Blog – Transracial Journeys

Black Excellence: Shannon Gibney

Shannon Gibney is a writer, lecturer and professor living in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She was raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in the 1980s as a mixed-race kid adopted by white parents. As adult transracial adoptee who has spent over two decades unpacking the intersections of adoption, race, class, gender, power and family—and then writing a library of awarded-winning books that can help us get on board with what she’s been building: the healthy identities and communities we want for ourselves and our kids.

One of the most powerful things that Gibney’s work does is to teach readers how to hold the complexities of grief and loss, of the unknowables in adoption, of anger, of joy, of love, of hope, and then tenaciously use these things to fuel our own work. She is a model of how to turn these heavy burdens on their side so that we can imagine futures where societies acknowledge, supports and celebrates differences, and power isn’t centralized in homogenized communities.

In this month’s Book Corner, you’ll find a review of Gibney’s latest book. Hear an interview with Shannon Gibney from Minnesota Public Radio here:

https://www.mprnews.org/episode/2023/02/17/minnesota-author-shannon-gibney-on-her-new-speculative-memoir . Find out more about Shannon Gibney on her website, www.shannongibney.com

Book Corner – September 2023

Gibney features herself as the protagonist in this part memoir, part speculative fiction novel. Shannon Gibney and Erin Powers are one and the same person. However, there’s a primal difference in that one was adopted and the other wasn’t.

Using documents like vital records, correspondence written from her birth mother to her adoptive mother, and photographs of herself and family members, Gibney delivers a layered, complicated and enthralling tale told in the often underheard voice of a transracial adoptee. The author using her own name and photographs in the book make this book read like part autobiography and part science fiction.

The book is a challenging read that requires some suspension of disbelief. However, in the often misunderstood or misrepresented narrative of adoption, this story is an “authentic” piece of fiction written by a transracial adoptee. Shannon/Erin gets to be an explorer who time travels and jumps to other dimensions in order to piece together the story of not only the families that made and raised her but of the family she builds for herself well into her adulthood.

This book comes highly recommended for families formed by transracial adoption. The style and subject matter don’t make for an easy read but what valuable books are (easy reads)?

Don’t just hand this off to a teen to read in a vacuum, read it with them. If they want to talk about it, then discuss. If they don’t want to talk it’s still important for non-adoptees to read books like and show they care about the perspective, identity and narrative of the transracially adopted person. Just as Shannon and Erin catch glimpses of each other or their birth father at different points in space and time, the reader may catch glimpses of what it’s like to walk in the shoes of a transracial adoptee.

Highly recommended!

Our Transracial Journeys families regularly seek out books to share with their children and to read for themselves, as white parents of black children. We are fortunate to have a resource in the Transracial Journey's Board of Direcors Secretary, Avril McInally. Avril and her colleague, Vicki Richards, collaborate to curate phenomenal book recommendations for our children and parents. Both have Masters of Library Science and over 30 years' experience as professional librarians. The Book Corner is a regular feature in our Transracial Journeys monthly newsletters. If you would like to receive monthly book recommendations via email, please subscribe.

Reclaiming the Calendar

by Avril McInally

Per Encyclopedia Britannica, one of the definitions of the word reclaim is, “to get back something (that was lost or taken away).” Think about this definition for a minute. Generally, I’ve considered the claiming (the taking), but not the reclaiming (the loss that has occurred). It’s how most of society processes adoption. People generally think about the claiming and the taking but not the loss that has occurred.

April asks in her cards for September, “What special days do you put on the calendar every year so you don’t forget?” I write some things down… my daughters’ birthdays, my fiancé's birthday, vacations to look forward to, holidays, special invitations, deadlines, one of my favorite bands playing near my hometown, medical appointments and more. But, never have I thought what in my calendar is a reclamation of what’s been lost? What’s been lost and how do I reclaim it? What’s been lost for my adopted daughter and how can I help her regain what she’s lost?

Think about this, Dear Reader, and consider using your calendar to reclaim your child’s identity, culture, family of origin as you continue to build an inclusive, multicultural and “multifamilial” (yes, I just made that word up) vehicle to celebrate your family. Here are some other meanings of the word reclaim to help you in this endeavor:

Recondition

Redeem

Remodel

Regenerate

Recycle

Restore

Recover

(for more about this month's theme of how to use reclaiming the calendar as a way of bringing your family more clarity and confidence, see our post on this month's conversation prompts; September is for Navigating and Moving Through Life with Clarity and Confidence)

Navigating: Moving Through Life with Clarity and Confidence

In September we focus on navigating to move through life with clarity and confidence as it can relate to our family's relationship to the calendar. As we make our way through the year there are so many ways we can use the calendar to lean into conversations about the uniqueness of our families. Being thoughtful about how our families have to navigate the world differently and talking openly about what we might face can help ease the impact.

