Learning to be black in Bangor > Husson group helps adopted kids adjust

A few weeks ago a 10-year-old black girl adopted by a white family in Bangor tried to straighten her naturally curly hair, according to her adopted parents. Black students from Husson College told her to be proud of her curly mane and to leave it in its natural state.

Pride in one’s heritage is a key theme of the Afro-American Student Organization at Husson College. The students, mostly black, are trying to act as role models for local adopted youngsters who are black or from multiracial backgrounds and who are adjusting to life in the predominantly white culture of Maine.

The Husson students interact with the kids at social events on campus. A potluck brunch May 1 drew between 50 and 60 people, according to Pam Warford, dean for Institutional Programs at Husson. Warford serves as adviser for the Afro-American group.

“A lot of these kids have no one to look up to who has the same color skin as they do. They can come to us with questions they may not feel comfortable asking their parents,” said Heather Strother, 20, the group’s president.

Black children should “use their blackness as a trophy,” not as an excuse for failure in school or society, according to Joe Porter, a senior at Husson. Porter, who said he has a white mother and a black father, said he wanted to give local black and mixed-race youth an important message. “Being black should be an issue of pride. If black children in Maine or anywhere else want to succeed, they have to use their minds to make a difference.”

An increasing number of white families in the Bangor area are adopting black or mixed-race children, adoptions the Maine Adoption Placement Service in Bangor calls “trans-racial.”

Mixed-race children may have black, Hispanic, Indian, Hawaiian, Japanese or other ethnic backgrounds, according to MAPS officials.

In 1991, MAPS placed seven mixed-race children with white parents in Penobscot County and nine mixed-race children with white families in Hancock County. In the first quarter of 1992, the agency placed four mixed-race children with white families in Penobscot County and three mixed-race children with families in Hancock County, according to Judy Collier, office manager for MAPS.

Mixed-race children adopted into white families sometimes lose their sense of identity, especially if no black peers or adults interact with the child. Confusion over identity in adopted children often leads to academic or behavioral problems as they grow up, according to Collier.

Rather than hide their past, Collier said MAPS encourages adoptive parents to “embrace their child’s differences, whether it’s color, crutches or a wheelchair.”

Parents and children involved in trans-racial adoptions often have questions and concerns that don’t crop up between parents and children of the same race, according to Husson students and MAPS officials.

Practical issues — like where to get shampoo and conditioner for their hair — mixed with other topics during the May 1 brunch at Husson. Anxieties over being different were discussed.

“It’s so important to pass on to these kids they should be proud of who they are,” said Jahmal Ellerbe, 21, a Husson junior and member of the Afro-American orgnization.

The effort by black Husson students to serve as role models for black or mixed-race adopted youth was spurred by former student Stephanie Winfield who last year wrote a college paper on the topic. Winfield has since transferred to a campus out of state to further her career aspirations.

Porter, 22, of Connecticut, is a senior at Husson. As a light-skinned black, Porter said he attended schools in Connecticut as a youth where white students predominated. He identified strongly with his white friends, but “when I came to Maine I was looked on as black.” Porter said his introduction to Maine “wasn’t exactly culture shock but close to it.”