Interracial Adoptions

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Interracial Adoptions

Interracial Adoptions is when a family adopts a child of another race or culture. Traditionally adoption has been a relatively straight forward procedure. Children were mostly adopted by heterosexual, dual-parent households of the same race. But, America is changing. American's are becoming more tolerant of interracial adoptions, adoptions by single-parent families and adoptions by gay and lesbian couples. Adoptions is now more than a moral issue, it is now a ethnic issue also.

Adoptions date back to the early nineteenth century. "In 1851, Massachusetts passed a legislation that enabled parents of adopted children to have legal parental rights to their children." (Twohig, 1997). Before Massachusetts passed this legislation, a parent had to be genetically related to a child to have any legal rights to their children. "In 1881, a Michigan legislature passed a law that required judges to investigate and evaluate the families that wanted to adopt a child." (Twohig, 1997). Different legislation's basically set the stage for child rights in regards to adoption procedures.

The adoption process got pretty crazy as a result of the World Wars. Numerous children were left orphaned and homeless. These children were in desperate need of homes. Because of this, there was an uprising in adoptions. The more uprising that occurred, the more legislation regulated adoptions.

During the 1960's and 1970's another monumental shift changed the views of adoption. With unwed mothers lessening and the legalization of abortion by the 1973 Roe v. Wade trial, the number of healthy, white infants adoptees dropped. Even though there wasn't that many white babies to be adopted, African-American babies swa...

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...er Adoption," New York Times. April 13, 1995, sec. A16, col 1

Hunt, A. (1995). "The Republicans Seize the High Ground on Transracial Adoption," Wall Street Journal. March 9, 1995, sec. A19 col 3

Issac R. (1965). Adopting a child today. Harper & Row, p. 122-164

Neal, L. (1996). The Case Against Transracial Adoption. Regional Research Institute for Human Services, http://www.rtc.pdx.edu/fp/spring96/transrac.htm

Ramos, J. (1996). Intercultural Adoption. Regional Research Institute for Human Services, http://www.rtc.pdx.edu/fp/spring96/intercul.htm

Smith, D. (1994). Transracial and Transcultural Adoption. National Adoption Information Clearinghouse, http://www.adoption.com/library/articles/tranrace.shtml

Twohig, K. (1997). Interracial v. Traditional Adoptions. Can't find

http://www.sonoma.edu/Depts/AMCS/upstream/traditional

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