# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In seventh grade, I had a conversation with one of my white classmates about where we would like to live in the future. On the topic of racial diversity as a factor, the classmate glanced around at our Asian peers, leaned closer to me and said quietly, "I could never live here when I grow up. There's way too many Asian people. I would go crazy. You're probably going to leave too, right?"

I was confused by the implication. "You know I'm half Chinese, right?"

Their eyes widened in shock, and then embarrassment passed over their face. "Oh. You're Asian? There's no way. You look really white, I never would've guessed in a million years."

When I tell people I'm mixed race, it's often met with exclamations of disbelief and even denial. And it kind of makes sense. I have blue eyes and brown hair and at a glance, my appearance doesn't necessarily indicate that I am anything but white, even though I am both white and Asian. The last name "Jerolimov" doesn't exactly suggest any Asian heritage. I could probably go around gaslighting people and telling them that I'm only white, and nobody would really question it.

When I apply for colleges this fall, I technically select "white" instead of "other." Would that increase my chances of getting in? White women statistically more from affirmative action than people of color. I will likely never face discrimination in a public setting due to my appearance. The list of privileges goes on and on.

But even though my physical appearance is white, being Asian is an equally integral part of my identity. I often find that I can connect to my Asian peers, specifically those who are Chinese, more than my white peers because of the background we share.

And there are many things that make me different from people who are ancestrally white. Because my mother raised me speaking to me in Mandarin, (although I always respond in English), I have Mandarin proficiency that is almost impossible for non-native speakers to attain if they have not been exposed to the language from an early age. Although my first and last name indicate whiteness, my middle name, "彦迪," shows otherwise.

At the beginning of this year in my English class, we watched a explaining the difference between race, ethnicity and nationality, represented through jelly beans. "A person with multiple races will still ultimately belong to a racial category themselves, whether or not it's the same as their parents," the woman in the video explained as she divided jelly beans into different piles based on color. She explained that a cinnamon jelly bean and a cherry jelly bean, while hailing from different places, still belong to the same category: red. Essentially, she was saying that based on their appearance, everyone belongs to one specific racial category.

But people are more complex than jelly beans. Who gets to decide what race someone is? What about people who are very clearly mixed race? What about people who are generally assumed to be of a certain race, but have ethnic features that provoke questions about their ethnicity, such as "What are you?" What about people who look like one race to some people and one race to others? If the public cannot agree on whether a dress in ambiguous lighting is black and blue or white and gold, how can we expect public opinion to determine someone's race?

And if we do use public opinion to determine someone's race, whose voice holds more sway? Why should I listen to my white English teacher, whose video essentially dictates that I should choose a single racial category, instead of to my Asian American friends who say that I should refer to myself as mixed? My Chinese mother does not understand why I would ever refer to myself as white when that does not hold true for half of my ancestry. Shouldn't her opinion hold more weight?

Race is a social construct - there is no simple way to determine it. It was by white people with political, social and economic power as a way to uphold white supremacy. When I call myself white as a person with equal parts white and Asian ancestry, I erase my Asian features under the blanket of whiteness, contributing to racial homogenization and white supremacy. This just further expands the sphere of what is considered "white" and reinforces arbitrary racial categories.

Racial categories are constantly evolving . We are in a time in which the advent of social media allows us to expose ourselves to people of different cultures and ethnicities in a way that was not previously possible. As a result, the discussion and evolution of race is more prevalent than ever, and the discussion we have now and its conclusions will directly influence how we view race in the future. Forcing people of mixed ancestry to choose a race only reinforces white homogenization and the racial categories that we should be trying to dismantle.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Forcing mixed race people to choose one reinforces arbitrary racial categories

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Kelly McWilliams writes about being a light-skinned Black woman, the one time she intentionally passed for white and the grief she felt about that decision.

# data[].attributes.headline
My Story of Love and Loss as a Transracial Adoptee

# data[].attributes.subject
My Story of Love and Loss as a Transracial Adoptee

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Get a daily email featuring the latest talk, plus a quick mix of trending content.

