ed that numerous agencies have many African-American families that do adopt. The Black Pulse Survey, showed that there were three million African-American couples interested in adoption. “There are approximately 69,000 children with the goal of adoption nationwide and 43% of these children are African-American (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1990). “If only a fraction of the families Interracial Adoptions7interested in adoption were approved there would be enough African-American families to adopt Black children.” (NABSW, 1994).The Community Response to Children Free of Adoption study found out that African-American families adopt 4.5 times greater than any other ethnic group. “If the barriers that keep thousands of African-Americans from adopting were eliminated and recruitment efforts were consistent and ongoing, Black children would be placed in African-American homes in even greater numbers.” (Ramos, 1996).In contrast, advocates of interracial adoption questioned the motives and beliefs of the ethnic groups. Advocates for interracial adoption believed that a African-American child could be taught about his or her ethnic background by anyone who parents them, regardless of their cultural heritage. The African-American agencies that were formed to help protect the welfare of African-American children were not formed in the mid 1960’s when the problem of African-American children reached the status of an epidemic. They were formed when interracial adoptions became increasingly popular. It appeared that the African-American community did not show a strong interest in the welfare of their children until they were crossing the color lines. Interracial Adoptions8Well the debates between the advocates and the anti-advocates for interracial adoptions didn’t end there. The NABSW accused the child care agencies of catering to the middle class, white couples. They also said t...
