- Wednesday, February 10, 2016
- 7:00 PM–9:00 PM
- Covenant Fine Arts Recital Hall
In Their Voices: Black Americans on Transracial Adoption with Rhonda M. Roorda, M.A.
8 p.m. Reception and book signing to follow
This event is free and open to the public.
About our speaker
Rhonda Roorda was adopted into a white family and raised with two non-adopted siblings. She is a national speaker on transracial adoption and a recipient of the Judge John P. Steketee Adoption Hero Award from the Adoptive Family Support Network (Mich.).
While many proponents of transracial adoption claim that American society is increasingly becoming “color-blind,” a growing body of research reveals that for transracial adoptees of all backgrounds, racial identity does matter. In Their Voices incorporates diverse perspectives on transracial adoption by concerned black Americans of various ages. This book speaks to parents, child-welfare providers, social workers, psychologists, educators, therapists, and adoptees from all backgrounds and is packed with advice for parents who are invested in nurturing a positive self-image in their adopted children of color. It offers adoptees of color encouragement in overcoming discrimination and explains why a “race-neutral” environment is not ideal for adoptees or their families.
Copies of In Their Voices will be available for purchase following the presentation.
Learn more
- “The Importance of Identity” (author profile, Spark magazine)
- Author website
- Publishers Weekly book review
- Roorda on Facebook
- Interview with Rachel Garlinghouse
Parking
If the CFAC parking lot is full, park by the DeVos Communication Center (east of the East Beltline) and walk over the overpass