By subscribing, you understand and agree that we will store, process and manage your personal information according to our Privacy Policy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Sara Jones: My story of love and loss as a transracial adoptee

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A mysterious tattoo on her forearm was all that linked Sara Jones, adopted as a child by white parents, to her South Korean origins. Searching for her birth family taught her that transracial adoption stories often frame new lives abroad as strokes of luck that call for endless gratitude, obscuring a far more complex reality.

# data[].attributes.headline
Transracial adoption: 'I've been accused of kidnapping my white child' 

# data[].attributes.subject
Transracial adoption: 'I've been accused of kidnapping my white child' 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Stories of transracial adoption most often feature white families adopting black and Asian children. When the opposite happens, and black and Asian parents adopt white children, officials and members of the public can become very suspicious.

Seven-year-old Johnny was about to lose it. He'd woken up in a sulk and it was only escalating as the day progressed. Now, at a diner in Charlotte, North Carolina, Peter could see Johnny arguing with another child in the play area. He had to act fast to get his foster son out of the restaurant before a loud tantrum would erupt. Taking the boy in his arms, Peter quickly paid the bill.

As he carried Johnny to their car, the child wriggled moodily in his embrace, and was still agitated as Peter put him down to open the car door.

A woman approached them, frowning.

"Where is this boy's mother?" she asked.

"I'm his father," Peter replied.

The woman took a step back and stood in front of Peter's car. She looked down at his number plate and took out her phone.

"Hello, police please," she said calmly down the phone. "Hey, there's a black man. I think he's kidnapping a little white kid."

Johnny suddenly became still, and looked up at Peter. Peter put his arm around his foster son.

"It's OK," he said to the boy.

On the Lonely Planet travel site, the dusty town of Kabale is described as "the kind of place most people get through as fast as possible". In Uganda, near the borders of Rwanda and DR Congo, it serves as a transit point on the route to a number of famous national parks in the vicinity.

For Peter, his hometown still holds painful memories.

It was an impoverished upbringing. As a child, eight members of his family slept on the hard floor of a two-bedroom hut.

Peter's mother stands outside the house where he grew up

"There wasn't much to hope for. If we had a meal, it was potatoes and soup," he says, "and if we were lucky we had beans."

Violence and alcoholism were a daily reality in Peter's life. To escape them, he would run to the homes of his aunts, who lived only metres away.

"On one hand there was a big extended family available, and I learned that it takes a village to raise a child," he says, "but it was chaotic."

At the age of 10, Peter decided he would rather be homeless. So, grabbing as much loose change as he could, he ran to the bus stop.

"Which one goes the furthest away?" he asked a woman who was waiting at the stop. She pointed to a bus, and although Peter couldn't read the sign, he boarded it. It was bound for Uganda's capital, 400km away.

When Peter disembarked in Kampala after almost a day of travelling, he headed to the market stalls that bordered the streets and asked the vendors if he could do work - any work - for food.

Jacques Masiko, right, took Peter off the streets and gave him an education

For the next couple of years, Peter lived on the streets. He made friends with other homeless boys and they shared their earnings or meals. Peter says he learned an invaluable life skill: to recognise kindness in other people at a glance.

One kind man was Jacques Masiko. He visited the market for his weekly shop, and he would buy Peter a hot meal before he left. After about a year, Mr Masiko asked Peter if he would like to be educated. Peter said yes, so Mr Masiko arranged for him to start at a local school.

After six months, seeing Peter thriving at his lessons, Mr Masiko and his family asked the boy to come and live with them. In Jacques Masiko, Peter found a man who treated him like a member of his family. Peter paid him back by excelling at school and eventually winning a scholarship to an American university.

A couple of decades later, Peter was in his early 40s and happily settled in the US. He was working for an NGO that would take donors to Uganda to help disadvantaged communities. It was on one such trip, when he saw a white family travelling with their adopted daughter, that Peter realised children in America sometimes needed a new home as badly as children in Uganda.

