NPR interviewed one of our blog's writers, Dorothy Bode, about transracial adoption. You can listen to part one of this interview (7 min 44 sec) here. Dorothy did an excellent job! Have you listened to it yet? If not, you should. It's only about 7 minutes long.
The interview (on NPR's Day to Day news program) was prompted by the just-released Evan B Donaldson Adoption Institute report titled "Finding Families for African American Children: The Role of Race & Law in Adoption from Foster Care." In the report, the Institute discusses continuing obstacles to the adoption of African American children in the U.S. foster care system.
In the interview, Dorothy Bode discusses her own experiences as the (white) adoptive mother of six black and bi-racial children -- and three biological children.
Dorothy is humorous, articulate, and endearing. She talks about the decisions she and her husband have made to keep their children connected to African American culture (for example, moving from the suburbs into the inner-city and attending a church with three black or bi-racial pastors). She also talks about how her family discusses race in a frank way that works for everyone in the family (vanilla and chocolate).
Hearing the interview made me proud to be associated with Dorothy through the blog. She was a great representative of adoptive parents and of her faith.