Shows
Adoptees OnDr. Sam and Sandria - Black to the Beginning253 Dr. Sam and Sandria We are thrilled to bring you two fellow podcasters today! Dr. Samantha Coleman and Sandria Washington are our guests from Black to the Beginning. They share their stories of being friends who just coincidentally found out a few years apart in adulthood that they also were both adopted. We talk about the lack of resources for same race black adoptees and how Dr. Sam and Sandria are working to build the community and supports they wish they had when they first found out they were adopted. Full Show Notes H...
2023-05-191h 00
Wandering Tree ®, LLC PodcastS2:E15 Connecting to the Adoptee Community with Jennifer D GhostonConnecting to the adoptee community can be very helpful to the adoptee in search and reunion. Several months ago, Host Lisa Ann sat down with Author and Podcaster Jennifer Dyan Ghoston to discuss the benefits of connection adoptee-to-adoptee. Their lived experiences spawned a creative shared episode, where they listed out a few of their favorite resources. If you are not familiar with Jennifer, she has been connected to the adoptee community for over a decade and is interested in hearing the personal stories of adoptees from all over the globe. The Truth So Far… is her memoir cap...
2022-08-1153 min
Once Upon A Time...In Adopteeland78. Lisa Ann: The "Wandering Tree" podcast and Connection with the Adoption CommunityRecommended resources by adoptee podcasters, Lisa Ann and Jennifer Dyan Books:Ann Fessler “The Girls Who Went Away”"The Gathering Place" - Emma Stevens"The Lies that Bind" - Laureen Pitman"Tree of Strangers" - Barbara Sumner "Searching for Mom: A Memoir" - Sara Easterly@Because Adoption (Mary Herbert) on InstagramAdoptee Voices Writing Group founded by Sara Easterly(Co-facilitators; Ridghaus, Alice Stephens, Kate Murphy and Jennifer Dyan Ghoston) www.adoptee-voices.comBetty Jean Lifton “Twice Born”Jean Stra...
2022-08-0953 min
And The Church Said...Black to the Beginning with Dr. Sam Coleman and Sandria WashingtonBlack to the Beginning Podcast hosts, Dr. Samantha Coleman and Sandria Washington, join the podcast today. Dr. Sam and Sandria share with us their lived experiences around finding out as adults they were adopted. They discuss the varied emotions they felt once they found out - such as validated, dejected, and traumatized. Dr. Sam and Sandria talk about how they started the podcast to give voice to adoptees as experts of their own lives. They share how the church can assist adoptees by giving opportunity to hear their voices and experiences. They also warn the chur...
2022-06-121h 09
The Black Adoption PodcastS3E39: "Who can I trust, at this point?" x Tonya HockadayFool me once (at 16 years old), shame on you. Fool me twice (at 32 years old),shame on, who? STILL YOU!!! At the crossroads of trust and deception is a conscious choice of transparency. When it comes to late discovery adoptees (LDA), they are often given excuses as to why the knowledge of their adoption status was withheld. For Tonya, this information was dismissed because her adoptive father, also an alcoholic, had shared the information. His substance abuse was used as the scapegoat to deny the truth. 16 years later, Tonya finds out that there were no lies told. Her mother...
2022-02-2552 min
The Black Adoption PodcastS3E38: "Pieces of Me" x J'ai Brown"Therapy is a real tool and resource." - J'ai Brown, Black Same Race AdopteeJ'ai Brown's parents struggled to conceive. Then, SURPRISE! Two years after adopting J'ai, they went on to conceive FIVE children (including a set of twins). A self-described "daddy's girl," J'ai has close relationships with her father and all of her siblings. The relationship with her mother, however, has been much more complicated, with childhood memories of her mother threatening to send her back or saying their family had five children instead of six.Being intentional and deliberate about working through the...
