Transracial Adoption- Food for Thought

Excerpt from The Morality of Adoption: Social-Psychological, Theological, and Legal Perspectives:

"We must acknowledge, however, that a critical consciousness about race and racism has to be learned. It is possible, and is indeed quite common, for White people to grow up in the United States with little or no contact with people of color, no suggestion that social reality is perceived differently from social locations other than their own, and/or no awareness that racism still operates at multiple levels in contemporary society. In fact, many of the messages aimed at Whites in mainstream public discourse support and foster the view that racial inequality was eradicated by the civil rights movement, and that the United States is a "color blind" society....When transracially adoptive parents take the opportunity to educate themselves and their children, to (re) locate their families to racially diverse communities, and to grapple with the sticky, often painful, issues that arise in multicultural families, their children benefit tremendously. Indeed, this is a critical factor for transracial adoptees. [ p86]

Hmmm.....I admit that I am one of the many "Whites" who grew up in the type of community the author refers to in the above excerpt. And, having moved back to the area where I grew up, our child(ren) will grow up in a similiar environment. The primary difference, of course, between my experience growing up in an almost exculsively white, rural area and his (theirs) is glaring obvious: they will grow up in this area being a non-white person.

I would be lying if I said I do not worry about the effect (consequences?) of growing up in this area may/will have on our child(ren).

I would also be lying if I said that I am willing to relocate to a more racially diverse area. I accept that it is probably the best thing to do (the above author is not the first to point out the benefits of relocating to a more racially diverse area).....but to do so would require a tremendous amount of sacrifice and plain ole good luck. Doing so would also require moving away from mother, sister, brother in law, niece, nephew, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends- familial and social relationships that I believe are also vitally important relationships for our child)ren).

The question I struggle with is this: Do the benefits of relocating to a more racially diverse area outweigh the benefits of living in a community in which there exists an extended kinship network as well as significant social ties - i.e. the "village" it takes to raise a child? (ahem. this is not intended to open up a discussion of Hilary Clinton- who, by the way, was not the first to use such terms in relationship to the societal/communal obligations to its collective children)

Am I being selfish for not wanting to relocate? Am I putting my own comfort (i.e. wanting to stay close to family/friends here) over my future child(ren)'s well being?

What do you think? Do you live in a similiar "non-diverse" community? If so, what have you done (or, for PAP's, what do you intend to do) to foster connections to the ethnic roots/community of your child's birth culture?

If you live in a racially diverse community, what are the benefits you (and/or your child) have experienced as a result of having access to cultural and racial diversity? How often do you actually interact with "people of color" and/or other transracial adoptive families?