If you adopted a black child...?

Question

How would you teach them about their culture? Very few whites know facts important to developing a sense of pride for black culutre. How would you help them identify.

I can not believe that people think that knowing where one comes from is not important. How is the child to develop any identity? You think the child wouldn't notice any difference between themselves and you?

Answer 1

Although both my sons are bi-racial and only one is biologically mine, they look the race of their fathers - Black (as you call it) & Mexican respectively. The oldest of the two "appears" to others as a black child, despite his having a white mother. He and I have regular discussion from a (700+ page) book entitled Black Heroes by Jessie Carney Smith. It has both men and women from a variety of positions in life, and from different time periods and it is alphabetized by last name. It goes beyond the history of slavery and the civil rights movement. He loves it. I tell him (as does the book) "Not all work of African American heroes is recognized or known." Then the conversations and lessons just come...

See the link below to view this book:
http://www.worldcatlibraries.org/wcpa/ow/aeb5800840fdd1c8a19afeb4da09e526.html

Answer 2

If I could not have children then I would adopt a child. If I adopted a black child then I have learnt alot from my sister being mixed-race and her father leaving... making her the only one of colour in our family now.

We found a school that had a good mixture of backgrounds, but still there are always children who learn hurtful things to say from their parents.

She wishes her hair was straight and smooth and sometimes that she has "my skin"

We have really good black people around us who she loves and looks up to, we cook her nigerian food and takeher to restaurants although she hates the food I love the hottest stuff just so she can see that black and white people do mix and there's not always nasty things going on, she's proud of her special name and she believes that she is a gift from god (I mean REALLY believes she's like jesus or soemthing) she pretends she speaks african and knows where her dads country is on the globe, and we take her to any african dance things going on locally etc

Not everyone thinks so, but I think it's important to teach an adopted black child, or of whatever race their background, so they don't feel "excluded" etc.

ok..... now to address the other answers we tell her that she is english but her father is nigerian. Just like if I adopted a black child and they were from another country, or had parents from another country I would do the same things for them. If they are black and purely british as far as I know, then I will be doing the same things, not so that they learn about "their culture" or whatever, but so that they are not sick of seeing white people day in and day out of their lives, and so they know that there are plenty black english people... and they too are just as horrible as any english person in the world!

Answer 3

If you are adopting a child of any ethnicity and bringing him/her into an interracial setting the most important thing to do is to simply raise him with love, teach him morals, principals and values of life. Teach him that there are many interesting cultures that exist around the world and many diverse people. This will allow you to learn more about his culture, whatever it may be. Let him know that this is where his ancestors came from and now he lives in America which has their own cultures. Teach him the importance of recognizing his culture, but don't dwell on it so much. As he gets older he may do his own research.

Answer 4

The culture is something that's shouldn't bothers you that much, what matters more in the good teaching you ma y give and the proud of being who he/she is. Does it matter if he/she doesn't speak like joe, hey, joe? What really important is the behavior. The adoptive parents can make the different in the life of this baby. Any ways the baby will get the adoptive parents culture even if you teach him/her the black culture.

Answer 5

I have friends that are black and I would involve the child with people of their race as well as other races and I would do all that I could to teach about their culture as well as other cultures. Everyone should have a sense of pride in their ownself as well as their culture.

Answer 6

Don't worry about it. I can tell you just from personal experience, a child mixed or predominately black will find their own way without your help! There's nothing you NEED to do but be a loving and supportive parent.

Many people are just flat out ignorant. Don't get caught up in that foolishness, "I have a black child therefore he/she needs to be educated about BLACK things". Just adopt the child and let them discover what they like don't insult them like that. You never know, they might end up appreciating all that you are by example. What's wrong with your culture? Nothing.

Answer 7

i trust that for a baby to be raised in an ecosystem and custom it truly is theirs by using delivery is a more suitable constructive decision. it is excellent for the baby because as an adoptee i grow to be followed faraway from my abode united states and custom. i'm white and raised by using white adoptive moms and dads yet in a unique united states from my delivery. If there are more suitable black little ones accessible to undertake then easily black households searching to undertake haven't any favor to think about white little ones as an decision. If white little ones are scarce truly children then easily it follows that white moms and dads do evaluate black little ones and undertake. For any go cultural adoption there desires to be knowledge. it truly is in trouble-free words more suitable seen if the couple undertake a unique color. Statements and outsiders perspectives are what keep the colour question alive and racism to the fore.

Answer 8

Love them unconditionally until they start recognizing different races - if the child wants to know more then I would try to find a religious leader that is of the same race and take it from there. I know it is important to know your culture but life would be so much easier if we could just forget it and love one another, I feel like this is what divides us.

Answer 9

Only an american could ask this. There is no 'black' culture. Skin colour is an accident of birth. If I adopted a child, whether black, pink, green with yellow spots etc, Iwould bring it up in my own culture as I would be its parent. It simply isn't appropriate to do anything else.

Answer 10

If you adopt a child, you should teach them everything you would teach your biological child. Black children aren't born with 'black customs.' They don't come out of the womb rapping, they don't come out of the womb speaking in Ebonics; culture are learned behaviors and race/color has absolutely nothing to do with it. If a white child is raised in an all black ghetto, that white child will have ghetto customs and that white child will identify with his environment and its cultures.

So before adopting a black child, you should first be aware of what the term "culture" actually means.

p.s.
it's not just you, after reading the responses, it appears that several people could stand a lesson in sociology. The ignorance is shocking.