2022-02-111h 11
The Black Adoption PodcastS3E37: "That's Really My Mama" x Lisa and Nicholas Wright“She never forgot that she had a daughter out there somewhere.” – Lisa Wright, Black AdopteeDespite being born in the 60’s when closed adoptions were the norm, Lisa Wright’s progressive mother opted to be open and transparent with her daughter about her adoption status. Her goal was that her child would not feel disconnected, angry, or abandoned. While Lisa was able to detect distinct differences between, she and her family, she also was astutely aware the family doesn’t always mean DNA was involved. The fact that her mother had adopted and also fostered children, #TheBlackFamily constellatio...
2022-01-281h 08
The Black Adoption PodcastS3E36: "Long Lost Family" x Darius Colquitt"At 23, my world just blew up. It literally just blew up in my face." - Darius Colquitt, Black Late Discovery + Kinship Adoptee"I love you. I love you, too. How much? Til the world blow up...". That's how Darius Colquitt and his dad would communicate when Darius was younger. With one fateful Facebook message, Darius' world that included his loving parents and his cool-ass uncle who wore suits and listened to jazz blew ALL the way up. His uncle turned out to be his biological father and the man he knew as his dad was r...
2022-01-141h 10
The Black Adoption PodcastS3E35: "Kidnapped, Abandoned, and Baking Cookies" x Zahra Alabanza" Ain't no destination. We just keep journeying." – Zahra AlabanzaKinship care has been the method of choice when children are unable to reside with their biological parents. However, this is not always the best or DESIRED option, especially when children don’t know certain sides of their family and/or there is a perception that one’s family hasn’t shown up for them in times of need. This is the conundrum Zahra Alabanza found herself in at the age of 12, after being kidnapped by her father, abandoned, and spilt up from her siblings.Although there we...
2022-01-101h 00
The Black Adoption PodcastS3E34: "Selling Blessings" x Qadriyyah Safiyyah Mabel-Dorothy"Your creation was the best I could be for you." - Qadriyyah S. Mabel-DorothyListen, much like The South, African American birth mothers got something to say! Outcasts in their own right, Black women who choose adoption for their babies often live with shame, even when they believe their choice was the best they could do at the time. Following her divorce, Qadriyyah knew that she didn't want to have more children. God, however, had different plans, revealed to her in recurring dreams of a beautiful, Black baby boy. She knew she would have another baby and...
2021-12-241h 23
The Black Adoption PodcastS3E33: "Living in a Fog" x Sonia Morgan"I know who I am, but I just want to know, where it actually started." - Sonia MorganImagine finding a photo album that you’ve never seen before. The pictures are of you BUT the name on the book and photos is not your own. Hard to fathom, right? Our guest, Sonia Morgan lived this experience, and at age 27, her world is turned upside down when she confirms her lifelong feeling that “something’s not right.”Sonia grew up in a loving home with her parents and older sister where she has fond childhood memories...
2021-12-1754 min
The Black Adoption PodcastS3E32: "Who Am I Really?" x Damon Davis"I consider myself to be on the far end of the scale of good reunions." - Damon DavisEvery search and reunion story is unique, and Damon Davis knows this well. More than 150 adoptees have shared their stories on his popular "Who Am I Really? Podcast" and his own search and reunion stories (plural) made our hearts swell (you'll definitely want to read his memoir and be prepared for a good, ugly cry).Damon was raised by two Black parents and for most of his life he had no desire to search for his biological...
2021-12-071h 23
The Black Adoption PodcastS3E31: "Dear Black Girl: It (For Real) Takes a Village" x Tamara Winfrey-Harris"Tell your stories." - Tamara Winfrey-HarrisWelcome to Season 3 of The Black Adoption Podcast! It's an honor to be back and to kick things off with noted writer, storyteller, speaker and author, Tamara Winfrey-Harris. She is the best-selling author of Dear Black Girl: Letters From Your Sisters On Stepping Into Your Power and the recently re-released The Sisters Are Alright: Changing the Broken Narrative of Black Women in America (Second Edition). We're all about changing broken narratives with this podcast and in this conversation Tamara traces her writing journey and her passion behind telling authentic s...
