Table Of ContentSelling Transracial Adoption
Elizabeth Raleigh
Selling Transracial
Adoption
Families, Markets, and the Color Line
tEmplE univERsity pREss
Philadelphia • Rome • Tokyo
tEmplE univERsity pREss
philadelphia, pennsylvania 19122
www.temple.edu/tempress
Copyright © 2018 by temple university—Of The Commonwealth
system of Higher E ducation
All rights reserved
published 2018
library of Congress Cataloging-in-publication Data
names: Raleigh, Elizabeth yoon Hwa, 1977– author.
title: selling transracial adoption : families, markets, and the color line /
Elizabeth yoon Hwa Raleigh.
Description: philadelphia : temple university press, 2017. |
includes bibliographical references and index.
identifiers: lCCn 2017021821| isBn 9781439914779 (hardback) |
isBn 9781439914786 (paper) | isBn 9781439914793 (e-book)
subjects: lCsH: interracial adoption. | social service. | Families. |
BisAC: sOCiAl sCiEnCE / social Work. | sOCiAl sCiEnCE / Ethnic
studies / G eneral. | FAmily & RElAtiOnsHips / Adoption & Fostering.
Classification: lCC Hv875 .R25 2017 | DDC 362.734—dc23 lC record
available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017021821
The paper used in this publication meets the requirements of the
American national standard for information sciences—permanence
of paper for printed library materials, Ansi Z39.48-1992
printed in the united states of America
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To my mother, Laura Mackie (1946–2013)
Contents
Acknowledgments ix
introduction 1
1 staying Afloat in a perfect storm 36
2 uneasy Consumers: The Emotion Work of marketing Adoption 64
3 transracial Adoption as a market Calculation 94
4 “And you Get to Black”: Racial Hierarchies and the
Black–non-Black Divide 128
5 selling transracial Adoption: social Workers’ ideals and
market Concessions 163
Conclusion: The Consequences of selling transracial Adoption
and the implications for Adoptive Families 190
notes 203
References 215
index 229
Acknowledgments
F
irst, i thank the adoption social workers, lawyers, and counselors who
participated in this study. While i may be at times critical of adoption
practice, after every interview i was always heartened by my participants’
thoughtfulness and dedication to child welfare. i am grateful to them for
their work and for generously sharing their time and candid insights on race,
family, and private adoption.
This book would not have come to fruition without the support of several
people and institutions. i thank sara Cohen and the team at temple univer-
sity press for their skillful guidance. sara Dorow, a pioneer in adoption
research, and an anonymous reviewer both offered valuable feedback and
advice. my colleagues and students at Carleton College welcomed me into
their community and continue to invigorate and challenge me as a teacher
and scholar. A special thank-you goes to the students in my sociology of as-
sisted reproductive technology and adoption class, who help me see the
material in new ways. in particular, i thank Emily scotto for her feedback on
the manuscript. The Andrew W. mellon Foundation’s Career Enhancement
Fellowship provided a lifeline of financial support that allotted me the time
to finish the project.
several mentors generously gave of themselves to guide me through the
research process. Thanks go to my former advisors Grace Kao, Charles Bosk,
Barbara Katz Rothman, and Kristen Harknett for believing in the project
even before it was a dissertation. Richard lee was kind enough to step in and
serve as an official mentor and brave four days of Florida heat and humidity
in late August. Over the years, scott Wong has offered sage advice and key
x Acknowledgments
introductions. And lynn Davidman introduced me to sociology and offered
me my first academic job as a research assistant my sophomore year of
college.
Without the intellectual engagement of fellow adoptee scholars, my work
would not be as good and not nearly as meaningful. i thank Joyce maguire
pavao, Kim park nelson, and Amanda Baden for being trailblazers and
Kimberly mcKee, JaeRan Kim, shannon Gibney, sara Docan-morgan, and
Jennifer Kwon Dobbs for their commitment to adoption studies.
i count myself lucky to have good friends who are engaged and thought-
ful adoptive parents. All have enriched my life and my work. i have known
Rachel Gilbert since we were mistaken for each other in grade school, and
she and her husband, Geoff, are like family to me. matt and Joni Karl are
cherished friends, and they have my utmost respect and gratitude. martha
Crawford read an early draft of the book, and she assured me i was on a good
track. And Frank ligtvoet and the rest of the inaugural All together now
adoption group were open-minded listeners and advocates.
long gone are the days of college, but i am fortunate that my friendships
with Aubrey ludwig Ellman, Jenny Kane, Adele Campbell-nelson, and
Karla sigler have persisted despite my flaky and intermittent communica-
tion. And to friends in northfield—especially the “moms gone mild” and
“the group”—i offer thanks for being sounding boards and for enveloping
me in a community of supportive friends.
As i get older, i know how privileged i am to have my family and how
fleeting time can be. my mother, laura mackie, was gone too soon, but i
know that she would have unwaveringly supported this project, just as she
was proud of all my endeavors. i am thankful for her love. i wish my dear
father-in-law, patrick Raleigh, had lived to see this publication, but i am
grateful that my wonderful mother-in-law, marilynn Raleigh, is here to read
it. Having her move to northfield has been such a gift.
my dad, David mackie, has always been an anchor for me, and i love him
from the bottom of my heart. my sister, Amy Raccagni, is among the most
giving people i have ever met. i thank her for her love and friendship. And i
thank my brother, Darren mackie, for being a loving brother and a devoted
uncle.
And last, my enduring love goes to my husband, nikos, and my daugh-
ter, paige. i thank paige for her generous heart and the joy that she brings
me. Being a mother taught me a lot about adoption, and i understand why
people are willing to sacrifice so much to have the experience of raising a
child. paige is the personification of love, and i don’t know how i got so lucky
to be her mom. And i thank nikos for believing in me and for his ever-
present love and support. He is the 100 percent perfect person for me.
