S1E13: “I wish I was just adopted by Black people” x Robin Alexander

“…another story needs to be told about transracial adoptees.” – Robin Alexander

The Black adoptee experience is not monolithic and the same can be said about the Black transracial adoptee (BTRA) experience. Robin Alexander recalls always searching for who and what she was, never feeling at home in the “Indian, Mexican, French, and Spanish” origin story her white parents told her and anybody who would listen. 

There was a piece missing from her biracial identity and an inner knowing confirmed for her that the missing piece was hiding in Blackness. There was no turning back for Robin once she fully identified as Black. A Black person who happened to be adopted into a white family. 

Where some Black adoptees raised in white families may feel internally disconnected from their Blackness and maybe unworthy of fully owning their Blackness #Impostersyndrome, Robin leaned all the way in, even in the times her Black card was put into question (she can’t play Spades, y’all, but her invite to the cookout is still intact!). 

Now, at 51 years old raising four grandchildren, her adoption journey is uncovering new questions. Where does her adopted self end and her authentic self begin? The searching continues, but this conversation is a reminder for us all that showing up authentically can start with boldly telling our stories.

Get into Episode 13 on your favorite podcast platform. There’s only ONE MORE EPISODE remaining in Season 1!

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RECOMMENDED RESOURCES

• “You Gon Learn Today!” BTRA Instagram Accounts: @wreckageandwonder and @_heytra and @juneinapril
• #BTTBreads: The Meaning of Mariah Carey by Mariah Carey
• WATCH: “Little White Lie” documentary (Amazon Prime)

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