The calendar is the perfect tool to:
• Celebrate the special moments and prepare for the harder ones.
• Honor every person in the family who is connected to your child and to you.
• Ensure you are making time each month to talk with intention about adoption and differences of race, culture, and class.

September Pro-Tip to Foster Conversations About Transracial Adoptions

At Transracial Journeys we send our families conversation cues each month, from our Transracial Journeys card deck, given to all our families at Family Camp and available for purchase. The card deck contains three cards for each month, designed for the children to ask their parents. Below are the questions for September. Before letting your child get started, prepare by reading the parent pro-tip, from the Parent Guide, each month.

September Pro-Tip for Parents: It’s a good idea to add the birthday of your child’s family of origin. If you do not know the dates make an effort to find out and if that is not possible, pick a day where you will honor them in some way and start to institutionalize that on your calendars every year. This will make space to honor those that came before you and while birth parents may not be physically present every day they remain attached to your child and your family in spirit. Make plans to have special treats on these days to celebrate the people that are connected to your children and to you.

Get more guidance on how to use these cards to encourage conversations with your child(ren) while preparing for your own thoughts and emotions related to each topic in our post: Where Did the Calendar Come From?

This post is from our September 2023, e-newsletter. If you would like to get our newsletter in your inbox each month, please subscribe. You will get invitations to our Parent Meet-Up each month, a virtual meeting to act as a transracial adoption support group - sharing issues, ideas and strategies for creating a culture of communication and curiosity in your home, as well as monthly card prompt to keep the conversations about race, adoption, family, love and relationships front and center all year long. And lastly, you'll always be made aware of important dates for Transracial Journeys Family Camp!

Books, Books and More Books featuring Black protagonists!

by Avril McInally and Vicki Richards

August is the month we prepare our children for going back to school and April’s August card for Facing and Embracing Differences of Race and Culture asks some introspective questions that might prepare our families for the school year to come.

What can you do to better prepare me for what I might face at school?
How do you think your experiences in school were different from mine?

To help us adults to remember and to introduce our children to a range of possibilities and experiences that might unfold for them in the academic year ahead, we choose to focus on differences of race and culture via our recently-launched Transracial Journeys Bibliography. This bibliography has been a year in the making and prepared for our families by myself (a professional adult librarian) and my friend and colleague Vicki Richards, a professional children’s librarian. From birth through adulthood, we’ve curated a collection of titles that share experiences (fictitiously and non-fictitiously) that touch on topics and stories shared from the perspective of African Americans. Whenever we could find them, we also included stories and experiences of adoption, fostering, blended families, and LGBTQ+ people. There isn’t a lot out there about adoption, but there is more now than there has been in the past. Vicki and I are searching for more for next year’s bibliography.

In this Transracial Journeys Bibliography 2023, back-to-school and school themes are prevalent as stories like the following unfold:

Vanessa in “Becoming Vanessa” grapples with her name on the first day of school
“Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn” depicts a multicultural society experiencing the change of season
“Henry at Home” illustrates what happens between siblings when one of them leaves home for the first time to attend kindergarten
In “Class Act” we see our Black protagonist enter 9th grade in a mostly white school
Dax Devlon-Ross in “Letters to My White Male Friends” shares a lot about transitioning from an all Black school to an all white private school as a child in D.C.. His memoir imparts glimpses into racial situations our own children might be navigating but don’t want to talk about.

In most of the fiction for teens or young adults, there are lots of school scenarios depicting not only first love but also attending Black Lives Matter marches or children coping with racism and/or bullying.

Between us, Vicki and I have read every single title on this bibliography and either one or both of us has wholeheartedly endorsed the books that made it to our list. It’s in your hands to promote, support and share this growing, beautiful body of Black authors and illustrators. It’s in your power to create a reading experience for your children populated with bedtime stories, humor, comics, memoirs and literary experiences featuring Black characters and protagonists. There is a literary African American canon, unfolding and building momentum, of authors and illustrators we should be sharing with all of our children (Black and white). It would be a loss to not grow up experiencing the books of Kadir Nelson, Sharon Flake, Jewell Parker Rhodes, Sharon Draper, Kwame Alexander, Justin Reynolds, Jason Reynolds or L.L. McKinney to name a few.

