Talking about Race – Language and Strategies

Please find some of our best articles, essays and reviews on this topic.

For more topics and articles, check out our full listing on our Resource Library.

Pact is a thought leader about the intersection of adoption and race, which means we advocate for honesty and authenticity in matters of race. We believe that adopted children’s and adults’ connections to birth heritage should be respected and maintained. We feel it is essential to educate ourselves and others about the pervasive power of race and racism as they affect our children, our families, ourselves, and our society. These articles explore race, racism, racial identity, and how to be an ally to people of color, as well as family stories of adoption in the context of race.

If you prefer, you can use our Library Search Tool to search by title or author. All the material in this section is copyrighted by Pact; for permission to reproduce or re-post it, please contact us at education@pactadopt.org.

• "Racially Conscientious" - Parenting In A "Colorblind" Society
  by Terry Keleher (2011 | 124 KB | )
  
• A Bill of Rights for Mixed Folks?
  by Marilyn Blake Dramé (1996 | 125 KB | )
  
• A World of Hurt Even a Mother Can’t Soothe
  by Meri Nana-Ama Danquah (1997 | 118 KB | )
  
• Address to Teachers - An African American Parent’s Perspective
  by Kimberly Rockwell (1997 | 113 KB | )
  
• ADHD and African American Children
  by Willie B. Garrett (1996 | 96 KB | )
  
• Adopted Person Profile - Race And My Family
  by Liza Steinberg (1997 | 96 KB | )
  
• Adoption, Race and Where’s the Hairbrush?
  by Lisa Lerner (2008 | 117 KB | )
  
• Adoption, Racism and "The Prophet"
  by Eloise Rivera (1997 | 92 KB | )
  
• All of Nathan’s Family
  by Pamela, Barbara, Suzanne & John (1997 | 91 KB | )
  
• An Entrustment Journey
  by Fran Cooper Materra (1995 | 312 KB | )
  
• An Opposing View - Biracial Census Status Would Hurt Our Status
  by Joe Madison (1998 | 96 KB | )
  
• …and the Beat Goes On
  by Gail Steinberg (1999 | 277 KB | )
  
• Ask Pact: Black Hair and the Politics of Beauty
  by Lisa Marie Rollins (2008 | 380 KB | )
  
• Ask Pact: Hair Is an Adoption Issue
  by Pact (2005 | 467 KB | )
  
• Ask Pact: Hip Hop
  by Pact (2006 | 341 KB | )
  
• Ask Pact: Mom, What?s the N-word?
  from Pact Chat Group (2008 | 168 KB | )
  
• Ask Pact: My Child Wants To Be White
  by Pact (2007 | 101 KB | )
  
• Ask Pact: Our Son Doesn’t Mind Being The Only Only
  by Lisa Marie Rollins (2008 | 104 KB | )
  
• Ask Pact: Responding to Racist Comments from Kids
  by Pact Campers Listserv (2008 | 356 KB | )
  
• Ask Pact: Taking Risks and Making Connections
  by Martha Rynberg (2012 | 127 KB | )
  
• Ask Pact: To Move or Not To Move?
  by Beth Hall (2009 | 60 KB | )
  
• Ask Pact: Transracial Adoption, Laying Our Cards On the Table
  (2011 | 120 KB | )
  
• Baby, We Were Meant for Each Other: In Praise of Adoption
  by Scott Simon, Reviewed by Aaryn Belfer (2012 | 113 KB | )
  
• Being An Immigrant to the United States
  by Ana Bagtas (1996 | 119 KB | )
  
• Beyond Black History Month: An Interview with Michael Thompson
  (2011 | 119 KB | )
  
• Billowing Forth
  by Christopher Knaus (2007 | 113 KB | )
  
• Biracial Children and the Emperor’s New Clothes
  by Gail Steinberg (1992 | 311 KB | )
  
• Black Rainbows
  by Jana Wolff (1995 | 301 KB | )
  
• Black, White Asian Moving Beyond Our Own Racial Boundaries
  by Amy Klatzkin (2005 | 92 KB | )
  
• Book Review: Can We Talk about Race?
  by Beverly Daniel Tatum (2008 | 90 KB | )
  
• Book Review: I’m Chocolate, You’re Vanilla
  by Marguerite Wright (2006 | 85 KB | )
  
• Book Review: In Their Parents’ Voices
  by Rita Simon and Rhonda Roorda  (2006 | 104 KB | )
  
• Book Review: In Their Siblings’ Voices
  by Rita Simon and Rhonda Roorda (2009 | 89 KB | )
  
