作为抚养白人孩子的黑人父母，我们每天都要面对种族歧视

八年前，凯拉琼斯-鲍德温和她的丈夫理查得罗鲍德温渴望扩大他们的家庭。这对住在北卡罗来纳州肯纳斯维尔的夫妇已经是琼斯-鲍德温前一段感情的女儿、当时9岁的查里亚的父母，查里亚要求有一个兄弟姐妹。但是接下来发生的是一连串令人心碎的多次流产和失败的体外受精。

现年36岁的琼斯-鲍德温说，我们经历了所有的测试，试图找出问题所在，但他们就是想不出来。最后，我只是想，'好吧，我只是觉得我不能再这样做了。我的身体很累，精神上也很累

一段时间后，扎里亚最好的朋友卡尔利——他的母亲陷入了困境，无家可归——有机地成为琼斯-鲍德温家庭的一部分。琼斯-鲍德温说："我对她的爱与日俱增，然后我觉得我有可能像爱亲生孩子一样去爱另一个孩子。"。

事态的发展促使琼斯-鲍德温夫妇成为养父母。琼斯-鲍德温开玩笑说："我丈夫当时也在船上，因为他想让一些男孩退出交易。"。

RELATED: 收养一个家庭：抚养孩子的父母的真实故事这对夫妇参加了寄养父母班，并在八个月内获得了认证。琼斯-鲍德温说，我们开始寄养，这是一次非常有益的经历。然后，我们决定成为养父母。

2016年，琼斯-鲍德温夫妇成为了混血儿卡尔利的法定监护人。然后，一年后，他们收养了9岁的艾登，他也是混血儿，他们从2015年起就一直在抚养他。

时间快进到2017年七月，琼斯-鲍德温接到寄养主管的电话，说要为一个十几岁的父母所生的名叫普林斯顿的白人男婴做皮肤接触。她很快和他建立了联系，没过多久，父亲就问琼斯-鲍德温斯是否会把普林斯顿带回家。他爸爸说，'如果我决定放弃我的权利，你会成为普林斯顿的妈妈吗？琼斯-鲍德温回忆道。他有点担心，问道："你愿意吗？"

ant to adopt a white baby?'" Her response: "100 percent yes."

Keia Jones-Baldwin and son Keia Jones-Baldwin and her son Princeton. | Credit: Courtesy of Keia Jones-Baldwin

Backlash of Raising a Multiracial Family

Growing up, it wouldn't have been uncommon for Jones-Baldwin to hear comments like, "You can't trust white people." But raising a white son and two biracial children has made the foster mom more conscious of statements like that. "Would I have not had a biracial child or a white child, I would have still stayed in my bubble," she says.

At the same time, the devoted mom has faced negativity and ignorance from outsiders. "I never thought I would experience so much hatred and racism," says Jones-Baldwin. She's been asked, "Why would you open your foster home to a white child? Black kids need love too," or "Why would you take a white baby out of his white privilege and a situation where he'd be able to have a good life?" Others will blatantly say, "You shouldn't have that white child."

Even worse: Jones-Baldwin often has interactions with strangers who go further than just spewing insensitive comments. "We were once in a department store, and this guy started taking pictures of my son to report to security that I had kidnapped my son," she recalls.

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She's also realized the double standards that exist between Black and white foster parents. As the only Black foster parent of a white child in a foster care training class, she began chatting with some of the white parents who were present with their Black children. The white parents were lamenting over experiences like being told they couldn't do their child's hair or being asked where their child was from, implying they are not American.

But when Jones-Baldwin asked if those parents are stopped in restaurants or accused of kidnapping their child, the mothers replied, "No, we get more like, 'you're saving this child.'" That's when Jones-Baldwin realized her experience was different than other foster parents.

From that point on, she was determined to raise awareness for families like her own. "There are families that are in transracial adoption situations, and we want to be treated fairly," she says. "We want the opportunity to not have to defend our families every time we’re out in public."

The Baldwin kids The Baldwin kids. | Credit: Courtesy of Keia Jones-Baldwin

How This Mom Started a Movement

"I've started seeing in the media Black families who have adopted white children," says Jones-Baldwin.

Not only has the proud mom been connecting with these families, but she also started a blog called Raising Cultures in 2018. It soon grew across multiple social media sites, including Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram, and serves as a resource and supportive community for all parents.

The reason it has become so popular and the family's posts have gone viral? "People really want to see positivity and are needing to see happiness," says Jones-Baldwin. "It's one love; just one race—the human race."

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She also hopes to spread the message to people that while parenting is a universally shared experience, everyone should feel empowered to "make it their own."

"Everybody's family is different," says Jones-Baldwin. "Don't put stipulations on love, on the possibility of helping a kid of another culture. You're going to bring something to that kid that they need, and they’ll bring something to you that you need. Families don't have to match. We don’t have to look alike to love alike."