This week's discussion of racism is one that is of particular interest to me during this semester of my college career. I am in a Civil Rights Rhetoric/Public Address class in addition to the Adoption Ethics class that this blog is a part of. This perfectly illustrates to me the benefits of learning at a liberal arts college, where I can take two completely separate subjects that I'm learning about and begin to see how they might intertwine with one another.
This week's topic is transracial adoption. After reading the 'National Association of Black Social Worker's (NABSW) 1972 Position Statement on Trans-Racial Adoption', I begun to think about some of the topics we've covered in my other class. One stance that could be taken is that people are different and should be treated as such. The other is that we are all people and should be considered equal, without being kept separate in any way. This is what I would consider the 'color blind' way of thinking about things.
I see both sides of the issue. In Linda Faye Williams article, 'The Constraints of Race' she discusses white skin privilege. She claims, "The very gains from the civil rights 'revolution of the 1960s have been transformed in nearly Orwellian fashion into a weapon to be used against people of color in the new reconstruction of race and poverty. The new racism virtually hinges on the insistence that 'discrimination is illegal; everyone has equal rights, so what's the problem?'" (Williams, p93). People believe that because they aren't outrightly cruel or acting against other ethnic groups that it means they are not racist. However, American society continually perpetuates stereotypes that allow us to differentiate ourselves from one another based on appearance alone. Especially white people, since we haven't ever faced the same overwhelming prejudices in this country that other minority groups have. This is wrong and unfortunate but it is something that I feel is built into us all. We must consciously remind ourselves to act against our personal prejudices so that our society can inch towards complete acceptance. The Multi-Ethnic Placement Act which we read about from encyclopedia.adoption.com (http://encyclopedia.adoption.com/entry/Multiethnic-Placement-Act-MEPA/233/1.html) is one thing that I believe is positive in the realm of adoption ethics. I do believe that a person's background and culture should be acknowledged and learned about; but the adopted child can take that to the extent to which he or she wishes. One of the NABSW's statements about transracial adoption between white parents and black children is that the parents attempts to teach their adopted child how to deal with racism or the differences in their bodies is unnatural. To quote them exactly, "These actions highlight the unnatural character of trans racial adoption, giving rise to artificial conditions, logically lacking in substance. Superficialities convey nothing of worth and are more damaging than helpful." (http://pages.uoregon.edu/adoption/archive/NabswTRA.htm) I think this is a little insulting to the parent child relationship. A parents willingness to celebrate what makes their adopted child unique, while also loving them for who they are is very special and should not be called 'superficial' or made to seem demeaning in any way. There are other matters in which certain people who would not be able to provide the child with those things, should not adopt transracially... but that's a completely different matter.
Although racism is painful and the issue of 'microagressions' (Tuan & Shiao) may be a problem throughout life. In the end, hopefully the adopted child is going to grow up feeling loved for who they are and will be thankful for the life they have. Then, they can make the choice as to what they want to know about their backgrounds, as the empowered adoptee.
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