• Book Review: Slant
  by Laura Williams (2010 | 361 KB | )
  
• Book Review: The Colours in Me: Writing & Poetry by Adopted Children & Youth
  Edited by Perlita Harris (2009 | 412 KB | )
  
• Book Review: Why Can’t You Look Like Me?
  by Ola Zuri (2010 | 525 KB | )
  
• Brown Babies, Pink Parents: A Practical Guide to Transracial Parenting
  by Amy Ford, Reviewed by Shannon Riehle (2011 | 101 KB | )
  
• Building Racial Identity
  by J. Todd Chas (1997 | 96 KB | )
  
• Building Racial Identity - When Family Members Do Not Support A Child’s Racial Identity
  by Gail Steinberg (1996 | 125 KB | )
  
• Can White People Nurture Black Kids Effectively?
  by RoAnne Elliot (1998 | 111 KB | )
  
• Daughter-in-Law’s Tale - Race and Class
  by Michele Rabkin (2007 | 113 KB | )
  
• Dealing with Racism: Perspective of a White Transracial Adoptive Parent
  by Beth Hall (2012 | 163 KB | )
  
• Different IS Normal
  by JilChristina Vest (2008 | 331 KB | )
  
• Director’s Corner - Building Racial Identity Strategies and Practical Suggestions
  by Beth Hall (1996 | 108 KB | )
  
• Director’s Corner - Seeking Solutions
  by Beth Hall and Gail Steinberg (1992 | 105 KB | )
  
• Director’s Corner: Adolescence Who Am I? Where Am I Going?
  by Beth Hall & Gail Steinberg (2003 | 98 KB | )
  
• Director’s Corner: Adoptive Breastfeeding - Pact’s Point of View
  by Beth Hall, Molly Brannigan & Martha Rynberg (2011 | 487 KB | )
  
• Director’s Corner: INSPIRATION -- in Capital Letters, Visiting Historically Black Colleges
  by Beth Hall (2008 | 120 KB | )
  
• Director’s Corner: Intent vs. Impact - Unlearning Racism
  by Beth Hall (2007 | 95 KB | )
  
• Encouraging Reluctant Teens & Tweens to Attend Teen Club
  by Pact (2011 | 342 KB | )
  
• Executive Parenting Strategies that Work
  by Jim Manhoney (1995 | 341 KB | )
  
• Family Resemblance in Transracial Adoption
  by Jana Wolff (1998 | 329 KB | )
  
• Family Stories: I Wish I Could Stay At Pact Camp Forever
  by Martha Rynberg (2007 | 136 KB | )
  
• Family Story: Dan O’Brien - The World’s Greatest Athlete - A Transracially Adopted Hero
  Interviewed by Gail Steinberg (1997 | 390 KB | )
  
• Fostering the Autonomy of the Adopted Person
  by Susan Harris (1995 | 317 KB | )
  
• Globe Is Our Village
  Author Unknown (1998 | 90 KB | )
  
• Helping Your Child Develop A Positive Racial/Ethnic Identity
  by Jeannie Lin (2000 | 57 KB | )
  
• I Want You... To End Racism
  by Hazel White (2009 | 322 KB | )
  
• If You’re Color Blind, How Do You See Me?
  by Kevin Hofmann (2012 | 101 KB | )
  
• Latino and Asian Children in White Homes
  by Beth Hall and Gail Steinberg (1995 | 116 KB | )
  
• Listen
  by Jane Brown (1998 | 318 KB | )
  
• Loss of Innocence
  by Becca Martinson (1995 | 95 KB | )
  
• Mathilde’s Awakening . . . And Mine too.
  by Marie Claude Provencher (2008 | 118 KB | )
  
• Mia’s Art: What I Learned From My Daughter’s Self Portrait
  by Elise Crum (2010 | 101 KB | )
  
• Multicultural Education
  by Beth Hall & Gail Steinberg (2001 | 125 KB | )
  
• Multicultural Identities in the Making: You Are What You Speak
  by John Raible (2009 | 120 KB | )
  
• My School
  by Fatima Goss (1998 | 93 KB | )
  
• Never
  by Ellwyn Kauffman (2010 | 304 KB | )
  
• Not Just "White Parents with Kids of Color" - The Importance of Racial Identity Work for Parents
  by Gina Miranda Samuels, Ph.D., MSSW (2012 | 129 KB | )
  
• On Being Biracial
  by Lynda Marin (1992 | 95 KB | )
  
