A well-written article highlights the discomfort that some transracially adopted people have with Rachel Dolezal’s recent entry into the media spotlight.
Often it is those touched by adoption that are most familiar with the word transracial, as it is most commonly used within the context of an adoption scenario in which a family of one race adopts a child of a different race.
However, as a June 17th, 2015 article in the Washington Post alludes to, Rachel Dolezal brought the word “transracial” to the American public’s attention in a big way – and in a way that many transracially-adopted people do not find to be particularly helpful or beneficial. For example, check out these quotes from the article:
“You’re turning something that is a historical experience into something that’s almost being made a joke.” – Kimberly McKee, Assistant Director of the Korean American Adoptee Adoptive Parent Network, Assistant Professor, and an adult adoptee that was transracially adopted.
“I think she used her white privilege to slip into our space without owning the historical struggles that black folks have faced. It could never go the other way around.” – Angela Tucker, adoption advocate/blogger/educator, and an adult adoptee who was transracially adopted.
Adoptive parents that have adopted transracially owe it to themselves to give the Washington Post article a read, and adult adoptees touched by transracial adoption may find the article gives voices to some of the frustrations they’ve been feeling since Rachel Dolezal has come into the public’s consciousness. You can find the full article here: Rachel Dolezal draws ire of transracial adoptees