Date of Award

2-2023

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

Department

Seminary

First Advisor

Karen Claassen, DMin

Second Advisor

Nick Martineau, DMin

Third Advisor

Leonard I. Sweet, PhD

Abstract

Transracial families are part of our society whether people like it or not. There are not enough adoptive families of any kind, and children need support, love, and acceptance. Last August the Census Bureau reported that the number of non-Hispanic Americans who identify as multiracial jumped by 127 percent over the last decade, and for people who identified as Hispanic, the increase was even higher. Also, from 2017 to 2019, half of all U.S. adoptions were of non-white children, and half of these adoptions were transracial. The result? An increase in transracial adoptions in the United States and the subsequent increase in transracial families. The challenges facing adoptive parents are well documented. The challenges particular to transracial adoption are the focus of this thesis. They are safety and survival, lack of belonging, family vs. ethnicity, denying oneself for the sake of the other along with codes and expectations, hair and skin care, hygiene, connections to birth parents and families, and acceptance in the culture. Interspersed in this dissertation are personal stories and challenges of my own transracial family, established in 2002, and which now includes 10 individuals with ethnicities of Black, white, African-Caribbean, white British, Korean, Cuban, and Cherokee Nation. At the root of all these challenges is the question of possible alternatives besides placing children with parents of a different race/ethnicity. Section Two gives insight into two other possible outcomes for Black and multiracial babies and children. Foster care, also known as out-of-home care, is provided by States for infants and children who cannot live with their birth parents. The second is a situation called Kinship care. This refers to the care of children by relatives or in some cases, close family friends known as fictive kin. Section three offers a tool in the form of a podcast through which transracial families and others share fears, concerns, daily life, support, and victories to build a reality of acceptance, support, and trust within the culture of the primarily white church and society at large. Sections four and five detail how to set up a studio, find the most productive time to reach an audience, secure professional and financial resources, determine topics, and explore the best equipment and technology. Lastly is the invitation to become part of the tool, to sit round the table for in-person or on-your-phone discussion, and to bring and share what you have experienced, learned, questioned, and known.

Download

Share

COinS