TITLE: BIPOC Same-Race Adoptees

DESCRIPTION

This panel discussion of the features BIPOC Adult Adoptees and their experience being raised by perceived same race BIPOC parents. Within the Adoptee Community, this is not a perspective that we often hear or learn about. In this panel we might discuss:

How did this relationship impact your sense of belonging?
Did you feel supported in connecting with your own culture?
What are the challenges of having BIPOC/same race adoptive parents?
Was BIPOC/same race perceived?
How do you think your experience is different from adoptees who do not share the same race as their adoptive parents?

PANELISTS:

Susan Kiyo Ito (she/her) is a biracial, third generation Japanese American adoptee and the author of the memoir, I Would Meet You Anywhere, forthcoming in November 2023. She co-edited the literary anthology A Ghost At Heart’s Edge: Stories & Poems of Adoption. Her work has appeared in The Writer, Growing Up Asian American, Choice, Hip Mama, Literary Mama, Catapult, Hyphen,The Bellevue Literary Review, and elsewhere. Her theatrical adaption of Untold, stories of reproductive stigma, was produced at Brava Theater. She is looking forward to talking about her experience growing up half-Japanese in a Japanese American family.

Jennifer Dyan Ghoston (she/her) is a same race domestic adoptee in reunion with both sides of her biological family. She has been formally connected to the adoption community for over a decade and in 2015 self-published her memoir, "The Truth So Far...a detective's journey to reunite with her birth family". After a 27 year career in law enforcement with the Chicago Police Department, she retired in 2014 as a police detective. She credits her spiritual journey that started over forty years ago for allowing her path to unfold in unexpected and meaningful ways. In 2021, Jennifer's continued efforts to be open, honest and public has led to holding space for other adoptees as a host of the podcast, "Once Upon A Time...In Adopteeland”.

Nomi-Kaie Bennett (she/her/hers) is a Black Bahamian-American adoptee who was born in Missouri and adopted into a Black-American family. She enjoys learning about the vast experiences of adoptees through reading, listening, and writing. Her essays have been published in the Adoptee Voices E-Zine, and she has shared a portion of her adoptee journey on the podcast Once Upon A Time…in Adopteeland. She is excited to be on this panel because Adoption Mosaic has deeply enriched her life personally and professionally. She is also excited to elevate the voices of same race BIPOC adoptees.

Ferera Swan (she/her) Ferera Swan is a Texas-born adoptee adopted in 1983. She reunited with both biological families in 2008. She is an artist/singer & songwriter, musician, composer, writer, stenographer, a Grammy voting member of The Recording Academy and advisory board member of Support Texas Adoptee Rights. As an adoptee advocate, Ferera bridges music, writing, and advocacy to raise awareness around adoption, trauma, and healing in support of adoptee rights, family preservation, and more ethical practices. She’s looking forward to sharing her experience as a Filipino-American adoptee adopted by Chinese adoptive parents and the nuanced complexities of being adopted by perceived same-race adoptive parents.