transracial journeys family camp Archives

Black Excellence – Jared Donahue Robinson

Jared Donahue Robinson, the visionary behind JDRobinsonCultureAnd.co, is a dynamic force driving cultural preservation and community empowerment through the lens of Black history and heritage. His work transcends mere historical documentation, evolving into a vibrant platform for education, celebration, and transformative dialogue. Robinson's dedication to reclaiming and amplifying Black narratives solidifies his place as a beacon of Black excellence.

Robinson's approach is rooted in the belief that understanding the past is crucial for shaping a prosperous future. He meticulously curates and presents historical information, not as static facts, but as living stories that resonate with contemporary audiences. His platform serves as a vital resource, offering a nuanced and authentic portrayal of Black experiences often overlooked or misrepresented in mainstream narratives.

Community Engagement & Intergenerational Dialogue

Central to his work is the emphasis on community engagement. He fosters spaces for intergenerational dialogue, encouraging the sharing of personal stories and collective memories. He understands that history is not just about dates and events; it's about the lived experiences of individuals and communities. By creating platforms for these voices to be heard, he empowers individuals to connect with their heritage and build a stronger sense of identity.

Making Black History Accessible & Engaging

Robinson's impact extends beyond traditional historical education. He leverages technology and creative mediums to make Black history accessible and engaging. His online platform features multimedia content, including videos, podcasts, and interactive presentations, that bring history to life. He also collaborates with artists and creatives to produce culturally relevant content that resonates with diverse audiences.

His work is characterized by a commitment to authenticity and accuracy. Robinson meticulously researches and verifies historical information, ensuring that the narratives he presents are grounded in truth. He challenges dominant historical narratives, offering alternative perspectives and highlighting the contributions of Black individuals and communities that have been marginalized or ignored.

Furthermore, Robinson actively cultivates educational initiatives that bring Black history into classrooms and community centers. He understands the importance of empowering young people with knowledge of their heritage, fostering a sense of pride and agency. By providing educators with resources and tools, he equips them to teach Black history in a meaningful and engaging way.

Family Camp 2025:

Adding to his commitment to community and education, Jared Donahue Robinson will be joining us at Family Camp this year. His presence will provide a unique opportunity for families to engage directly with his expertise and passion for Black history. This will offer a chance to further build connections, learn, and appreciate the importance of cultural understanding within transracial adoptive families.

Jared Donahue Robinson's commitment to cultural preservation and community empowerment is a testament to his unwavering dedication to Black excellence. He is not just preserving history; he is shaping the future by empowering individuals and communities to embrace their heritage and build a more just and equitable society. His work stands as a powerful reminder of the importance of reclaiming our narratives and celebrating the richness and complexity of Black history. Through his platform and his engagement with our community, he is ensuring that the stories of our past continue to inspire and empower generations to come.

Each month, we take time to highlight the remarkable contributions of Black leaders, trailblazers, and changemakers whose impact continues to shape our world. These stories serve as a valuable opportunity for transracial families to learn, reflect, and engage in meaningful conversations about Black history and culture. We invite you to explore our past Black Excellence features in the carousel below, where you’ll find inspiring figures from various fields—activism, science, arts, sports, and beyond. If you haven’t already, be sure to subscribe to our monthly newsletter to receive these stories, along with discussion prompts and book recommendations, right in your inbox.

2025 Family Camp Theme Announcement:

A Message from the TRJ Board of Directors and Executive Director

At the intersection of Black History Month and a month when we celebrate love, we are reminded of the power of community, resilience, and the bonds that sustain us on our journeys. This year, those values feel more urgent than ever and why we are thrilled to announce our 2025 camp theme: Together on the Journey: Community, Empowerment, & Joy.

These words embody the heart of our mission—bringing transracially adopted children and their families together in a space of connection, learning, and growth. Each year, TRJ works to create a place where no one walks alone, where identity is celebrated, and where love is the foundation of everything we do.

