You’ve all read it: the article that pokes fun at, say, Angelina Jolie, for adopting a bunch of dark-skinned children because it’s “trendy.” Maybe you’ve read it on this very blog (if so, I’m sorry). Well, guess what? Adopting black babies is not actually trendy at all in America, because racism, and this is a huge problem for children in need of good homes.
According to an article published by The Huffington Post today, the number of adoptive families who insist on adopting a white baby is staggering. Many will even wait years for one, rather than adopt a child of a different race who needs a home right then. Here are the statistics (via Love Isn’t Enough):
88% would ‘accept’ a White baby
33% would ‘accept’ a South American or Hispanic baby
28% would ‘accept’ an Asian baby
14% would ‘accept’ a Black baby
These statistics are for adoptions within America; the numbers for transnational adoptions are even worse.
Author Kristen Howerton goes on to explain that since so many people check off “DNW black baby” on their forms, the ones who check off “I will take whatever color baby you give me, because I realize we are all the same species” are very likely to end up with a black child. So basically, Charlize Theron, Sandra Bullock, etc., are most likely not setting out to adopt a particular color of human because it’s “trendy” (if a major life decision can ever be described as “trendy”), but because they’re open to adopting a child of any race.
But even if they are setting out to adopt black kids, so what? THAT’S A GOOD THING. With the statistics being as abysmal as they are, it seems like change needs to happen. (We also need better socio-economic circumstances for the people who are giving up their babies for adoption in the first place, but that’s a different story.) Maybe if people see celebrities adopting kids who don’t look like them, the general population will be more inclined to do the same, and fewer kids will grow up in foster care. As has been repeated so many times before, love makes a family, and your adopted child is your child, whether he or she looks like you or not.
(Via HuffPost)