On his return to North Carolina, Peter went to a local foster agency and said that he would like to volunteer.

"Have you thought of becoming a foster parent?" the lady at the foster care office asked as she took down his details.

"I'm single though," Peter replied.

"So?" she responded, "There are plenty of boys in the care system looking for male role models, people who want to be a father figure in their life."

There was only one other single man who had signed up to be a foster parent in the state of North Carolina at the time.

When he filled out his forms, Peter assumed that he would automatically be matched with African American children. But he was shocked that the first child that came into his care was a five-year-old white boy.

"This was when I realised that all children needed a home, and colour should not be a factor for me," says Peter.

"I had two spare bedrooms, and I should home anyone who needed it.

"Just like Mr Masiko gave me a chance, I wanted to do this for other children."

Over the course of three years nine children stayed with Peter, using his home as a stopgap for a few months before returning to their families. They were black, Hispanic and white.

"One thing I wasn't prepared for was how hard it was when a child left," he says. "It's not something you can ever prepare for."

Peter left long gaps between the children so he could be emotionally available for the next one.

So when he got a call late on a Friday evening from the foster agency about an 11-year-old boy named Anthony who needed an urgent place to stay, Peter resisted.

"It had only been three days since the last child had left, so I said, 'No, I need at least two months.' But then they told me that this was an exceptional case, a tragic case, and they just needed to house him for the weekend until they could come up with a solution."

Reluctantly, Peter agreed and Anthony - a tall, pale, athletic boy with a mop of curly brown hair - was dropped off at his home at 3am. The next morning Anthony and Peter sat down for breakfast.

"You can call me Peter," he said to the boy.

"Can I call you Dad?" was Anthony's reply.

Peter was shocked. The two had barely spoken to each other. Although he didn't yet know Anthony's backstory, Peter felt instantly connected to him. The two spent the weekend cooking and talking. They visited the mall so Peter could buy him some clothes. They asked each other superficial questions: what food they liked, what kind of films they enjoyed.

"We were both trying to see how we would fit together."

On Monday, when the care worker came over, Peter learned Anthony's story.

He had been in the foster care system since the age of two, and had been adopted by a family when he was four.

But now, seven years later, Anthony's adoptive parents had abandoned him at a hospital.

"I couldn't believe it," says Peter.

"They never said goodbye, they never gave a reason why, and they never came back. It killed me. How could people do this?

"Anthony's life took me back to my childhood. This kid was like me at age 10 on the streets of Kampala, having nowhere to go. And so I turned to the social worker, and I said, 'You know what? I just need the paperwork to enable him go to school and we'll be fine.'"

Peter looked at Anthony and realised that the boy had perhaps shown great foresight.

"Remember, he'd called me 'Dad' right away. This kid knew I'd be his dad."

Anthony's adoptive parents had gone to the county court to sign over their rights to him, so he was available to be placed with a family.

"I think we both knew immediately that he would be staying with me permanently," Peter says. Within a year, Peter had formally adopted Anthony.

As they settled into their life together, Anthony wanted to hear all about his father's life in Uganda, says Peter, because now this was his heritage too. Anthony would help Peter prepare Ugandan dishes like katogo, a breakfast of diced cassava mixed with beans.

At school, Anthony began to relish introducing Peter to his friends.

"This is my dad," he would announce, enjoying the sometimes confused looks from his classmates.

But there have been challenging moments. On one holiday, airport security stopped Anthony to ask him where his parents were.

Anthony pointed Peter out to the officials, who immediately started carrying out a background check. Anthony became increasingly frustrated at what he saw as overt racism, but Peter calmed him down.

"I'm your dad and I love you, but people who look like me, we aren't always treated well," Peter said to Anthony, who was now 13. "Your job is not to get angry at the people who treat me this way, your job is to make sure you treat people who look like me with honour."