2021-11-2649 min
The Black Adoption PodcastHAPPY 1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY, THE BLACK ADOPTION PODCAST! [BONUS EPISODE]Go, shawty, it's ya birthday!! On November 13, 2020 we launched Black to the Beginning: The Black Adoption Podcast and we're still here in these #BlackAdoption streets celebrating one year of dynamic stories, and the guests and listeners who make this work possible. This episode is a look back at a few standout moments, a look forward to Season 3 and a love letter to everyone who has supported in some way along the way. THANK YOU!Have you enjoyed our first year of The Black Adoption Podcast? Has it impacted you in any way? Leave us a review or a...
2021-11-1341 min
Truth's TableWe Gon’ Learn Today: Black Adoption with Sandria Washington & Dr. Samantha ColemanIn this episode, Ekemini and Christina sit down at the table with the hosts of Black to The Beginning podcast, Dr. Samantha Coleman and Sandria Washington.
Friends Dr. Samantha Coleman and Sandria Washington both discovered as adults they were adopted. Each quickly learned that Black adoption is common, but taboo to speak about in private or publicly. The voices of Black adoptees - especially those adopted by Black families - are rarely heard. If every birth has a story, why is no one telling ours?
In 2019, Dr. Sam and Sandria partnered to create Black to the Beginning, a multi-platform initiative...
2021-09-111h 02
The Black Adoption PodcastS2E15: "The Gift of Adoption" x Jini Thornton [SEASON 2 FINALE]"I need to fill this gap for my children." - Jini ThorntonJini Thornton was not pressed about being adopted or about someday finding her biological family. The New York native was raised in a loving and stable family, where adoption was normal. Jini grew up with cousins who were adopted and the family - particularly her mother who adopted Jini in the late 1960's as a single, Black woman - talked about adoption openly. It wasn't a thing.It wasn't until Jini's son expressed his need and desire to know that Jini moved forward...
2021-09-101h 02
The Black Adoption PodcastS2E14: "Say it Loud! We Are Rising" x Renecia Jackson"Adoptees are basically the eye of the storm." – Renecia JacksonAdoptees, in general, experience a great sense of loss from the moment they are born. Late discovery adoptees (LDA), however, have a unique experience in that they are living two different realities that are unbeknownst to them. While they may grow up with what feels like an intact family, there comes a fateful day when they learn that everything they’ve come to know and love – is smoke and mirrors.At the age of 22, Renecia Jackson finds out that she is adopted while in a heated...
2021-09-0650 min
The Black Adoption PodcastS2E13: "I Was Selected Not Expected" x Wendi Cherry"We're moving forward as The Sibs Nation. The parents will have to deal with their trauma." - Wendi Cherry"1989, the number, another summer" - a classic lyric from Public Enemy and the life-changing year Wendi Cherry met her first biological sibling. Wendi's sister was older, cooler, and one of NINE siblings that Wendi would eventually come to know. Five of "The Sibs" - the nickname of their siblings crew - were given away in secrecy and adoption while their birth parents stayed together and raised a family. Instead of focusing on the secondary rejection from h...
2021-08-141h 14
The Black Adoption PodcastS2E12: "Finding Joi is Possible" x Joi Fisher"I can’t live two lives."– Joi FisherYou can know that you were adopted at a very young age. Your adoptive parents can read to you ALL of the recommended children’s books, but this still doesn’t stop the stares, the playground gossip, or hushed conversations amongst family that one may overhear.It’s was in those moments that Joi realized that she was “special,” but not always in an endearing way. Rather, it was a term to excuse or explain her adoption status so that others may be able to digest what they understoo...