It may feel like camp is a long way off, but it will be here before we know it! We are already preparing to welcome you back to Ohio University, where laughter will fill the air, friendships will deepen, and meaningful conversations will take place. Registration will open in March and we cannot wait to see both familiar and new faces join us on this incredible journey. As always, our theme will come to life with the help of our amazing Camp Co-Directors Mary and Karen along with our counselors, presenters and special guests.

Honoring Black history helps us celebrate the children entrusted to us through adoption and helps ensure a strong future. Doing this requires deep work to understand racial identity and belonging within a world that does not see the complexities of family separation and trauma. By committing to this work, we ensure that transracially adopted children are protected, seen, and valued for all that they are.

When we commit to this lifelong journey, we create the conditions for children to grow with confidence, cultural pride, and an unshakable sense of belonging. No matter how cold the climate may feel outside, TRJ is here to wrap you in warmth, understanding, and the unshakable knowledge that together the journey can be better and brighter.

We look forward to walking this journey with you. More on camp very soon! Until then, save the dates - July 30th- August 3rd.

Together, we’ll grow.

Together, we’ll heal.

Together, we’ll thrive.

With Love,
The TRJ Board of Directors & Executive Director

Book Corner – July 2024

Book Corner – Brooke Randolph: It’s Not About You

Understanding Adoptee Search, Reunion, & Open Adoption

It’s Not About You: Understanding Adoptee Search, Reunion, & Open Adoption is a book written for adoptive and birth parents and their therapists. After repetitive conversations with adopted persons (and sometimes their parents) about reactions to their search and reunion, Brooke knew adoptive and parents of origin needed a book on the topic.

Brooke is a therapist, author, speaker, trainer and an adoptive parent who enjoys sharing with groups of all sizes whether that is in person or online. Both therapeutically and personally, she is committed to never stop learning and growing. Primary specialties for Brooke include adoption competent therapy, Brainspotting, relationship building, and developmental trauma. Brooke is a certified Imago Relationship Therapist, a Certified Brainspotting Trainer & Consultant, and coordinator for the groups Brainspotting Indy and Brainspotting with Adoption.

This year, we are thrilled to have Brooke joining us at the Transracial Journeys Family Camp to help bring to life parent work sessions centered on creating a brighter path to inclusivity for transracially adopted persons as well as the extended family.

https://brooke-randolph.com/author-brooke/

Family Camp 2022 Highlights

Thank you to all our families that attended Transracial Journeys Family Camp 2022, “Commitment, Community, Courage and Culture”

This year, fifteen new families came to camp for the first time. They were hosted by the board and given an introduction to our community at our first ever New Family Orientation. We hosted a bibliotherapeutic book sale, we toasted marshmallows for smores and had a great talent show. Some of us fished and some of us tumbled with Mr. Todd. A lot of us tie-dyed our camp t-shirts. And one thing is beyond certain, we could not have done anything without our amazing camp counselors!

Our parents attended sessions curated by Executive Director, April Dinwoodie, and facilitated by transracially-adopted presenters Zack Fried and Hannah Jackson Matthews. They each discussed our families’ unique challenges in navigating racism. Avril Sargeant, LPCC focused her seminar on resilience. Megan and Jeffrey Bain discussed their connections to their children’s family of origin.

We recognize our parents, our children and our Transracial Journeys community for making Family Camp 2022 so special. We appreciate each of them contributing to an environment of joy, connection and transformation that happened at our Family Camp this summer.

For sharing any photos on Instagram, please photo credit by adding in the caption, "Photo Credit: @Adam_Michaels and @jade_hambrick." On Facebook please credit facebook.com/adammichaels87.

TRJ Announces Hannah Jackson Matthews M.S. Ed as a Featured Speaker for 2022

Transracial Journeys is pleased to announce Hannah Jackson Matthews, M.S. Ed., as a featured presenter for Family Camp 2022, August 4-7th. Hannah will be sharing her experiences and expertise helping us to better understand the importance of connections to family and culture of origin as well as how to navigate racism. As a writer, an educator, a speaker and a transracial adoptees champion, Hannah has made it her mission to advocate for the needs of transracial adoptees. Matthews, a transracial adoptee herself, offers invaluable insight, experience and passion as she works to support transracial adoptees by helping to shift the responsibility of facing the realities of racism from the adoptee to their adoptive parents.