In spring of this year, the foster agency called Peter to see if he could temporarily care for a seven-year-old boy called Johnny (not his real name), who was in need of a foster family at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Johnny settled in as well as Anthony had, and following the example of his foster brother he too called him "Dad".

Johnny, with his straight blond hair and small pale frame, attracted even more suspicious glances when he was out with Peter.

Which was why Peter didn't feel surprised when the lady who saw them walk out of the restaurant called the police. It only took minutes for them to verify Peter was Johnny's guardian, but the event left the boy shaken.

Peter explained to him that this kind of thing was liable to occur, now and again, because he was black and Johnny was white.

A mother's story

Keia is constantly challenged by strangers to explain why she is bringing up a white son

Like Peter, Keia and her husband have adopted a white child, Princeton. They have also faced incomprehension and suspicion.

It was something Peter and Anthony had already talked about.

After the killing of George Floyd in May, they had a long and emotive conversation about Black Lives Matter. Peter asked Anthony to make sure he had his mobile phone ready if the police stopped them.

"As a black man I have 10 seconds to explain who I am to the police before it potentially escalates," Peter says.

"I always say to Anthony, 'If the police stop me, please pull up the phone and record right away.' Because I know he's my only witness, you know? And I have 10 seconds to save my life."

"I think he gets it. He knows that because we're in America and I look different to him, I'm going to be treated differently.

"This kind of tension and suspicion is not something a white parent faces when they adopt a black child."

According to Nicholas Zill, a research psychologist and a senior fellow for the Institute for Family Studies, white families in the US are much more likely than black families to adopt outside their race.

The latest available data, from 2016, show that only 1% of adoptions by black families were of white children - in 92% of cases they adopted black children. By contrast, 11% of adoptions by white families were of multiracial children, and 5% were of black children, Zill says.

"Currently it is still very rare to see black families adopting white children, much more so than the other way round and that may have to do with cultural biases that still exist within the US adoption system."

Last year British couple Sandeep and Reena Mander won approximately £120,000 in damages after a judge ruled they had been discriminated against by not being allowed to adopt a non-Asian origin child.

The couple said they had been told by the local adoption service to research adopting a child from India or Pakistan, and sued the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, in a case backed by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

"The law in the UK is very clear that race should not be a deciding factor in placing children," says Nick Hodson, partner at McAlister Family Law firm, who has been specialising in law relating to children for over 20 years.

"The Children and Families Act of 2014 removed the requirement for local councils to give due consideration to children's racial and cultural background when matching them with adopters. This was because historically BAME children were waiting much longer to be matched than white children."

More consideration is now given to the individual needs of the child, he says. But he he accepts it's possible that BAME parents, like the Manders, are still having difficulties.

"There may well be a disconnect with what the law says and what is happening on the ground," he says.

Peter says that while he has not struggled as a black carer within the North Carolina fostering system, adopting Anthony may have been easier than usual because of his age. Nicholas Zill adds that after the age of five, it is harder to place children in a permanent home.

Peter knows of other black families who were made to wait a long time because a child of the same race was not available.

"We don't live in an equal society," he says, "but I want to be visible to break down stereotypes. There are stereotypes of black men as absent fathers, as criminals, all this plays a part. So that is why I have been open about my parenting, and regularly post photos of me and the boys on Facebook and Instagram."

He's gained almost 100,000 followers on Instagram by documenting their day-to-day life - under the name Fosterdadflipper - and been featured on ABC's Good Morning America.

Peter has plans for the children after travel restrictions ease. He wants to take them to Uganda so they can see where their dad came from. He wants to build a relationship with Johnny's family so that the boy's transition back to his home is not a painful one. But despite some offers on his Instagram DMs, he has no desire to start a romantic relationship.

"My boys haven't had stable male figures in their life," Peter says. "They need me all to themselves right now, and so long as they do, I'll be there for them completely."

