personablepickle

Another mixed race person here who grew up around mostly white people. Now I work in child welfare (I'm a lawyer for foster kids).

Please, please, please adopt. Adopt kids of any race you like. The "supply and demand" (ew, but it's the easiest way to put it) is not such that if you didn't take them, a black family would. Thousands of kids age out of the foster care system without any family connections, and the prognosis for aged-out kids is very bleak.

You do need to be prepared to have conversations about racism and how your sons need to behave for their safety when (not if) they are stopped by police. Expose them to literature and films about racism, black history and the black experience. Travel if possible - it was a really memorable experience the first time I was surrounded by people who looked like me and the rest of my family were the ones who looked out of place. If there aren't many black kids at their school, try to get them involved in activities with diverse groups of kids. Be open and honest with them about the fact that there are some things they are going to experience that you won't have experience of, but that you'll always be there to listen and support them and advocate for them.

Some (not all) of the people trying to get painkillers at the ER are both addicted to painkillers and genuinely suffer from chronic pain. They're not mutually exclusive.

Please come work with foster kids. Being sad and angry and confused about being ripped from your family is not always "adjustment disorder."

Please support public service loan forgiveness, which enables attorneys to take jobs in the public interest!

Hi, mixed race person here who grew up around mostly white people. Now I work in child welfare (I'm a lawyer for foster kids).

Please, please, please adopt. Adopt kids of any race you like. The "supply and demand" (ew, but it's the easiest way to put it) is not such that if you didn't take them, a black family would. Thousands of kids age out of the foster care system without any family connections, and the prognosis for aged-out kids is very bleak.

You do need to be prepared to have conversations about things like racism and how your sons need to behave for their safety when (not if) they are stopped by police. Expose them to literature and films about racism, black history and the black experience. Travel if possible - it was a really memorable experience the first time I was surrounded by people who looked like me and the rest of my family were the ones who looked out of place. If there aren't many black kids at their school, try to get them involved in activities with diverse groups of kids. Be open and honest with them about the fact that there are some things they are going to experience that you won't have experience of, but that you'll always be there to listen and support them and advocate for them.