Life and Style Skin tone, adoption and black children: Is colorism an issue?

By Alexis Garrett Stodghill, The Grio

African-American children make up 30 percent of the 500,000 children currently in the American foster care system, despite being only 14 percent of the U.S. population. On top of being over-represented, these youths are less frequently selected for adoption compared to other kids.

Which child would be adopted?
Which child would be adopted?

Could the skin tone of black children play a role in whether they are chosen — especially if the family considering them is black? Mardie Caldwell, founder and CEO of the Lifetime Adoption agency, says this is true — and that this bias is exclusive to African-Americans.

“We’ve found that many African-American families have definite preferences for the type of children they want, whether it’s newborns [or older children], and also in terms of their physical appearance,” Caldwell told theGrio. The author of seven books on the adoption process, including her latest, Called to Adoption, suggested that the finicky tastes of black families has made private agencies reluctant to work with them.

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2 Comments

  1. Alissa Bradford on January 23, 2015 at 10:28 AM

    Hi, My name is Alissa Bradford. I am a freshman who attends Webster Groves High School. I am doing a project on colorism and for part of the credit i have to write business letter to an expert in this field. Is there anyway i can get a work/ geographical address to send a letter? Please and thank you for your time

    • dr_fran on January 23, 2015 at 10:39 AM

      Alissa, we at ABHM are not the experts you should talk to. Please click the link in this exhibit to read the full article. The article names several experts on the topic. You can check out their books and articles and reach out to them personally. Best of luck on your project! Dr. Fran

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