We all probably know by now that transracial adoptions involving White parents adopting children from Asian countries is rather commonplace. Perhaps less obvious however, are transracial adoptions in which Which parents adopt African American children. Nonetheless, as the New York Times reports, the numbers of these White-Black transracial adoptions has been increasing in recent years:

Ms. Brockway and Mr. Timble are among a growing number of white couples pushing past longtime cultural resistance to adopt black children. In 2004, 26 percent of black children adopted from foster care, about 4,200, were adopted transracially, nearly all by whites. That is up from roughly 14 percent, or 2,200, in 1998. . . .

The 2000 census showed that just over 16,000 white households included adopted black children. Adoption experts say there has been a notable increase since 2000. The reasons for the increase are varied. The Multiethnic Placement Act and its amendments prohibited federally financed agencies from denying adoption based on race. The foster care system has sharply changed in recent years and now includes financial incentives for finding more adoptive families.

The combination of legal changes and greater embracing of multicultural families — Americans have adopted more than 200,000 children from overseas in the past 15 years — have lessened resistance from both blacks and whites. The long wait for white children and the high costs of international adoptions — typically $15,000 to $35,000 — also play a role.

The article also notes that international Asian adoptions are perhaps losing their popularity slightly because of concerns over the legality of the baby’s orphan status and because of backlash against the implicitly racist assumption that Asian children are more “racially similar” to White children. Combined with fewer social concerns about the cultural appropriateness of Whites raising Black children, these factors combine to produce more White-Black adoptions.

Nonetheless, as the article points out, there are still lingering concerns on both sides of the White-Black adoption process, from other White parents who wonder why a White couple wouldn’t prefer to have White children, to some Blacks who worry that the adopted children will become “whitewashed,” and from various critics who protest as devaluating the lives of Blacks the practice of setting adoption fees for Black children lower in order to encourage their adoption.

At the same time, there are more programs to aid both the adoptive parents and the adopted child with their situations and to deal with the complicated issues involved in such transracial adoption. The bottom line seems to be that times have changed -- like it or not, American society is becoming increasingly multicultural and multiracial.

Transracial adoptions do not have to always be associated with a loss of racial identity. Obviously there are issues involved that all parties need to be mindful of. But let us not forget that ultimately, there is one quality that is paramount above all others in terms of making sure adoptive children thrive in whatever environment in which they’re raised -- love.