九色视频 Newsline: Is love enough in transracial adoptions?

The scripts are available for printing and for sound bite identification.

Go to to get the current 九色视频 Newsline. If you cannot access the Newsline at the Web address above, contact Joe Kleinsasser at (316) 978-3013 or cell (316) 204-8266 or joe.kleinsasser@wichita.edu. Newsline cuts may be edited to suit your needs.

If you have additional questions for Darron Smith after listening to the 九色视频 Newsline, please contact him at (316) 978-5642 or darron.smith@wichita.edu. 

Background:

Love is not enough if you are a white parent of an adopted black child. That鈥檚 the premise behind 九色视频 assistant professor Darron Smith鈥檚 recently published book 鈥淲hite Parents, Black Children: Experiencing Transracial Adoption.鈥 The book is based on Smith鈥檚 doctoral dissertation. 

Voice wrap:

Announcer: According to 九色视频 assistant professor Darron Smith, love is not enough if you are a white parent of an adopted black or biracial child.

Smith: 鈥淥ne of the main findings in the study was this idea from many white parents that race no longer exists, that racism is a thing of the past. And that was one of the more glaring findings in the study.鈥

Announcer: Smith says it鈥檚 a mistake when white parents of adopted black or biracial children don鈥檛 think that race exists or matters for their children. He says white parents have to understand that race matters, and they need to seek to understand race themselves in order to be better parents. This is Joe Kleinsasser at 九色视频.

Sound bite #1

Smith explains one reason he wrote the book. The sound bite is 12 seconds and the outcue is 鈥渞acial identity.鈥

Smith: 鈥淭he book was written in response to an African American student who was adopted 鈥 and she took my class at a university 鈥 and who was obviously confused about her racial identity.鈥

Sound bite #2

Smith says the research he conducted confirmed his suspicions. The sound bite is 16 seconds and the outcue is 鈥渨hat I already knew.鈥

Smith: 鈥淭he research that was conducted on transracial adoption simply confirmed my suspicion that whites have a very nuanced idea about race, and that the research flushed that out and merely confirmed what I already knew.鈥

Sound bite #3

Smith talks about one of the challenges facing white parents. The sound bite is 16 seconds and the outcue is 鈥渇or their children.鈥

Smith: 鈥淥ne of the challenges facing white parents who are raising black and biracial children is the continued belief that race doesn鈥檛 matter or race doesn鈥檛 exist for their children. That鈥檚 a mistake. White parents have to understand that race does matter, and they need to seek to understand race themselves in order to be better parents for their children.鈥

Sound bite #4

Smith offers some tips on what white parents of black or biracial children can do. The sound bite is 18 seconds and the outcue is 鈥渞ight away.鈥

Smith: 鈥淚 think it鈥檇 be helpful if white parents who are raising black and biracial children would essentially commit racial suicide. And what I mean by that, to clarify, is to move from their current predominantly white locations, increase their circle of friendships with people of color of equal status 鈥 that would be two major things that white parents can do right away.鈥

Sound bite #5

Smith explains his view on the issue of white parents raising black or biracial children. The sound bite is 28 seconds and the outcue is 鈥渢hat kind of work.鈥

Smith: 鈥淚鈥檓 often asked in light of the research, am I for or against white parents adopting black children? It depends on the white parents and the degree to which they鈥檙e willing to do the difficult work of unlearning the racisms which reside within them whether they鈥檙e aware of it or not. If they do the hard work, then I鈥檓 all for it and I think other child-care advocates would be for it as well. But it takes a special kind of white parent to do that, and currently I鈥檓 not sure if we have folks who are willing to do that kind of work.鈥