CNN/AP: Do whites need training before parenting black children?
This is about an issue dear to my heart (as 3 of my 5 siblings are adopted). I think the story raises some good issues. Here’s my take on this… Encouraging training to help adoptive parents to understand issues of raising a child of a different race is a good thing, and it certainly a good thing to encourage more adoptive parents to step up of the same race, but I’m worried that adding more requirements for adoption could create barriers to adoption (and I think there are already too many such barriers). It sounds like in this case though, the proposals on the table are more about getting rid of the obstacles to encouraging training, rather than creating more mandates.
I also would argue that if done right, inter-racial adoption can be a very positive thing. Race is important (I agree with those who argue that saying that we are color-blind is naive), but also think it is only one factor in one’s identity. Inter-racial adoptions I think can help to encourage all of us to see that we have much more in common than we think.
This post got me to thinking about races and how we in society seem to view them… many things seem to only be of concern when the race deals with color or is noticeably distinct. Understandable since there is a visual difference which, like anything that makes a person different from another, gets added attention positive and/or negative; sadly I think mostly negative when it comes to racial differences.
But when you think about it, it seems that certain races and cultural preservation is encouraged more and even held in a position of reverence compared to others. There is great pride and sensitivity in preserving certain mainstream, but still relatively minority, cultures like people of darker color while is frowned upon to take that same attention and pride to races of white people. You can be loud and proud but not if you are white. You can add labels to “American” but not if you are white. You can create race only events and groups but not if you are of a white race. If you are white you are lumped into all whites even though you might be just as much Scandinavian as the average black person in African.
There is the BET network, Black Miss American, Black only Magazines, etc… even a specific label “African American” rather than just “American”.
It’s understandable when you are the minority to cling to a self identity and create a culture apart that bands you together with people who are of the same. It’s comfortable and safe, but it doesn’t seem to help bring us together and do anything for racial unity. Even the label African American sets blacks apart from other Americans; or Mexican Americans apart from African Americans, whites and other races.
Oddly Asian Americans don’t seem to get any special attention in mainstream society; maybe they don’t desire it I don’t know.
White Americans seem to have to give up any racial identity either willingly, to identify or be labeled as simply a white person, or by pressure of being seen as having “white pride” and labeled a bigot. Everyone is a product of a mix of races even those who adhere to the label African American are no more African than I am Norwegian, yet they/we all choose to seperate them with a label.
I don’t know what any of that really means for the state of society and race relations but it’s something worth noticing if nothing else because in the end labels and racial and cultural inclusiveness continues to divide us.
Sadly sometimes even debating or discussing things like this gets the racist label thrown around to not have to deal with it.
To me it would be great If we could have pride in our heritage but and the end of the day all be simply “Americans” and all of us see our country as the United States; color of skin, labels, or racial distinctions wouldn’t keep us apart, it wouldnt matter.
Maybe even I am being naïve, but it seems to me that there is something very positive about viewing your neighbor as a fellow countryman and having us all be part of the same group, on the same team, united as a family. After all we live right next door. Imagine what we could do for each other, and for that matter the world if we didnt focus on our differences.