The Man Who Went To Chicago Analysis

Transracial Adoption and the Effects on Children In Richard Wright’s “The Man Who Went to Chicago”, Wright expresses his journey of several jobs and the way people treat him and the African American race. He learns that there are some people who have hatred toward him just because the color of his skin. Being use to the hatred towards African Americans, he later begins to hate himself because that is all he knows. This essay leads me to wonder about several racial controversies and what people think about them, such as the idea of transracial adoption and the effects on children growing up in those multi ethnic households. A greater question that this story leads me to is whether it is beneficial for children to be adopted by parents of a different race or ethnic group. There have been many debates and studies lead concerning how these adoptions affects these children. Some studies are focused on the benefits children receive by being adopted to another ethnic group, while others focus on the disadvantages and negative aspects of the children growing up.
These studies show that some children may have identity issues and not truly know who they are and also how children turn out to be perfectly comfortable and open to the idea of being raised differently than their peers. An area of interest for researchers is the benefits of being adopted to parents of a different race. Researchers find that children that are transracially adopted have higher self-esteem and are more open minded than the average child grown up in the same ethnic group household. According to several adoption agencies, “Psychological studies have found that transracially adopted children appear to handle the identity issues all adopted children face better than most because, researchers theorize, they cannot pretend to be like everyone else” (Interracial Familes). These children understand that they are different than other children and that they do not have the traditional family in America. These children tend to easily relate to other cultures and “can bridge the culture gap”(Interracial Families) between races. Researchers definitely have their opinions and statistics about the negative aspect and disadvantages of being adopted by parents of a different race. Researchers find that people tend to display prejudice and discrimination against diverse families. Strangers may ask derogatory questions about the child in the presence of the parents. For example, a black couple that adopted a white daughter had to deal with people following them out of “the mall to make sure she wasn’t being kidnapped” (Dokoupil). The National Association of Black Social Workers feel strongly about the topic. They feel that “[b]lack children should be placed only with black families whether in foster care or adoption. Black children belong physically, psychologically and culturally in black families in order that they receive the total sense of themselves and develop a sound projection of their future” (Future of Children). Even though some experts find that children benefit from these diverse families, others find that “[b]lack children in white homes are cut off from the healthy development of themselves as black people…We have committed ourselves to go back to our communities and work to end this particular form of genocide”(Future of Children). Families that decide to adopt transracially have to strive a lot harder to make their family coexist and to have a happy life, while traditional families do not face as much of the challenges. Studies show that families may have break language, identity, and racial barriers for their children to feel accepted and loved just as if they were there from birth. In the documentary, “Wo Ai Ni Mommy” meaning, “I love you Mommy”, Donna and Jeff Sadowsky have to go through challenges to integrate their adopted daughter from China to feel welcomed and loved. This family has to face the harsh challenges of not being able to directly communicate with their daughter and teach her that she is different from them and her journey of her new life will not be easy but she has the support and love to help her along the way. According to Janna Wolff, parents also have other challenges by staying one step ahead of their child because they have to be ready to deal with the changes of their life. For example, “transracially adopted children do not have the advantage of learning about their birth culture through everyday cues and bits of knowledge, assimilated almost unconsciously over years, as in single-race families”(Wolff). Parents have to adapt to the child’s culture as well as integrate their very own culture so the child can learn more about themselves. The mixing of cultures and religion are also a great debate about adopting transracial children.
For a couple to have one religion and the child that has another is a bit of a hassle to deal with in the household. For example if a couple is Christian and they adopt a child from India, there is a boundary that the parents have to discuss and become one as a family. “Most adoptive parents raise their children in the faith they practice at home, but do not expose them to the cultural heritage of their birth country”(Rotner). Religion is something the parents have to address and share with their children. Like most parents, they will raise their children with the religion they practice and let the children decide when they are out of the house or eighteen to decide what they want for themselves. According to Joshua Padilla, “situations like these are common and normal for families to go
through.” These studies show that transracial adoption can be a beneficial to children, but there are always cons to a decision. Transracial adoption is still a controversial debate to the public at large and people argue over whether they agree or disagree or whether it is beneficial or not. Bottom line, most can agree on the fact that all children deserve to be in stable homes where the parents and family can love them unconditionally. Regardless of race or not, all children want to be happy and ought to have the same privileges as the child beside them. Whether it is a traditional family or diverse family, children shouldn’t be left behind.

Works Cited
Dokoupil, Tony. The Daily Beast (2009): n. pag. Web. 19 Feb. 2013.
"Interracial Families - Transracial, Transcultural Adoption." Adoption. N.p., 1995. Web. 21 Feb. 2013. .
Padilla, Joshua B., Jorge H. Vargas, and Lyssette H. Chavez. "Influence of Age on Transracial Foster Adoptions and Its Relation to Ethnic Identity Development." (n.d.): n. pag. Academic Search Premier. Web. 19 Feb. 2013.
Rotner, Shelby, and Sheila M. Kelly. "Many Ways: How Families Practice Their Beliefs and Religions." Adoption News and Information from Adoptive Families. Adoptive Families Magazine, 2013. Web. 24 Feb. 2013.
Samuels, Gina M. "Being Raised by White People: Navigating Racial Difference Among Adopted Multiracial Adults." Journal of Marriage and Family 71 (2009): 80-94. Web. 20 Feb. 2013.
Silverman, Arnold R. "Outcomes of Transracial Adoption." The Future of Children. Princeton Bookings, 1993. Web. 11 Feb. 2013.
"Transracial Adoption." Society 22.4 (1985): 2-3. Academic Search Premier. Web. 21 Feb. 2013.
Wo Ai Ni Mommy. Dir. Stephanie Wang-Breal. Perf. Donna Sadowsky and Faith Sadowsky. 2010. DVD.
Wolff, Jana. "Raising a Child of Another Race." The Adoption Guide: Raising A Child of Another Race. Adoptive Families Magazine, 2000. Web. 24 Feb. 2013.
Wright, Richard. “The Man Who Went to Chicago”.1945. MSU Reader: Selections for EN 1113-Comp II. Eds. Ann Spurlock, et. al. Custom Edition for Mississippi State University. Boston: Pearson, 2011. 74-98. Print.