It’s our hope that you not only share these titles with your children, but that you (the grown ups) read them too in order to get some insight into the landscapes our children navigate away from home and away from us (their parents, their teachers, their neighbors, etc.). We also would ask that you share these books with non Black or non adopted children and adults to help promote more understanding of the sometimes invisible challenges of racism or phobias our children encounter. These books help us get back to Facing and embracing differences of race and culture. Sometimes this embrace can be as simple as cracking open a book, turning the page and sharing it with a loved one.

With a love of and wonder in reading,

Vicki Richards and Avril McInally

(click here to open/print/download Transracial Journeys Bibliography 2023)

Book Corner – August 2023

Author Sharon G. Flake is a multiple-time recipient of the Coretta Scott King Award! The recipients of this award are African American authors and/or illustrators who create outstanding literature for African American children. Ms. Flake received this award for The Skin I’m In in 1999.

Seventh Grader Maleeka Madison is bullied for her dark skin. Maleeka’s father died two years ago, and Maleeka’s mom struggles to pay the bills. Making Maleeka’s clothes is one way to help make ends meet, but this is another target for bullying. When a new English teacher arrives at school, Maleeka is not only disturbed by her teacher’s sense of fashion and her high self-esteem, but also by the large birthmark on Ms. Saunders’ face.

Ms. Saunders takes no nonsense at school as she addresses the stigma society assigns to skin color, has zero tolerance for bullying, and assigns her students more work than any other teacher. Could be that Maleeka has a few things to learn from her new teacher.

Our Transracial Journeys families regularly seek out books to share with their children and to read for themselves, as white parents of black children. We are fortunate to have a resource in the Transracial Journey's Board of Direcors Secretary, Avril McInally. Avril and her colleague, Vicki Richards, collaborate to curate phenomenal book recommendations for our children and parents. Both have Masters of Library Science and over 30 years' experience as professional librarians. The Book Corner is a regular feature in our Transracial Journeys monthly newsletters. If you would like to receive monthly book recommendations via email, please subscribe.

Black Excellence: Sharon G. Flake

Sharon Flake b. 1955 in Philadelphia, PA

Award-winning author, Sharon Flake didn’t get her start as a writer. After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh with a BA in English, she went to work for several years in foster care as a house parent. She later went to work in the public relations department at the University of Pittsburgh Press followed by a directorship in the public relations department for the University of Pittsburgh’s business school.

As a student and later in her career, Ms. Flake coped with apprehension related to her writing (spelling and grammar) but she persevered and wrote articles and stories which she submitted to publishers. These attempts were mostly rejected until after fifteen years of working to be printed or published, Ms. Flake’s first book “The Skin I’m In” was picked from a “slush” pile of manuscripts by Andrea Davis Pinkney. This book went on to win the Coretta Scott King Award, YWCA racial justice award and many, many more accolades.

On her website, Ms. Flake writes:

"I am so much like many of my readers. I grew up insecure; not very confident. Yet here I am, one of the top authors for young people in the world.

I write about everyday, average teens who are loved and cheered on by readers on six continents. My characters fall down, get up and learn life lessons that help readers believe they too can achieve anything; make it through any storm. Quirky. Honest. Open.. Vulnerable. My characters get young people of all backgrounds reading as never before."

Ms. Flake has authored several books with two more on the way.

August is for Growth: Always Learning and Growing

August Pro-Tip to Foster Conversations About Transracial Adoptions

Transracial Journeys invites your family to experience the calendar in a whole new way. With the help of the June-in-April Calendar Conversation Cards, each month your family is invited to use the cards as a tool for more regular and intentional conversations about identity, family relationships, and differences of race and culture.

Each month has four cards with conversation starters. The prompts and questions are designed to spark reflection and ongoing dialogue within your family as well as with extended family and friends. There is no prescriptive way to use the cards, sometimes parents or grown-ups can take the lead and ask the questions and other times, children can go first.

August Pro-Tip for Parents: Back to school is a time of transition for children and families. It’s a time to be thoughtful about what children need when they go into schools every day. A great way to prepare children from families that don’t match is by having intentional conversations about differences of race and ethnicity as well as family structure and culture.

CARD ONE: IDENTITY (child asking adult)
Close your eyes and think of being a kid at school: What is the first word that comes to mind?
• Can you describe what your school was like?
- How big was it?
- How many other kids were there?
• What was your favorite subject?

CARD TWO: RELATIONSHIPS (child asking adult)
• Who were some of your favorite teachers and why?
• Were there any kids or teachers who looked like me in your school?
• Were there any kids or teachers that were a different race than you?

CARD THREE: EMBRACING AND FACING DIFFERENCES OF RACE AND CULTURE (child asking adult)
• Did you ever see black or brown students being treated differently?
• How do you think your experiences in school were different from mine?
• What can you do better to prepare me for what I might face at school?

