"It's important to give that child the opportunity to be connected to their heritage," Shawnese said. "If that's through books or through a community organization or even media that you expose them to, I think that's super important."
And while no one is refuting the fact that giving a child a loving home can ever be less than a positive thing, adopting a child doesn't automatically give parents license to speak for a culture they're not a part of. "There's this strange thing that happens sometimes where people feel like they are honorary members of that culture because they've adopted a child from another culture, and that's just not a thing," Shawnese said. "Please don't do that."
With that being said, adoptive parents can still support their children in a huge way. "Make space. Make space for that child to be proud of where they come from, and they'll be connected to the family that raised them because that's important as well," Shawnese encouraged. "It doesn't have to be either or, it can definitely be both."
