipperiness of the group's hold on the words reflected the conflicting, and honestly confused, responses of the participants. What was apparent throughout the discussion was the commitment of the parents, several of whom had been adoptees, to the notion of transracial adoption as a good and valuable thing. Accompanying that unwavering commitment was the desire to deal responsibly with the issues of identity and racial and cultural heritage, the appropriate resolution of which the parents viewed as one of their chief obligations. Thus, white parents talked of seeking integrated neighborhoods in which to live and searching systematically for opportunities to allow their adopted black child to interact with other black children and adults, such as visits to black churches. Parents of adopted children with different cultural backgrounds described travel to foreign countries to expose their adopted child to the relevant country of birth and collecting artifacts to have in the home. And in the case of a parent of an adopted Native American child, there were ongoing visits to tribal settlements and an explicit incorporation of Native American traditions and language into the home, under the guidance of Native American elders. In response to probing about the source of the concern reflected in these actions, as opposed to simply raising the child as well as possible without an additional emphasis on racial or cultural factors, all parents spoke of the difficulties their adopted children would face outside the home. Racism and bigotry were assumed to be the dominant realities which would shape the adopted children's experiences in the world, and their parents were driven to provide their children with the tools the parents thought would prepare them to cope with the consequences. Most touching was the clear sense of relief communicated by all the parents at having an opportunity to share their fears and worries about their ability to prepare their adopted children adequately. Equally touching -- and affirming -- was the love and care all of the parents expressed for their "different" children, and their fundamental belief in the benefits of life in a multiracial/multicultural family, thanks to the presence of their adopted children. Gail Leftwich is Director of the Cambridge Forum, 3 Church Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, a civic organization dedicated to bringing people together to discuss social and political issues. Fall 1996 Issue Home | At Century's End | Philosophy & Family Law | Family Law & Policy Transracial Adoption | Transracial Adoption: Conversation | Book Review | Family Violence Teaching Gender Issues | Domestic Violence | Mini-Grant Awards Focus on Law Studies Home | Subscribe to Focus | Questions/Ordering Back Issues