Without the racial literacy necessary to navigate racism, the endless song playing in her childhood mind was "I don't belong".

Born in Kansas City, Missouri, to a white birth mother and Black birth father, Hannah Jackson Matthews, M.S. Ed. was adopted privately and domestically adopted. The Jacksons eagerly brought home their last baby and only baby girl and raised her in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Matthews enjoyed romping around her suburban neighborhood with her older brothers. And despite the simple joys of childhood, it seemed her joys were often being interrupted by the bias and discrimination of others.

In a town comprised of not even one percent of people who shared Matthews' brown skin and curly hair, she didn't know how to navigate these painful experiences. Deeply lonely and insecure, she longingly searched for if and where she belonged.

Her journey seeking what was missing continued on for years. In those years, Matthews found solace in the croon of Ella Fitzgerald, the flowing poetry of Q-Tip, the prose of Audre Lorde. She found beautiful friendships within my racial community. She found love with a beautiful Black man and in their two incredible children.

Ultimately, with all of the help of those previously listed, and many more, she found herself. She discovered that in many ways, she was what she was missing. Today Matthews works tirelessly to support transracial adoptees as they find all the magic that they are, too.

Transracial Journeys is a social and educational organization designed to provide practical tools and support for families experiencing transracial adoption. Our goals include:

Building community and promoting racial justice and equity
Developing healthy racial identity for all members of the family
Encouraging greater cultural competence for parents
Fostering a deeper understanding of core issues of adoption

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..

The Arc of Identity

In our April, 2021 Newsletter article entitled “What’s in a Name?,” We wrote about identity and the names our children carry. In this month’s set of cards, April writes,

“When your child is adopted, there’s another world, another narrative, and perhaps another name that accompanies them along with their “who am I?” journey. The way in which we build a strong and healthy identity often begins with our names as one of our central building blocks.”

Finding Community

Identity development is a large part of a child’s journey throughout adolescence and young adulthood. Finding community is also a large part of answering this “who am I?” question. For those of us who have been involved with Transracial Journeys for several years, we’ve had the privilege of witnessing our children and some of our camp counselors mature and enter young adulthood.

On The Board, we work to provide support to our families and children - that’s a given! But, in the wings, we also work to nurture, train and support our camp counselors who themselves are often adopted persons and therefore older versions of our children. When you come to camp, you’re not only supporting the healthy growth of your own family, but you’re also supporting this community of your child’s future peers.

For the past few years, we have been fostering the transition of our young campers into counselor-in-training and counselor roles at camp. We have been observing a “rite of passage” of sorts from camper to counselor. We’ve discovered one of the gifts of growing up in TRJ is this transition where a child leaves their family of experience and enters a new family of friends, advocates, and peers who share a lot of the same lived experiences. Finding your people and availing yourself of their support, friendship and wisdom is incredibly nurturing to the development of your sense of self and to your identity in being part of a group.

The community building that’s happening with our counselors, and their friendships forged is pretty amazing. Several of our counselors have been coming together now for years to work with our children, and in doing this work, they’ve also formed relationships with a community of peers who share intersectionalities of race and/or adoption. Finding a network of kindredness and support will help our children in their search to answer the question “who am I?”.

We look forward to helping our young adults find support and reflection of themselves on their journey to adulthood and beyond. Who knows, perhaps your child will be a counselor someday too.

Community Engagement & Intergenerational Dialogue

Making Black History Accessible & Engaging

Family Camp 2025:

Black Excellence Posts:

Pictures from 2024 Transracial Journeys Family Camp at Ohio University

Book Corner – Brooke Randolph: It’s Not About You

Understanding Adoptee Search, Reunion, & Open Adoption

More About Hannah

More About Transracial Journeys

For More Family Camp Featured Speakers:

Finding Community

"Who Am I?"