Somebody’s Children: The Politics of Transnational and Transracial Adoption

Overview: In Somebody's Children, Laura Briggs Examines The Social And Cultural Forces-poverty, Racism, Economic Inequality, And Political Violence-that Have Shaped Transracial And Transnational Adoption In The United States During The Second Half Of The Twentieth Century And The First Decade Of The Twenty-first. Focusing Particularly On The Experiences Of Those Who Have Lost Their Children To Adoption, Briggs Analyzes The Circumstances Under Which African American And Native Mothers In The United States And Indigenous And Poor Women In Latin America Have Felt Pressed To Give Up Their Children For Adoption Or Have Lost Them Involuntarily. The Dramatic Expansion Of Transracial And Transnational Adoption Since The 1950s, Briggs Argues, Was The Result Of Specific And Profound Political And Social Changes, Including The Large-scale Removal Of Native Children From Their Parents, The Condemnation Of Single African American Mothers In The Context Of The Civil Rights Struggle, And The Largely Invented Crack Babies Scare That Inaugurated The Dramatic Withdrawal Of Benefits To Poor Mothers In The United States. In Guatemala, El Salvador, And Argentina, Governments Disappeared Children During The Cold War And Then Imposed Neoliberal Economic Regimes With U.s. Support, Making The Circulation Of Children Across National Borders Easy And Often Profitable. Concluding With An Assessment Of Present-day Controversies Surrounding Gay And Lesbian Adoptions And The Struggles Of Immigrants Fearful Of Losing Their Children To Foster Care, Briggs Challenges Celebratory Or Otherwise Simplistic Accounts Of Transracial And Transnational Adoption By Revealing Some Of Their Unacknowledged Causes And Costs. African American Children And Adoption, 1950-1975 -- The Making Of The Indian Child Welfare Act, 1922-1978 -- Crack Babies, Race, And Adoption Reform, 1975-2000 -- From Refugees To Madonnas Of The Cold War -- Uncivil Wars -- Latin American Family Values -- Gay And Lesbian Adoption In The United States -- Epilogue: U.s. Immigrants : The Next Fight Over Race, Adoption, And Foster Care? Laura Briggs. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [319]-352) And Index. Overview: "In Somebody's Children, Laura Briggs examines the social and cultural forces-poverty, racism, economic inequality, and political violence-that have shaped transracial and transnational adoption in the United States during the second half of the twentieth century and the first decade of the twenty-first. Focusing particularly on the experiences of those who have lost their children to adoption, Briggs analyzes the circumstances under which African American and Native mothers in the United States and indigenous and poor women in Latin America have felt pressed to give up their children for adoption or have lost them involuntarily. The dramatic expansion of transracial and transnational adoption since the 1950s, Briggs argues, was the result of specific and profound political and social changes, including the large-scale removal of Native children from their parents, the condemnation of single African American mothers in the context of the civil rights struggle, and the largely invented "crack babies" scare that inaugurated the dramatic withdrawal of benefits to poor mothers in the United States. In Guatemala, El Salvador, and Argentina, governments disappeared children during the Cold War and then imposed neoliberal economic regimes with U.S. support, making the circulation of children across national borders easy and often profitable. Concluding with an assessment of present-day controversies surrounding gay and lesbian adoptions and the struggles of immigrants fearful of losing their children to foster care, Briggs challenges celebratory or otherwise simplistic accounts of transracial and transnational adoption by revealing some of their unacknowledged causes and costs."--Back cover Acknowledgments ix Introduction 1 Part I. Transracial Adoption in the United States 1. African American Children and Adoption, 1950–1975 27 2. The Making of the Indian Child Welfare Act, 1922–1978 59 3. "Crack Babies," Race, and Adoption Reform, 1975–2000 94 Part II. Transnational Adoption and Latin America 4. From Refugees to Madonnas of the Cold War 129 5. Uncivil Wars 160 6. Latin American Family Values 197 Part III. Emerging Fights Over the Politics of Adoption 7. Gay and Lesbian Adoption in the United States 241 Epilogue. U.S. Immigrants: The Next Fight over Race, Adoption, and Foster Care? 269 Notes 285 Bibliography 319 Index 353 A feminist historian and an adoptive parent, Laura Briggs gives an account of transracial and transnational adoption from the point of view of the mothers and communities that lose their children.