Does Colorism Play a Part in the Adoption of Black Children?

March 8th, 2012 - By madamenoire

From theGrio.com.

African-American children make up 30 percent of the 500,000 children currently in the American foster care system, despite being only 14 percent of the U.S. population. On top of being over-represented, these youths are less frequently selected for adoption compared to other kids.

Could the skin tone of black children play a role in whether they are chosen — especially if the family considering them is black? Mardie Caldwell, founder and CEO of the Lifetime Adoption agency, says this is true — and that this bias is exclusive to African-Americans.

“We’ve found that many African-American families have definite preferences for the type of children they want, whether it’s newborns [or older children], and also in terms of their physical appearance,” Caldwell told theGrio. The author of seven books on the adoption process, including her latest, Called to Adoption, suggested that the finicky tastes of black families made private agencies reluctant to work with them.

“A lot of organizations and other adoption professionals have actually stopped doing African-American adoptions. We’re one of the few centers, Lifetime Adoptions, that does African-American and biracial adoptions, and we’re one of the largest in the United States,” she explained. “When families come to us they will actually give us preferences and say ‘we want to stick with a child that looks like us, and we’re lighter-skinned or we’re darker-skinned.’ It does make it difficult at times.”

By contrast, “if we have families that may be biracial — one partner is Caucasian and the other is African-American — we can come to them with any black child, and they’re more open,” Caldwell said. “The same is true with Caucasian families, which is why you’re seeing more Caucasians adopting children of color, because they really don’t care about the shade.”

Read the rest of the story at theGrio.com.

 

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  • http://www.danaseilhan.com Dana Seilhan

    Did you know that not looking like one’s adopters is a major psychological issue for some adopted children?  I doubt that’s what motivates people of any race seeking to adopt, when they seek out someone who looks like themselves, but it is something to consider.  One of the things non-adopted children take for granted is that they resemble their parents–a psychological construct sometimes called “mirroring.”

    I was raised by my stepmom and it grossed me out when she’d regale me with tales of how her friends had told her I looked just like her.  I look nothing like her.  It took me many years before I finally started thinking about my appearance and personality traits and which actual parent I might have gotten them from, because that was such a taboo subject for so long.

  • IllyPhilly

    No, it’s just that the foster care/adoption system want you to be “perfect” to adopt and when you don’t lie they turn you down. I’ve tried over and over to adopt and/or be a foster mother, but I’m currently not married and that’s a problem.

  • Nika

    What about whites that want red hair children or blue eyes. Black parents don’t have those options- most Black children have black hair and brown eyes- so skin shade takes the place

    • Scott_nina

       do you think that pointing fingers will solve the problem?

  • http://www.facebook.com/RosarioRed Rosario Stefania Scarsci

    We only have ourselves to blame.

  • emily

    how horrible