Transracially Adopted Children's Bill of Rights

As white parents of an asian child we have so much more to think about than the average expectant parents. Maybe that's why it takes so long! Admittedly, sometimes the task feels overwhelming but there is always the delight of knowing it comes with the opportunity to parent this precious child, whoever he may be. When I ran across this I really liked what it had to say about parenting, adoptive parenting, and mixed-race families.

"Transracially Adopted Children's Bill of Rights"
Adapted by Liza Steinberg Triggs from "A Bill of Rights for Mixed Folks," by Marilyn Dramé.

• Every child is entitled to love and full membership in his or her family.
• Every child is entitled to have his or her heritage and culture embraced and valued.
• Every child is entitled to parents who value individuality and enjoy complexity.
• Every child is entitled to parents who understand that this is a race conscious society.
• Every child is entitled to parents who know their child will experience life in ways differently from theirs.
• Every child is entitled to parents who are not seeking to "save" a child or to make the world a better place by adopting.
• Every child is entitled to parents who know belonging to a family is not based on physical matching.
• Every child is entitled to parents who have significant relationships with people of other races.
• Every child is entitled to parents who know transracial adoption changes the family structure forever.
• Every child is entitled to be accepted by his or her extended family members.
• Every child is entitled to parents who know that if they are white they experience the benefits of racism because the country's system is organized that way.
• Every child is entitled to parents who know they cannot be the sole transmitter of the child's culture when it is not their own.
• Every child is entitled to grow up with items in their home environment created for and by people of their own race or ethnicity.
• Every child is entitled to have places available to make friends with people of his or her race or ethnicity.
• Every child is entitled to have opportunities in his or her environment to participate in positive experiences with his or her birth culture.
• Every child is entitled to opportunities to build racial pride within his or her own home, school, and neighborhood.