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For as long as White people have used and continue to use women of color in the care of their children, you would think seeing a Black woman with a White child would be something like commonplace. In New York, it still is.
But I guess those rules don’t still apply in North Carolina or in Tennessee.
Because when Keia Jones-Baldwin was seen with her adopted son a White woman called the police.
According to TODAY.com, Jones-Baldwin and her husband Richardo were only planning on adopting older children. But then the couple learned of Princeton, a baby born to a drug-addicted mother. Princeton weighted just one pound at birth.
Jones-Baldwin said she bonded with him very quickly. And she started visiting him at the hospital every day. Initially, they brought Princeton into their home as a foster child. But last month the couple officially adopted him.
Jones-Baldwin said people stare at her family often. People ask if she’s his babysitter. And one person even asked why she didn’t let him stay with a White family.
Most shockingly is the fact that on two occasions people have called the police on Jones-Baldwin to report kidnapping.
Jones-Baldwin told TODAY Parents, “We were vacationing in Tennessee and we went to do an old time, Western photo shoot. The girl behind the camera would disappear and then come back. Finally she asked, ‘Is that your baby?’ I told her he was. Then she said, ‘I just took picture of this baby with his family two weeks ago.’”
Minutes later, the police arrived. Jones-Baldwin had to produce a letter showing that Princeton was in her custody and that she had permission to travel with him.
Last month, Jones-Baldwin pulled outside of a man’s house because she had a flat tire. “I knocked on his door to explain why I was on his grass. He called the police and said I stole my car and the baby.”
But Jones-Baldwin is not discouraged.
She’s created a Facebook page where she shared stories and images of blended, multiracial families.
She told TODAY, “I don’t look at family as blood. I look at family as love,” she said. “When Princeton came into our lives, he came into our hearts. Love conquers all.”
