For years, 38-year-old La-Sonya Mitchell-Clark of Youngstown, Ohio longed to meet her biological mother after learning of her adoption, according to ABC’s Good Morning America. [youtube id="1dXz69AIVSM"] So when the Ohio Department of Health released birth records last month for infants born between Jan. 1, 1964 and Sept. 18, 1996, she began her search in a heartrending … [Read more...]
Teen Goes to Church to Ask Someone to Adopt Him
We hear it a lot, that there's a shortage of foster and adoptive families, but especially for our black children. From infants to teenagers, millions of kids are in the foster system, shuffling from group home to group home, looking for a place to call home, a group of people to call their family. The older you are, the harder it is to find your "forever home" of sorts. Many … [Read more...]
Interview: Kym Whitley Discusses New Show ‘Raising Whitley’ on OWN
We had the opportunity to talk with Kym Whitley recently about her new show, Raising Whitley, which debuts on OWN this Saturday night (4/20) at 10PM. The funny, talented, and driven quadruple-threat actress, producer, director and stand-up comedienne will chronicle her everyday life as she raises baby Joshua, who she unexpectedly gained custody of. Joshua's birth mother was a … [Read more...]
Father Regains Custody of Child Allegedly Adopted Without His Knowledge
Early December BMWK did some coverage on the story of a drill sergeant’s wife giving their baby up for adoption following her premature delivery. The father, Terry Achane, who was stationed in another state for work, was said to have abandoned his wife and daughter according to the adoptive family. Almost two years later, the child Teleah is approximately 22 months old. She … [Read more...]
Dad Relocates, Comes Home to Find His Child Was Given Up For Adoption
Jared and Kristi Frei struggled for years with infertility and miscarriage in an attempt to expand their family. In 2011, they found hope when Tira Bland gave up her daughter, Leah, for adoption. Unfortunately for Leah's father, he was not notified by his wife, the adoption agency or the new family until after the adoption took place. Terry Achane, a drill sergeant in Texas, … [Read more...]
Using Craigslist… for Adoption
Couples who have problems conceiving often opt for surrogacy or adoption. One couple, however, found the newest addition to their family, Ben, on Craigslist. After posting an ad for adoption on the site, Tracey and Dan Citron of Minnesota got a response from soon to be mom, Tammy Nelson. According to the ABC News article, people have used newspaper ads to find adoptive … [Read more...]
Blended Families Week: 3 Reasons Why I’m Adopting My Son
My wife and I have the same last name. That was the catalyst for our meeting. Twelve fateful years ago I was at an event she was managing. She overhead me being introduced and barged her way into the conversation to find out if we were related. I knew we weren't. And my life changed forever. One of the first things she told me was that she had a five year-old. I looked at … [Read more...]
What Happens When an Adoption Fails?
We often hear success stories of the likes of Reverend Run and Justine Simmons or Lionel Richie and Brenda Harvey who have adopted children, Miley and Nicole respectively, but what's the flip-side of tales like these? Who's responsible when an adoption fails? MSN's Today Moms discusses how a failed adoption--known as a "disruption"--can impact parents, a family … [Read more...]
Our Road To Adoption
by Jon Carroll Early on in our relationship, my wife Nkechi and I came to an agreement that at some point we would adopt a child into our family. We have both been blessed with the type of cultural capital that can certainly make a positive impact on a child's life. On March 14, after almost a year of going through the adoption process, we received the call … [Read more...]
Shining Light On Four Black Adoption Myths
In 2010 there were more than 500,000 children in foster care across the United States, more than a quarter of them African American children. The need for adoption has never been greater, but we still see our children lagging behind in adoption rates. A new article from the Atlanta Post sheds light on four adoption myths: 1) Children of African descent are more difficult to … [Read more...]