The Color Line Exception: The Transracial Adoption of Foreign-born and Biracial Black Children

Census data show that the number of transracial adoptive households is rising, but white parents are more likely to adopt Hispanic and Asian children than black children. These demographics provide empirical support for the argument that the color line in the United States is evolving from a white/nonwhite divide toward a black/nonblack one. Yet these racial demarcations treat blacks as a monolithic group and hide the potential for subgroup variation. The purpose of this article is to explore the ways in which white adoptive parents differentiate among black children available for adoption. Specifically, I examine how the adoptions of foreign-born black and of native-born multiracial black children are positioned as distinct from native-born “full” black children. To analyze these questions, I draw on in-depth interviews with adoption professionals who routinely help facilitate transracial adoptions (n=25). I argue foreign-born and biracial black children are seen as the exception to African American exceptionalism—in other words, these children are seen as “not black.” The study concludes with a discussion of implications for child welfare workers and adoptive families.