Dear Friends and Supporters of BraveLove,

We’ve been heartbroken by the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and many other black men and women who have died because of the color of their skin.

We at BraveLove believe that black lives are significant, valuable, and matter. We believe their voices need to be heard and their stories need to be shared — now more than ever.

What is BraveLove's role in dismantling the systemic racism that pervades this country?

Over the years, we’ve consistently acknowledged that adoption is complicated and messy. But we have not acknowledged that transracial adoption can be even more complex and challenging. 

Imagine this — an African American woman gets pregnant and is considering making an adoption plan. She gets to decide... Do I want my black son to be raised in a white family or a black family? And will that family honor my son’s cultural heritage? The social implications of race affect children and families forever. As for adoptive parents, raising a child of a different race than their own brings unique and heightened considerations and responsibilities in a racialized society.

Today, we want you to know that we are committed to doing better. For BraveLove, we’ll continue to share adoption stories of hope because we believe stories can educate and change the world.

But in addition to stories, we want to gain a deeper understanding of the cultural barriers to adoption. We are committed to listening to the hard parts of transracial adoptions from all perspectives — the adoptees, birth parents, and adoptive parents.  We will be sharing more perspectives that talk about the realities of raising a child of a different race. We want to be better at supporting birth parents who are trying to navigate this unique open relationship especially when races are different. We will be diligent in finding and sharing helpful resources and testimonials that will foster healthy racial-ethnic development within families.

Our mission is about removing the stigmas of adoption and making it a more supported option for ALL WOMEN in unplanned pregnancies. I believe we can do a better job of identifying more of the cultural biases across different races so that our advocacy of adoption is more truthful and empathetic.

I hope you’ll join us as we stand up against the racial injustices in our country. Practically speaking, here are a few ways you can help as we all move forward:

• Share great resources - articles, blogs, podcasts, books, films, etc.
• Connect us to groups that are doing great work in regards to racial reconciliation so we can educate ourselves
• Introduce us to individuals who are looking for a space to share their point of view, especially as it relates to complexities of race and adoption

We’ve begun to put a few resources together (which you can find here), but we welcome your insights and recommendations.

Thank you for being a part of this important work through your advocacy and support.

Sincerely,
Laura Bruder
Executive Director