Between 2017 and 2019, 28% of all child adoptions in the United States were transracial. Transracial adoption is when a child of one race is adopted by a parent of another race. Of those transracial adoptions, 90% are white parents of children of a different race or ethnicity, and it can be challenging for both parents and children to adjust to the world around them.
Transracial Journeys is a Northeast Ohio nonprofit whose goal is to give transracial families the tools they need to develop a healthy racial identity for all members of the family, while at the same time building community. One of the ways the organization provides practical tools is by hosting its annual Transracial Journeys Family Camp. The three-night family fellowship founded in Shaker Heights more than ten years ago allows parents and children to come together and learn what they might not have known while going through the adoption process.
As a transracially adopted person herself, Executive Director April Dinwoodie saw a need for community, and she found a home with the Transracial Journeys organization. “It's providing something that I didn't have as a child growing up in a very white community, in a white family, in terms of that community and my parents’ education around what I needed,” said Dinwoodie.
Lakewood residents Steven and Michelle Daray can attest to the lifelong positive impacts the camp has after experiencing it for themselves.
“My entire look at parenting changed the first 45 minutes of camp,” said Steven.
They've been going to the camp for years, building connections with families that look just like theirs.
“You need community, you need community. You need to meet other families that are doing are on the same journey as you, it’s magical,” said Michelle.
The camp combines classes on topics like cultural competence, trauma, social justice and racial equity.
The Transracial Journeys Family Camp is happening from Aug. 3-6 at Ohio University in Athens. Registration for this year's family camp is now open. Find more info here.
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