All photographs courtesy of Peter

Johnny's name has been changed to respect the wishes of his biological family

You may also be interested in:

The killing of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests across the world prompted many conversations that might never have happened before. Jasmine Cochran, 37, had one of them at the school where she teaches in China.

'How George Floyd's death changed my Chinese students'

Copyright 2023 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.

Beta Terms By using the Beta Site, you agree that such use is at your own risk and you know that the Beta Site may include known or unknown bugs or errors, that we have no obligation to make this Beta Site available with or without charge for any period of time, nor to make it available at all, and that nothing in these Beta Terms or your use of the Beta Site creates any employment relationship between you and us. The Beta Site is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis and we make no warranty to you of any kind, express or implied.

In case of conflict between these Beta Terms and the BBC Terms of Use these Beta Terms shall prevail.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Transracial adoption: 'I've been accused of kidnapping my white child'

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
How one man went from being a "street kid" in Uganda, to adopting a white child in the US.

# data[].attributes.headline
The Best Week of Their Lives - What Happened with One Family's Pop-Up Adoption

# data[].attributes.subject
The Best Week of Their Lives - What Happened with One Family's Pop-Up Adoption

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Mike, Ashley and Collin's Adoption Story

For some couples, the wait for a match can fly by in almost an instant. This was the case for Mike and Ashley. For them, the match call also meant the call that their son was already born.

"It could happen very quickly," says new father Mike.

Luckily, Mike and his wife Ashley were as prepared as they could be, having attended couple's counseling and completing a gender-neutral nursery in the nick of time.

Preparing for their Match

Mike and Ashley met through mutual friends and knew they were ready to have kids as soon as they married in 2008. After trying to have children for three years and pursuing a few fertility treatments, Ashley became pregnant at the beginning of 2011. But the couple lost the baby during the first trimester.

Ashley has friends who have adopted - and adoption was something they'd discussed during their infertility - so Mike and Ashley decided to pursue that parenthood journey. When the couple saw that American Adoptions, who they'd already heard good things about, was holding a seminar in November in McClean, Virginia, where Mike's company is based, they felt it was fate and drove from their Pennsylvania town to attend.

Soon after, Ashley and Mike officially began the adoption process with American Adoptions.

"We didn't even look at another adoption agency at all," Ashley says.

While the APQ and profile process can be strenuous, Ashley handled it all with her perfectionist tendencies. The couple went active at the beginning of February 2012, with the help of their Adoptive Family Coordinator Justin, Adoption Specialist Kathie and a home study worker, Michelle, based in Pennsylvania.

"Everything was so - I don't want to say easy - but it was so nice to know that we had three people right there," Ashley says.

Right after activation, Mike and Ashley made the decision to decorate a gender-neutral nursery.

"I said, 'Let's just paint and put a crib up,'" Ashley says. "Kathie said it could be week or a year, but Mike and I went shopping and got some furniture. We put the stroller together. I don't know what got into us, but that whole weekend, we got the room ready."

On the following Tuesday, Ashley called Kathie to give her an update. Just two days later on Thursday, Kathie called back to let the couple know they had a match.

"They asked us if we were OK with the match, and we went over everything. I was at work, and my husband was traveling for business," Ashley says. "They started by telling us he was full African-American and where his birth mother lived. They didn't tell us right away that he was born. And they were like, but the catch is, he's already here. He's a couple days old."

Mike and Ashley's son Collin had been born in Louisiana just a couple days earlier, on the very Tuesday that Ashley checked in with Kathie. They were shocked and overjoyed.

"Pretty much the rest of the day was a blur - so many things running through your mind," says Mike, who returned from his trip as soon as he could.

Nailing Down Logistics

The couple flew to New Orleans on Saturday morning after what Ashley calls "the longest day and a half ever."

"I was like, 'Oh, my gosh. My son's here. I just want to meet him. I just want to hold him,'" she says.

When the couple arrived, they met up with the social worker who took care of Collin until they arrived. Although they were warned to bring little clothes for Collin, who was born about five weeks early, Ashley says, "I did not realize how tiny he was. He was just barely five pounds."