2021-08-071h 01
The Black Adoption PodcastS2E11: "Discovering My Truth" x Raye Thomas"Kids live with people who are not their parents and it's fine until it's actually not." - Raye"Am I adopted???" That's the question Raye grappled with when she stumbled across her first Black to the Beginning Instagram post. The content and stories from podcast guests resonated, but she wasn't adopted. Until she realized that she was. Informally.Raye was raised believing her grandmother was her mother. Meanwhile, the woman who came around simply known as Tasha was, in fact, her biological mother. The revelation opened up a Pandora's box of confusion. While m...
2021-07-3052 min
The Black Adoption PodcastS2E10: "Everyone Will Know it was God" x Sana Cotten“My mother was literally just the vessel that God used to get me here on this Earth.” – Sana CottenChildren are resilient, but they need, want, and hope for the love and security that mothers are expected to provide. When women, aka human beings, make different choices in their lives that impede their ability to care for their children, child protective agencies i.e. foster care step in to provide refuge. In the Black community, these systems are often frowned upon, but sometimes they make a way out of no way.At 8 years old, Sana found h...
2021-07-231h 00
The Black Adoption PodcastS2E9: "When Family Comes Calling" x Glodean Champion"Whoever wants to meet me is who I'll meet and whoever doesn't want to meet me, I'm okay with that." - Glodean ChampionBy the time of this episode's airing, Glodean Champion's life has already changed significantly - AGAIN! Usually when adoptee reunion stories are told it's from a place of longing - a far off, wishful hope - or they're told in the past tense. We spoke with Glodean as she was only a few weeks away from meeting biological family, including her father, for the first time. Don't worry, we already know a Pa...
2021-07-121h 01
The Black Adoption PodcastS2E8: "A Birthmother's Sacrifice for Love" x Kiami Merritt" You always have three choices - either parent, abortion, or adoption." – Kiami MerrittKiami chose adoption.The decision to place a child for adoption, is not one taken lightly by birthmothers, although society tends to shame them as if it was. Black birthmothers, in particular, also battle with their choice due to the continued belief that Black people don’t adopt and they certainly don’t relinquish their children. This back-and-forth battle with oneself is extremely stressful as one weighs the pros and cons of this ultimate sacrifice.In this episode, Kiami shares with u...
2021-07-0751 min
The Black Adoption PodcastS2E7: "In Reunion...The Rest of the Story You Didn't See" x Patrice Martin"This should have and could have at any moment taken me out, too, all the stuff that I talked to you about." - Patrice MartinBut God. There are more than two sides to a story when it comes to adoption, and when you hear Patrice Martin's story you'll understand that God is truly the Author and Finisher of her story. In Season 2 Episode 6 we introduced you to Patrice's sister, Sarah Murphy, and her diligent search for Patrice. The two sisters met for the first time on the TLC show, "Long Lost Family" (Season 6 Episode 8). I...
2021-06-251h 06
The Black Adoption PodcastS2E6: "Lost and Then Found" x Sarah Murphy“One day I would just wake up, like, let me look for my sister.” – Sarah MurphyHave you been touched by an Angel? If not, get ready to hear from one, as she takes us through one of THE MOST epic and fantastic voyages through identity and sisterhood that one could ever imagine.Sarah Murphy, after spending years in foster care, is reunited with her mother at 14 years of age, only to find out that she has a sister that she has never met. Suspicious and doubtful of this story, she delves into crates of newspa...
2021-06-181h 02
The Black Adoption PodcastS2E5: "Surviving Adoption & Colorism" x Dr. Pamela Phoenix"There's things in your family that you're just not going to be able to do anything about, because it's really not up to you. It's up to them to want to be a part of this healing, too, and everybody doesn't want to be a part of healing." - Dr. PhoenixIn radio, they call it dead air, but on this podcast we call it holding space. There is healing on the other side of the discomfort of listening to the silence. Thank you, Dr. Phoenix, for reminding us of that. Forty years ago at the age...