• On Being Biracial
  by Lynda Marin (1992 | 95 KB | )
  
• One of Them
  by Kirstin Nelson (2004 | 88 KB | )
  
• Pact Camp Offers Parenting Insights FCC Northern California, Summer 2006
  by Annie Stuart (2006 | 66 KB | )
  
• Perspective From a Young Korean American
  by David Kim (1998 | 114 KB | )
  
• Perspectives on Transracial Adoption - Transracially Adopted Child’s Bill of Right
  by Liza Steinberg (2003 | 63 KB | )
  
• Prepare In Order To Protect
  by Beth Hall (2009 | 56 KB | )
  
• Racial Identity Formation
  by Pact (2007 | 64 KB | )
  
• Racial Politics: The "Business" of Domestic Private Adoption
  by Beth Hall, Joe Kroll and Ruth McRoy (2010 | 308 KB | )
  
• Raising Kids Multiculturally
  by Ann Freeman (1994 | 107 KB | )
  
• Rethinking Fit in the Context of Transracial Adoption
  by Julia Sudbury Oparah (1998 | 60 KB | )
  
• Searching for Me
  by Lynne Connor (2008 | 114 KB | )
  
• Stopping Bias In Its Tracks
  by Laurie Olsen & Nina Mullen (1995 | 126 KB | )
  
• Supporting Transracial Families: Start From Where They Are
  by Gail Steinberg and Beth Hall (1994 | 99 KB | )
  
• Talking to Young Children about Race and Racism
  by Joemy Ito-Gates & Wei Ming Dariotis (2006 | 107 KB | )
  
• Talking to Your Adopted Adolescent about Adoption
  by Randolph W. Severson (1995 | 334 KB | )
  
• Talking with Children about Difficult History
  by Holly van Gulden (1995 | 339 KB | )
  
• Teaching Culture Understanding the Complexities
  by Lisa Marie Rollins (2007 | 104 KB | )
  
• Teaching for Diversity - The Preschool Setting
  by Eliana Elias (1995 | 114 KB | )
  
• Teen Corner: Adopted Teens Speak Out
  by Pact Teen Club (2009 | 373 KB | )
  
• Teen Corner: Dominique’s Journey
  by Dominique Parker (2005 | 94 KB | )
  
• Teen Corner: Making Sense of Living Transracially
  by Ryo and Jake (2010 | 53 KB | )
  
• Teen Corner: Psychological Heavy Lifting
  by Lilah Goldthwaite (2008 | 350 KB | )
  
• Teen Corner: TRA (Transracial Adoptee) Understanding and Love
  by Sara Blair (2007 | 83 KB | )
  
• The Benefits of Pact Camp
  by John Raible (2009 | 132 KB | )
  
• The Book Worm: Mixed Race Literature
  by Michele Rabkin (2010 | 316 KB | )
  
• The Importance of Support
  by Becca Martinson (1992 | 94 KB | )
  
• The Issue of Race for Private-School Students of Color
  by Sharon Cravanas Johns (1995 | 110 KB | )
  
• The Making of a Scholar
  by Vera Landry (2008 | 334 KB | )
  
• The Name Game
  by Jae Ran Kim (2007 | 327 KB | )
  
• The Toddler of Color in Daycare
  by Joy Viveros (1994 | 117 KB | )
  
• Thinking About Culture Camp
  by Julie Randolph (2004 | 54 KB | )
  
• Transracial Adoption
  by Jim Mahoney (1992 | 323 KB | )
  
• Transracial Adoption - A Response to Jim Mahoney
  by Theresa Hughes (1992 | 108 KB | )
  
• Transracial Adoption of Mixed-Race Youth: A Diary of a Child’s Journey
  by Gail Steinberg and Beth Hall (2002 | 121 KB | )
  
• Union and Transitions: A Ceremony of Entrustment
  by Rebecca Weller (1997 | 346 KB | )
  
• Unpacking the Knapsack of White Privilege
  by Peggy McIntosh (1988 | 63 KB | )
  
• What Divides Us is What Connects Us
  by Robin D.G. Kelley (2012 | 132 KB | )
  Politics: The "Business"
• White Parents Identity
  by Deborah Haynor & Lori Miller (2006 | 121 KB | )
  
• Who Are The Real Parents - Revisiting Extended Family as a Support System for Children in Need of Adoption or Foster Care
  by O. Virginia Phillips (1995 | 111 KB | )
  
• Whoness - A Question of Identity
  by Nasoan Sheftel-Gomes (1995 | 104 KB | )
  

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