Mike and Ashley were ecstatic at the sight of their child. Mike couldn't believe it, and Ashley says she never wanted to put Collin down. They spent about a week with Collin in New Orleans for ICPC.

"Looking back, that week was one of the best weeks of my life," Ashley says. "You want to come home and be with your family, but for Mike and Collin and I, it was just amazing. It was beautiful there, so we could go outside. And just to not have to share with him anybody but Mike and I was great."

But, shortly before leaving Louisiana, Ashley and Mike did have the opportunity to meet Collin's birth mother.

"She's a very nice person and was open to sharing information with us," Mike says. "She was happy that she picked us. If other adoptive parents have the opportunity to meet their child's birth parents, I think they should. It's kind of a glimpse into where he's coming from and gives some more insight."

The couple was able to take pictures of Collin with his birth mom and all together, too - which Mike and Ashley plan on sharing with their son later in life. They also received more information about Collin's four older biological siblings and say that he looks more and more like them all the time. Like Collin, they all have names beginning with C - and Mike and Ashley made a point of using the same convention with their adopted son.

Ashley also made sure to ask if there was anything Collin's birth mother wanted the couple to do with him at holidays, birthdays or just in general. The couple plans to stay in touch with Collin's birth family through pictures, letters and emails.

Adjusting to a New Reality

Like many Caucasian couples pursuing a transracial adoption, Mike and Ashley gave a lot of thought to their decision.

"We were open to any race of a child," Ashley says. "It never even came into our minds."

All the same, they decided to go to couple's therapy before adopting to talk things over and make sure their child would feel like part of the family and community as he grew up. Through this discussion, the couple learned that there were things they could do for Collin, like make efforts to embrace diversity in their community and make sure that he has friends of other races in school and on sports teams. The couple also has books about adoption and African-American children at home.

The couple also has the normal first-time parent jitters, but they have a helpful resource through a weekly visit from a parenting specialist.

"She sits on the floor with us, we play with Collin, and she goes over any questions I have," Ashley says. "With him being premature, we go over infant massage therapy, which helps him sleep better. It gives me some adult conversation and helps me learn a little bit more about the stages of his life and development, and I can share the information with Mike."

Even though their parenthood journey was unexpectedly and quickly thrust upon them once they chose adoption, now that things have slowed down, they're soaking up every moment with 3-month-old Collin.

"We take him out to dinner, even though he just stares at us," Ashley says. "Mike plays on a flag football league on Sundays, and so we'll bundle up Collin, and he can watch his dad play football. He just wants to see everything."

Ashley and Mike feel blessed to finally be parents and would definitely consider adopting again. Although Ashley admits it would be awesome to get pregnant someday, Mike and Ashley would also love for Collin to have a brother or sister that has the same ethnic background as him. But, for now, they're OK with one baby and the special story of how he came into their life.

"If you want to be a mom or a dad, just getting pregnant and having a baby isn't the only way to be a mom or dad. This is just amazing," Ashley says.

"It makes it even more special," Mike says.

Disclaimer
Information available through these links is the sole property of the companies and organizations listed therein. American Adoptions provides this information as a courtesy and is in no way responsible for its content or accuracy.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Best Week of Their Lives - What Happened with One Family's Pop-Up Adoption

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
For some couples, the wait for a match can fly by in almost an instant. For Mike and Ashley, this was true; the match call also meant their son was already born.

# data[].attributes.body
Definition: Confusion about one's role in society.

# data[].attributes.headline
Constantly need to explain their situation

# data[].attributes.subject
Constantly need to explain their situation

# data[].attributes.body
Transracial adoptees may need to constantly explain their family dynamics because people who do not know them will most likely assume that the parents/guardian will be the same race as the transracial adoptee.