2021-06-041h 23
The Black Adoption PodcastS2E4 "The Secret of the Black Birthmother" x Courtney Cook“I’ll probably say this until my last breath, but adoption is one of the best decisions I've ever made.” – Courtney CookWhether or not we feel WORTHY in our lives, even as children, has an impact on the relationships we have, our ability to chase or discard our dreams, and the overall manner by which we make decisions. Unfortunately, Black birth mothers – young and more mature in age, have grappled with their worthiness and have had to make the life altering decision to place their children for adoption. Most have shared that they were at a crossroads...
2021-05-2844 min
The Black Adoption PodcastS2E3 "The Desire of My Heart" x Denise Hendricks“People are going to talk about you, regardless.” – Denise HendricksAll the single ladies! *cues Beyonce and hits an 8 count right quick* These days, it seems like coming into motherhood later in life - particularly as a Black, single woman - bothers folks more than becoming a mother too young. What in the Being Mary Jane is a woman to do? Denise Hendricks will be the first to tell you to listen to the desires of your heart and not to any negative energy around you. In her early 40s, Denise decided to pursue adoption as a si...
2021-05-2151 min
The Black Adoption PodcastS2E2 "A Bond with a Purpose" x Latonya Minor“I could never replace his mom no matter how good of a job that I think I'm doing” – Latonya MinorWas it luck? A chance encounter? Or simply God, that would not allow the connection between Latonya Minor and her nephew to be broken? While being raised by blood relatives is not always in the best interest of a child, this amazing testimony is a prime example of what love and “want to,” can do to change the trajectory of someone’s life.As a woman of faith, Tonya took a serious self-inventory of her life and mad...
2021-05-1431 min
The Black Adoption PodcastS2E1 "Kinship Adoption: It's Complicated" x Rev. Dr. Theresa Thames"All the time that I thought I was saving my nephew, he was saving me..." - Theresa ThamesShe get it from her mama. And her mama's mama. Theresa Thames (Rev. Dr. Theresa Thames, put some respek on her name!) comes from a lineage of Black women deeply rooted in Biloxi, Mississippi who modeled taking care of our own. In this Season 2 launch episode, Theresa takes us back to the roots of Black Adoption, weaving with grace the interconnected beauty and complexity of three generations of kinship care.Theresa's mother took pride in being an...
2021-05-0744 min
The Black Adoption PodcastS1E14: REEL Talk - "Jumping the Broom" x Dr. Sam and Sandria“End, Scene.”Join your self-proclaimed movie critics as we dissect and reflect upon the 2011 romantic comedy, “Jumping the Broom.” For all the laughs and giggles at some very cute moments, the topic of adoption finds itself inserted at a very critical time, leaving the characters and viewing audience feeling “sorry” for the protagonist (Paula Patton’s character). Why is that? It’s as if the word “adoption,” itself is the Scarlet letter.This movie takes us through ALL things “Black to Beginning,” – Black family, Black love, Black adoption, Black traditions, and Black culture. We encourage conversations around all o...
2021-02-2638 minThe Black Adoption PodcastS1E13: "I wish I was just adopted by Black people" x Robin Alexander“...another story needs to be told about transracial adoptees." - Robin AlexanderThe Black adoptee experience is not monolithic and the same can be said about the Black transracial adoptee (BTRA) experience. Robin Alexander recalls always searching for who and what she was, never feeling at home in the "Indian, Mexican, French, and Spanish" origin story her white parents told her and anybody who would listen. There was a piece missing from her biracial identity and an inner knowing confirmed for her that the missing piece was hiding in Blackness. There was no turning back for...
2021-02-201h 09The Black Adoption PodcastS1E12: “Even now I'm grieving the losses." x Maya Holmes“I’ve always thought of myself as an adoptee…that’s the main part of my identity.” – Maya HolmesMaya’s birth mother was deliberate in ensuring that her adoptive parents were Black. She recognized that it was necessary for her child to see representation of herself within her family. As Maya matured and the time came time to really dig deep into what it meant to be adopted, there wasn’t a community that supported that need to explore the intersections of all aspects of her identity. It left her asking “Where is the community for Black adoptees?”
