Tag Archives: african american

“Tweeters” to Celebrate Junteenth

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On June 19th, Twitter users will be celebrating an important historical event, now referred to as Junteenth (also called Emancipation Day or Freedom Day). Before I get into the details of the event, let me first give you a brief introduction about what Juneteenth is. On June 19th, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger led his troops of Union soldiers to Galveston, Texas. They were there to announce the end of the Civil War and free all slaves. While Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation took place 2-1/2 years prior to the war’s end, many African Americans in Texas were still enslaved. Today, … Continue reading →

African American Genealogy

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Yesterday a friend who is researching her African American genealogy contacted me, wondering if I have any tips for her, since this type of research is difficult due to the country’s horrible history of slavery. Unfortunately, never having done any African American genealogical research, I wasn’t of much help to her. However, I am inspired to broaden my knowledge and try to help her as best as I can. I am looking forward to her next email, which will provide me with the information I will need to see if I can discover any new information for her. I am … Continue reading →

Care of African American Children in Transracial Adoptions: Different Skin Colors

Ed Paul and I dialogue regularly about Care of African American Children in Transracial Adoptions. While I have little experience in being adopted, I have tons of experience in being African American. This week, we discussed how to handle conversations (that the kids may bring up) about different skin colors. Being from a large extended step family, I experienced this problem growing up. Ed asked me to share my advice and experiences. Ed mentioned a comment one of his children made which I will address: Once, Matthew (has African American features) said as they were getting out of the shower, … Continue reading →

Celebrating Black History Month

February is black history month and it is wonderful opportunity for any family, regardless of race, to enjoy and have fun learning a bit about African American History. I have a few plans, that center around food and music mostly, but also look to build off the lessons and events surrounding the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. and the day of service organized last month in his honor. I intend to serve my wife and daughter a diverse menu this month, featuring some soul food: ribs, pulled pork (barbecue), sweet potatoes and more. We are going to talk about … Continue reading →

Care of African American Children in Transracial Adoptions: When You need a Stylist

Previously, In this series of articles on care of African American children in transracial adoptions, I have discussed winter skincare, summer skincare, and basic hair care. I am not discussing advanced hair care problems for African American children. Mixed raced hair care, and care of long hair were discussed in a previous article. While caring for the hair of your African American child can be binding experience, there will be a time when you should call a stylist. Hair Problems: Sometimes in spite of doing everything by the book, your child will still have problems with their hair. These problems … Continue reading →

Care of African American Children in Transracial Adoptions: Caring for Long Hair

Previously, In this series of articles on care of African American children in transracial adoptions, I have discussed winter skincare, summer skincare, and basic hair care. I am now discussing advanced hair care problems for African American children. One of these is mixed raced hair care, which was dicussed in a previoius article. Next, I want to address care of long hair of African American Children in Transracial Adoption. African Americans, typically do not have very long hair due to the fragile nature of our hair. Therefore, anything shoulder length or longer is considered long. Here are the special things … Continue reading →

Care of African American Children in Transracial Adoptions: Mixed Race Hair Care

Previously, In this series of articles on care of African American children in transracial adoptions, I have discussed winter skincare, summer skincare, and basic hair care. It is not time to discuss advanced hair care problems for African American children. Let us talk abut “Good hair”. (Notice the quotation marks. ) Most African Americans have hair that is called kinky or nappy. Others however may have what is often referred to as “good hair”. This simply means the hair is easier to comb and has a looser curl than the average black person’s hair. This good hair is usually a … Continue reading →

Care of African American Children in Transracial Adoptions: Winter Skincare

Long before I ever began blogging, I have wanted to talk about this subject. I remember the first time I noticed a white mother pushing a little black baby in a shopping cart, I wanted to run over to her and give her words of encouragement, and some hair care tips to boot. (Some of my fellow employees pointed and stared, and the baby’s hair was a mess). I am going to save those two subjects for later and start with something a bit closer to my heart… skincare. Adoption blogger Ed Paul, tells me that skincare is an issue … Continue reading →

American Children Are Being Adopted in Foreign Lands

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There is a problem in this country. The majority of the families that consider adopting children are Caucasian. The majority of the children that need to be adopted are African American. The number of foreign children that are being adopted by Americans is increasing. African American babies are being sent to foreign countries. The United States is sending African American newborns to Canada and Western Europe. The families that receive these children say that their primary motive for taking them is that they wanted a newborn baby, without regard to that baby’s race. They say that there is no bias … Continue reading →

On Being an African American Homeschooler

I belong to several African American Homeschooling Email Lists/ groups. I often question my memberships. You see, I have problems with exclusivity. Yet, I maintain my membership. There is information I can get from these lists that I cannot get anywhere else. This information includes cultural materials and events that my children can learn from and enjoy. The groups include African Amercican Unschoolers and African American Homeschooling Network Being African American and a Homeschooler can be lonely… not for lack of people, but for lack of similar people. With one exception, when I was considering homeschooling while living in New … Continue reading →