“In 2011, more than half of the children entering foster care in the U.S. were children of color.
Black or African American children are disproportionately more likely than other children to be reported, investigated, substantiated, and placed in foster care.
Twenty-seven percent of the children in foster care are African American, double the percent of African American children in the population in America.
Children of color, especially black children, and often American Indian children, face significant disparity within the child welfare system. They are more likely to have longer placements in out-of-home care, are less likely to receive comprehensive services, and are less likely to reunify with their families than white children.” (I can’t find the exact source of this quote, but it comes from this site which focuses on defending the rights of children.)
I had this one professor who always talked about her children. She talked about her four “homegrown” children as well as her four adopted children. From the way she described their relationships, she loved them all the same.
She is white. Some of her adopted children are not. She has a sister who could not conceive so she too opted to adopt. She told us that her mother loves all of their children, but when she introduces them to others she makes sure to differentiate between her biological grandchildren and adopted ones. It doesn’t bother her much, but her sister hates it.
Of all the children they adopted between the two of them, seven, none of them are Black. And according to her this was on purpose.
She said that she would love them just the same as she does the ones she birthed. She would have held them to the same standards as her other children without question. So I had to know why she had not adopted any Black kids because according to the stats, there’s a much larger pool.
The answer was simple, although she’d love them wholly, her mother wouldn’t.
Families like this can help us to shine the light on a problem we try desperately to ignore. Americans, on the whole, don’t like Black people.
Do you think I’m being too harsh when I say that?
Well… Let’s take the lesbian couple that made a big splash earlier this year when they sued a sperm bank because they got the wrong sperm. One of the partners was impregnated and they wanted the children to be biologically related to each other and for one to be related to each of the partners. So they contacted the bank so that the other partner could get impregnated with sperm from the same man, but they found out it had been mislabeled and the sperm they had received came from a Black man. According to what I’ve read, they totally love their biracial baby, but they are upset because 1. That’s not what they paid for. 2. Now they have to move because they know their rural town is not going to accept a Black child and they want to be around ppl who can help with things like her hair and culture…
#Pause you’re telling me that this close minded community accepts a lesbian couple, but will have problems with a biracial child?
Ok. Maybe you’re still not convinced.
You do know that the KKK still exists, right?
You do know that White people are more likely to use and possess illegal drugs, but people of color are more likely to be in prison for it?
You do know that White on White, Latino on Latino, any race on that race crime is just prevalent as Black on Black crime, right? But “Black on Black Crime” is the only one that is a term that you actually hear.
If you don’t believe me still just go on Facebook and read the comments on any article or video about race. The trolls will show you that racism is alive and thriving and that Black people are often the target.
Here’s an entire article dedicated to showing how White SUSPECTS are treated better by media than Black VICTIMS.
We have to stop denying the existence of the prevalence of negative thoughts about Black people. Our communities are suffering. Our country is suffering. Our children are suffering. Shine the light on this issue so that we can deal with it. Too many babies have been born into families that courts deem unfit for raising them. Let’s give them a fighting chance and adopt them. Give them a home. You’ve seen the horrifying statistics and when these kids age out of the system, the stats say that things only get worse for them. Be the change. Share the love. Adopt a child.
Claricha Explains It All 