This post is from our August 2023, e-newsletter. If you would like to get our newsletter in your inbox each month, please subscribe. You will get invitations to our Parent Meet-Up each month, a virtual meeting to act as a transracial adoption support group - sharing issues, ideas and strategies for creating a culture of communication and curiosity in your home, as well as monthly card prompt to keep the conversations about race, adoption, family, love and relationships front and center all year long. And lastly, you'll always be made aware of important dates for Transracial Journeys Family Camp!

Featured Guest and ‘Culture Keeper’ Rachel Briggs

Rachel Briggs is an elementary school science teacher at The Croft School in Providence, Rhode Island. She is a mixture of city and country, old school and contemporary. Her urban roots are deeply planted in Rhode Island; growing up with her mother, father, and 16 siblings. She graduated from Mount Pleasant High School as part of the Health Magnet program and went on to complete her Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology at Franklin Pierce University in New Hampshire.

She earned a certificate in child advocacy from the RI Parent Information Network. Rachel also completed The Rhode Island Leadership Education in Neurodevelopment and Other Related Disabilities (RI LEND) training program which is designed to provide graduate level, interdisciplinary training to individuals from diverse professional disciplines and cultural backgrounds.

In addition to science, she is passionate about the welfare of children. In 2015, she adopted her five children, now ranging in age from 9 to 17. They are a constant source of inspiration for her professional endeavors. Rachel sits on the Race and Equity Parent Leaders of New England (PLNE) subcommittee, the Kinship Advisory Council, the Hasbro Children’s Hospital Parent Advisory Council and The Office of the Child Advocate Advisory Committee. She is dedicated to building the self-esteem and empowerment of children and hopes that her advocacy and community engagement will serve as a catalyst for positive change in the systems focusing on children.

Rachel is a member of the Rhode Island Black Storytellers, a non-profit based out of Providence, Rhode Island dedicated to promoting the awareness, appreciation, and application of Black storytelling. She considers herself a ‘culture keeper’ and adheres to the African tradition of oral storytelling to pass on wisdom, history, and cultural information to nurture a sense of community. Rachel is an emerging writer and spoken word poet. She is ‘solar powered’ and loves cookouts, gardening, camping and hiking. She is also known for dancing to live bands, and eating dessert before dinner! https://www.thecroftschool.org/rachelbriggs

Transracial Journeys envisions greater understanding of and support for transracially adopted persons and their families in all stages of life and sectors of society.

MISSION STATEMENT
With the best interests of transracially adopted persons at the center, Transracial Journeys provides practical tools and post adoption support for parents of a different race than the Black and Brown children entrusted to them and fosters supportive relationships for transracially adopted persons of all ages.

OUR GOALS:

Prioritizing representation for transracially adopted persons
Sharpening parental skills addressing the core issues of adoption and racism
Developing healthy racial identities for all members of the family
Encouraging greater cultural competence for parents
Promoting social justice and racial equity
Building a loving community

To learn more about our flagship event, Transracial Journeys Family Camp, go to our Family Camp page and check out our schedule of events. If you would like to be notified as future camp details become available, please make sure to sign-up for our monthly newsletter by using the subscribe feature on the bottom of this page..

Speakers from Sage & Maven, Leadership & Social Justice Consultants

Transracial Journeys is pleased to announce Ryan Clopton-Zymler, MSSA and Phyllis Harris, MNO, the founders and social justice consultants of Sage and Maven, as featured presenters for Family Camp 2023.

Learn More & Lean-In: Expanding Our Understanding of Our Relationships

During Friday's topic “Learn More & Lean-In: Expanding Our Understanding of Our Relationships,” the founders of Sage & Maven will be joining us to speak and hold space for discussion about the complex and beautiful nature of transracial adoptions. Our time together will focus on three core areas; the first area is building healthy identities and a connection to self; the second area is understanding our relationship to core concepts of race and identity and it how affects our interpersonal relationships; and the last area is about what happens when those concepts cause tension within those relationships. We will use a mix of lecture, discussion, and interactive activities to create a lasting experience. In the afternoon we will have two breakout groups: 1) The Adult Child Perspective, and 2) The Adult Caregiver Perspective. Everyone will be in one group for half the session, then switch for the second half of the session.

Ryan Clopton-Zymler (he/they) is an activist, educator, emcee and advocate from Cleveland, Ohio. He is a graduate of Case Western Reserve University, with a Master of Science in Social Administration and he received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Ohio University. Ryan is a co-founder of Sage & Maven LLC, a for-profit consultancy that focuses on leadership and social justice.

