Transracial parenting

Today Rob and I went to a transracial parenting workshop at Children's Home Society. The main speaker was Deb Reisner who is the program director of The Harambee Village. Deb is a terrific speaker who is the mother of five transracially adopted children . It was a very good program and I'm so glad that Rob and I were able to attend together. More that anywhere else, this is one area where we need to be on the same page for the sake of our child(ren).

One of the resources we learned about today was a PBS documentary about race. It's from 2003, but is still very relevant. Here's a link to the companion website (click on the work link). Part of what's included on the website are ten things everyone should know about race:

1. Race is a modern idea. Ancient societies, like the Greeks, did not divide people according to physical distinctions, but according to religion, status, class, even language. The English language didn't even have the word 'race' until it turns up in a 1508 poem by William Dunbar referring to a line of kings.
2. Race has no genetic basis. Not one characteristic, trait or even gene distinguishes all the members of one so-called race from all the members of another so-called race.
3. Human subspecies do not exist. Unlike many animals, modern humans simply haven't been around long enough or isolated enough to evolve into separate subspecies or races. Despite surface appearances, we are one of the most genetically similar of all species.
4. Skin color really is only skin deep. Most traits are inherited independently from one another. The genes influencing skin color have nothing to do with the genes influencing hair form, eye shape, blood type, musical talent, athletic ability or forms of intelligence. Knowing someone's skin color doesn't necessarily tell you anything else about him or her.
5. Most variation is within, not between, "races". Of the small amount of total human variation, 85% exists withing any local population, be they Italians, Kurds, Koreans or Cherokees. About 94% can be found within any continent. That means that two random Koreans may be as genetically different as a Korean and an Italian.
6. Slavery predates race. Throughout much of human history, societies have enslaved others, often as a result of conquest or war, even debt, but not because of physical characteristics or a belief in natural inferiority. Due to a unique set of historical circumstances, ours was the first slave system where all the slaves shared similar physical characteristics.
7. Race and freedom evolved together. The U.S. was founded on the radical new principle that "All men are created equal." But our early economy was based largely on slavery. How could this anomaly be rationalized? The new idea of race helped explain why some people could be denied the rights and freedoms that others took for granted.
8. Race justified social inequalities as natural. As the race idea evolved, white superiority became "common sense" in America. It justified not only slavery but also the extermination of Indians, exclusion of Asian immigrants, and the taking of Mexican lands by a nation that professed a belief in democracy. Racial practices were institutionalized within American government, laws and society.
9. Race isn't biological , but racism is still real. Race is a powerful social idea that gives people different access to opportunities and resources. Our government and social institutions have created advantages that disproportionately channel wealth, power and resources to white people. This affects everyone, whether we are aware of it or not.
10. Colorblindness will not end racism. Pretending race doesn't exist is not the same as creating equality. Race is more than stereotypes and individual prejudice. To combat racism, we need to identify and remedy social policies and institutional practices that advantage some groups at the expense of others.

The website has a lot more information. I encourage everyone to check it out. You may also be interested in http://www.understandingrace.org/ which a project of the American Anthropological Association and is related to the Race exhibit that was at our local science museum last Spring. I could have sworn that I wrote something about that at the time, but I can't seem to find the post.

One somewhat unsettling observation I made today was that in a room full of people only very few had Asian or Latin American children. Most of the parents in attendance had African American children. I'm hoping that has something to do with the timing of families moving through the processes of the agency hosting the event. I would not like to think that parents of Asian and Latin American children do not realize that their families are multiracial. Racisim and white privilege are very real, important issues that will affect our children and it is our responsibility to educate ourselves so that we can support and advocate for them.

Another resource is Anti-Racist Parent at http://www.antiracistparent.com/ if you haven't already discovered this site.