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  • Essay / Race and Kinship: Family and Identity Issues in Transracial Adoption

    Traditionally, kinship is associated with racial congruence, meaning that all members of a family are of the same race. It is the idea that all descendants must resemble their parents, this biological dimension which was mentioned earlier. This can create something of an identity crisis for children of biracial couples, as racial congruence creates a clear separation between being black and being white. Miscegenation is the phenomenon by which the marriage (or cohabitation) of people outside their own race is prohibited. In some countries, there are rules describing the use of eggs or sperm of congruent race when using new reproductive techniques. One of the most polarizing topics when it comes to racial parenting is transnational adoption, or adopting a child outside of one's own race. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay The most well-known organization of advocates of racially congruent adoption for children of African American descent is the National Association of Black Social Workers (NABSW). Their response to the placement of black and black/white biracial adoptees in white families is generally credited with initiating public debate around the best interests of black and black/white biracial children and the risks associated with transracial adoption in the development of racial and ethnic identity. (Miranda 2002). Initially, NABSW viewed transracial adoption as cultural genocide, both for individual adoptees and the black community. More recently, however, some have begun to view transracial adoption as a last resort after same-race placements proved impossible. The group highlights respect for children's African-American cultural heritage as its top priority, an issue that many foster families and adoptees can attest to. There appear to be three general themes common to biracial adoptees: navigating the politics of being an adoptive family and biraciality, finding kinship and community, and naming and claiming identities. In an interview, a mother of a mixed-race child says she is "a little nervous about what we're going to do when he starts to understand why someone approached us at Target and thanked us for saving babies, or when a woman, you know, walks down the grocery aisle and says, "What's it mixed with?" ". In her own testimony, Sonia Billadeau (2014) writes: “I grew up with the story that social workers considered me “too light” to be adopted by a black family and “too dark” for a white family. Which made me feel like I didn't belong anywhere except in a liberal, color-blind family that "rose above" racial designations. In a racially conscious and Eurocentric America, children who are part of a transracial adoption often find themselves lacking an identity and lacking a sense of being part of a particular kinship structure. This is where the anthropology of kinship and activist anthropology meet: how can we use our knowledge of modern kinship structures to improve the quality of life for biracial adoptees? This is yet another reason why kinship has become important in anthropology; There is enormous potential for the study of kinship to improve aspects of racism and inequality in America. Keep in mind: this is just one.