# data[].attributes.headline
Give them a space to express their negative and positive emotions

# data[].attributes.subject
Give them a space to express their negative and positive emotions

# data[].attributes.body
Quotes such as

“Tell me more”

“What do you wish for?”

“Those feelings are normal.”

are phrases that might make the adoptee feel safe to express what they feel ("Sara Jones").

# data[].attributes.body
Every adoptee stories are different. Having an opened mind and listening to the transracial adoption stories helps adoptees feel heard ("Sara Jones").

# data[].attributes.headline
“Not comfortable in any group, including their own”

# data[].attributes.subject
“Not comfortable in any group, including their own”

# data[].attributes.body
Someone may not feel as if they're "enough" of a group or groups, so much so that it causes them to feel uncomfortable saying if they're a member of a group or groups of people, forcing a racially ambiguous image.

# data[].attributes.headline
Forces a false identity onto those who experience white passing

# data[].attributes.subject
Forces a false identity onto those who experience white passing

# data[].attributes.body
The racially ambiguous image is harmful as it not only denounces the race(s) someone is but allows others to create false identities for them that can hurt someone's perception of themselves.

# data[].attributes.body
The person may feel that they feel like they are not enough, with discrimination against them within their own culture can make them feel unwanted.

# data[].attributes.headline
Their personal identity begins to be questioned

# data[].attributes.subject
Their personal identity begins to be questioned

# data[].attributes.body
White passing and discrimination of such people can cause them to question who or what they are as they may feel like they're "too white" to be considered what they are. This can cause severe damage to not only their esteem but their way of thinking and lifestyle as well if nothing is done about it.

# data[].attributes.body
Many transracial adoptees don't notice the impact of the aggressions until later on. They may feel that it is better to ignore the comments because it is "normal" for them to hear such words.

Example: "You're English is so good!"

# data[].attributes.body
Do not assume anything about the student's family or experiences. You should always be aware that everything is not black and white because there are grey areas to everything around us.

# data[].attributes.body
Instead ask the transracial adoptee about their family. Go into a conversation with an opened mind.

# data[].attributes.body
Depression

“9 percent of all adopted Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research 281 children ages 2 and older have ever been diagnosed with depression compared to 4 percent of children in the general population” (“Suicidal Thoughts”).

Stress & Anxiety

Many transracial adoptees feel the need to fit in and be like their family members.

Trama

Every transracial adoptee have different stories about how they were raised and treated as someone who is different from their family.

Behavior problems

Many transracial adoptees may feel as though they are not heard or understood.

# data[].attributes.body
Educate those who don’t understand the harm of microaggressions

# data[].attributes.headline
Support students who are hurting from white passing effects

# data[].attributes.subject
Support students who are hurting from white passing effects

# data[].attributes.body
Encourage reaching out to reliable family and friends

# data[].attributes.headline
Attempt to avoid teaching derogatory ideas

# data[].attributes.subject
Attempt to avoid teaching derogatory ideas

# data[].attributes.body
Teach how to spot derogatory ideas and hold discussions on what derogatory ideas may be.

# data[].attributes.body
Transracial.Adoption.Definition

History of transracial adoption

Transracial Adoption: Statistics and Social Challenges | University of Nevada, Reno (unr.edu)

Identity crisis Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

Racial Identity and Transcultural Adoption - PMC (nih.gov)

Suicidal-Thoughts

Long-term effects of pre-adoptive risk on emotional and behavioral functioning in children adopted from foster care - ScienceDirect

Stories

Sara Jones: My story of love and loss as a transracial adoptee | TED Talk

American Adoptions - The Best Week of Their Lives - What Happened with One Family's Pop-Up Adoption

Transracial adoption: 'I've been accused of kidnapping my white child' (bbc.com)

# data[].attributes.body
White.Passing.Definition

White Passing News Article

White Passing Examples

Stories

Personal.Dealing.White.Passing

White passing – El Estoque

# data[].attributes.body
Someone can start feeling less attached to their actual race. They can question who they are and how they are portrayed to other people around them.