Prior to becoming fully self-employed, Ryan served as the inaugural Director of Race, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (RDEI) at United Way of Greater Cleveland. His other recent career accomplishments have included serving as the inaugural Assistant Director for the Office of Inclusion for the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, Cleveland Campus, where they supported the launch of this department across three campuses. He also developed the community outreach and education program as the Community Relations Manager at the LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland.

Ryan’s career foundation is in community mental health and he has a rich history of working with youth and young adults. He is actively involved in the Cleveland social justice community - he currently sits on the board of directors for Preterm, has previously served on the board for Stonewall Sports Cleveland, and he has worked with national organizations including Planned Parenthood and GLAAD. Ryan is a skilled facilitator & certified mediator, has been recruited for speaking engagements nationally and internationally, and is considered an expert in social media and media advocacy.

Ryan is also a rotating host for area drag and burlesque shows, and a contributor the Ohio LGBTQ+ publication, the Buckeye Flame.

Phyllis "Seven" Harris’ 25+ years of experience with nonprofits, includes program management, fundraising, and upper-level management positions. For many years, she has played a strong role as an advocate in Cleveland’s LGBTQ+ community.

With the executive leadership of Ms. Harris since 2012, the LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland has experienced transformational growth and expansion. Today, Center patrons enjoy expanded programming for everyone from teens to families to seniors in their Gordon Square facility. In 2015, the Center launched Pride in the CLE, a family-oriented and community-driven LGBTQ Pride festival that the group continues to produce annually. In June 2019, Ms. Harris and her team moved in to a newly constructed facility that offers more space, accessibility, and versatility to serve the LGBTQ community.

Throughout her career, Ms. Harris has leveraged both her passion and her multi-faceted experience to lead the organization on a path of sustainable growth and vitality. Prior to joining the Center, Ms. Harris directed a major capital campaign for the Cleveland Sight Center, served as Vice President of Programs for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Cleveland and spearheaded youth initiatives at Planned Parenthood of Northeast Ohio. Her leadership in local nonprofit circles also extends to service on local and national nonprofit boards including the Women of Color Foundation, Graffiti HeArt art museum and CenterLink: The Community of LGBT Centers.

She is a past recipient of the Cleveland Foundation’s Homer C. Wadsworth award, has completed a leadership fellowship with the Arcus Foundation and is a graduate of the 2019 class of Leadership Cleveland. She recently served as I of 6 co-chairs of the Transition Team for the newly elected City of Cleveland Mayor, Justin Bibb.

Ms. Harris holds a master’s degree in non-profit management from Case Western Reserve University and a Bachelor of Arts from Baldwin Wallace College. January 2022 she was recognized by Cleveland Magazine as one of CLE’s 500.

Transracial Journeys envisions greater understanding of and support for transracially adopted persons and their families in all stages of life and sectors of society.

MISSION STATEMENT
With the best interests of transracially adopted persons at the center, Transracial Journeys provides practical tools and post adoption support for parents of a different race than the Black and Brown children entrusted to them and fosters supportive relationships for transracially adopted persons of all ages.

OUR GOALS:

Prioritizing representation for transracially adopted persons
Sharpening parental skills addressing the core issues of adoption and racism
Developing healthy racial identities for all members of the family
Encouraging greater cultural competence for parents
Promoting social justice and racial equity
Building a loving community

To learn more about our flagship event, Transracial Journeys Family Camp, go to our Family Camp page and check out our schedule of events. If you would like to be notified as future camp details become available, please make sure to sign-up for our monthly newsletter by using the subscribe feature on the bottom of this page..

Exploring race, adoption, and identity in a family setting

The Girl I Am, Was, and Never Will Be: A Speculative Memoir of Transracial Adoption

Book Recommendations for Families Created in Transracial Adoption

Book Corner Posts

September Pro-Tip to Foster Conversations About Transracial Adoptions

The Skin I’m In

Book Recommendations for Families Created in Transracial Adoption

Book Corner Posts

Sharon Flake b. 1955 in Philadelphia, PA

August Pro-Tip to Foster Conversations About Transracial Adoptions

More About Rachel

Rachel Briggs

More About Transracial Journeys

For More Family Camp Featured Speakers:

Learn More & Lean-In: Expanding Our Understanding of Our Relationships

More About Ryan

Ryan Clopton-Zymler, MSSA

More About Phyllis

Phyllis Harris, MNO

More About Transracial Journeys

For More Family Camp Featured Speakers:

The Girl I Am, Was, and Never Will Be:
A Speculative Memoir of Transracial Adoption