2021-02-1233 minThe Black Adoption PodcastS1E11: "You don't want to sacrifice yourself trying to be accepted" x Christina Lopez-Pegg"I love my story...Maybe this is something that can make somebody think or help somebody." – Christina Lopez-PeggAs a biracial adoptee, born to a white mother and a Black father, Christina Lopez-Pegg was taught from a young age that she didn't have to choose a side. Instead, she could choose HERSELF. Christina gives thanks that, "my parents always raised me to be me...I never felt that I needed to pick Black or white." Raised by an African-American mother and a Black and Hispanic father, the mantra that was passed on to Christina and her siblings wa...
2021-02-0547 minThe Black Adoption PodcastS1E10: "Sometimes, as women, we do dumb shit." x Chana Timms“You don't have to walk in shame anymore. You don't have to feel guilty.” – Chana TimmsHumor us, for a minute, by singing along with Bobby Caldwell’s song - What You Won’t Do for Love.”What you won't do, do for love You've tried everything but you won't give up In my world, only you make me do For love what I would not do Make me do for love what I would not do.Chana’s faith and unwavering love for her daughter reinforces that a child being gon...
2021-01-3058 minThe Black Adoption PodcastS1E9: "Our bodies are policed as Black people" x Regina Townsend, Founder of Broken Brown Egg"This is bigger than babies.” – Regina TownsendLittle Black Girls are told to follow the blueprint: don't have sex, focus on your education, then focus on your career, get married, and THEN start a family. Easy! We're taught to control our fass-tailed bodies, inundated with messages about hypersexual and hyper-fertile Black teenage mothers. But no one tells us about how our bodies work; about fibroids and miscarriages and infertility. No one told Regina Townsend. No one told her that she could follow the blueprint perfectly and it would result in her feeling imperfect. Broken, in fact. Reg...
2021-01-221h 06The Black Adoption PodcastS1E8: "They know...That I know... What it really is... " x Jonathan Funderburk"Keep it real…” – Jonathan FunderburkAs simple as these three words may seem, keepin’ it 100% can have lasting effects on adoptees. Advocates of open adoption believe informing children about their adoption status as soon as possible is in the best interest of the child. However, Jonathan Funderburk shares that for him, ignorance may have been bliss.Jonathan grew up in a Black family alongside his older sister, who was also adopted. His community and church home were anomalies, in that the Black Adoption Experience was not a secret or shameful. In fact, it was commonplace! This did...
2021-01-1548 minThe Black Adoption PodcastS1E7: " This is what you damn well signed up for " x Trey Anthony, Author of Black Girl in Love (with Herself)"Falling apart is such a level of vulnerability that I think, as Black women, we have never been given permission to have." - Trey AnthonyWhen Trey Anthony got "the call" to bring home her son - a dream come true after several heartbreaking adoption attempts - she never imagined her dream would include the love of her life ending their five year relationship (over text!), nearly ending up homeless, and raising her beautiful baby boy as a first time mother solo (and in a damn pandemic!). She wasn't prepared for the postpartum depression, or t...
2021-01-0857 minThe Black Adoption PodcastS1E6: "I think I've learned to live with lies" x Ami McReynolds"Don't go digging because it's only going to cause problems." – Ami McReynoldsOne lie, two lies, three lies, FOUR! Since the age of seven, the precocious and inquisitive Ami McReynolds could sense that she had a story that was not being told to her. Deep in the crevices of linen closets and hidden baby books were the roadmap to her past, her truth, as an individual that was adopted.Like most children, when we have questions, trust is placed in our caregivers to provide us with the answers we need. Because we don’t know any...
2020-12-1846 minThe Black Adoption PodcastS1E5: "I will not value one of them over the next. They both are my moms" x Quandra Boston"If my mother lit me on fire, I would still want my mother...my connection to my mom cannot be broken." - Quandra Boston/Ashley PickensIt's one thing to believe in theory that the mother and child bond can never be broken, but it's another when missing links feel so deeply the chain from which they came. Since the age of 3, Quandra Boston has been asking, "Where's my mommy?" She's felt her presence and smelled her scent since she was a little girl and always believed that one day her mommy was coming back for her...
2020-12-1149 minThe Black Adoption PodcastS1E4: "You should be able to say, fuck. Shit. Goddamn. I'm tired." x Christopher LeMark"Since the age of 15, I have allowed unresolved trauma to run my life." – Christopher LeMarkChristopher LeMark takes us on his journey to manhood, allowing us to feel the struggle and heartache of a little boy that simply wanted to be seen and loved. We gain a glimpse into the child welfare system that so many Black people are fearful of. It is this very fear that has served as the catalyst for Black families informally adopting their kin. However, blood relatives may not always be in the child’s best interest. At the hands of his own f...
2020-12-041h 11The Black Adoption PodcastS1E3: "God told us adoption is not plan B" x Darren & Chantal Smith"We're two Black people that love each other, wanted a family, and this was the way God chose us to have our family. That's it." - Chantal SmithNormalizing and advocating for Black people formally adopting is a ministry for Darren and Chantal Smith. The two began their relationship as high school sweethearts and now 14 years into their marriage they are the proud parents to a daughter and twin boys through agency adoption. In this episode, The Smiths share why despite challenges with infertility, adoption was never their plan B; their pre- and post-adoption struggles; being the "...
2020-11-2750 minThe Black Adoption PodcastS1E2: “I am healing from the racial erasure that happened to me.” x Torie DiMartile"…But, I’m Italian." – Torie DiMartile in her 16-year old voiceBeing biracial and adopted transracially lends itself to complex struggles, specifically when it comes to racial identity and belonging. It’s not easy to wake up each day and not see yourself reflected in the faces of your parents or your community. For some adoptees, this can be extremely damaging, as they attempt to make themselves more digestible to White people by distancing themselves from Blackness. Torie speaks very candidly about feeling as if she were fake with a stamp on her head that read “counterfeit.” As she has b...
2020-11-201h 16The Black Adoption PodcastS1E1: "You're gonna adopt a stranger's child?" x The Cradle's Nijole Yutkowitz & Kikanza Harris“Typically in our culture we value blood ties..." - Nijole YutkowitzBlack people don't adopt. Adoption is too expensive. What if something is wrong with the child? Can I love a stranger's child? There is so much fear, stigma, shame, and straight up misinformation about Black adoption that we had to kick off Season 1 with experts who go hard for Black children and Black families daily. The Cradle, based in Evanston, IL, is one of the nation's foremost adoption agencies. Nijole Yutkowitz (Vice President of Community Outreach & Education) and Kikanza Harris (Community Engagement Manager) oversee programming and outreach for The Sayers Cent...
2020-11-131h 06The Black Adoption PodcastIntroducing Black to the Beginning: The Black Adoption Podcast!Heeey! Welcome to Black to the Beginning: The Black Adoption Podcast, co-hosted by Dr. Samantha Coleman and Sandria Washington! Season 1 features conversations with Black adoptees, agency professionals, fertility experts, single and married adoptive parents and others - all speaking candidly about the hurts, fears, joys and hopes of Black adoption. Turn us up in your headphones, it's ON!--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/black-to-the-beginning/support
2020-11-0900 min
A Fostered Life PodcastEp 24: Dr. Samantha Coleman and Sandria Washington Take Us "Black to the Beginning"
Special Thanks to my Patrons for supporting A Fostered Life!
Episode 24
In the non-adoptive world, where people only know of adoption but have not actually lived as part of an adoption story, there is often a romanticization of adoption. Adoption is often sentimentalized and treated as a “happily ever after” story. But anyone living inside of an adoption story knows that adoption is a really complex topic with multiple lifelong ramifications, and there is no single “Adoption Narrative.” And while there is a growing body of work that focuses on transracial adoption and amplifyi...
2020-07-1549 min