{"id":229,"date":"2025-09-28T21:49:50","date_gmt":"2025-09-28T21:49:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/storieshub.xyz\/?p=229"},"modified":"2025-09-28T21:49:50","modified_gmt":"2025-09-28T21:49:50","slug":"love-is-colorful-mom-proudly-defends-interracial-adoptive-family-amid-backlash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/storieshub.xyz\/?p=229","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Love is colorful!\u2019: Mom proudly defends interracial adoptive family amid backlash"},"content":{"rendered":"

Infertility Battle<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m Keia Jones-Baldwin and I\u2019ve been married to my husband, Richardo Baldwin, for 9 years; we\u2019ve been together for 14. Although I already had one biological daughter (Zariyah, 16) from a previous relationship when I married Richardo, I always knew I wanted more children.<\/p>\n

Richardo, who didn\u2019t have any biological children, was just as eager to grow our family. We soon learned that growing our family the traditional way was proving to be more difficult than we had anticipated.<\/p>\n

After several miscarriages, we turned to a fertility specialist for answers. After months, then years of countless dollars spent, fertility drugs taken, failed IVF attempts, and still no baby, we were broken emotionally and spiritually.<\/p>\n

I became bitter and depressed because I wanted nothing more than to have a baby with my husband and give our daughter a sibling. However, little did I know, God had bigger plans for our lives! I just needed to heal first.<\/p>\n

My husband and I didn\u2019t initially think about adoption right away, but explored the possibility of foster care. Luckily, in our city, we have an agency called Crossnore School & Children\u2019s Home that afforded us the opportunity to foster to adopt. It wasn\u2019t until we met Karleigh at age 11 (friend of Zariyah\u2019s from school) that our mindsets toward adoption changed.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Foster Care Journey<\/strong><\/p>\n

Personally, I didn\u2019t know if I could love another child who was not biologically mine the way I loved Zariyah and that just wouldn\u2019t have been fair to any child. However, my heart immediately opened up to Karleigh and I felt like I was meant to be her mother! I felt that same love and bond for Karleigh as I felt for Zariyah and knew from that moment on adoption was an option.<\/p>\n

After completing our foster care classes and becoming licensed foster parents, we didn\u2019t want to set any hard stipulations on age, race, gender, etc. because we wanted to help the children God intended for us to help.<\/p>\n

Ayden (8) was our very first placement. (He was also our first adoption 2 years later!) We are so happy that God chose Ayden for us and us for him!<\/p>\n

Both Ayden and Karleigh are biracial and that has helped them bond as well. It\u2019s important to have someone that looks like you and can relate to you.<\/p>\n

After a few more placements that led to reunifications (which is sometimes hard for foster parents, but that\u2019s the goal), we received a phone call from our foster care supervisor about a newborn baby that was in NICU and needed someone to do skin to skin with him.<\/p>\n

We had no identifying information about the baby other than he was a male, his name, and the hospital he was in. Upon arriving at the hospital, I saw so many beautiful babies in the NICU and wondered which black or brown baby they were going to pair me with.<\/p>\n

The nurse ushered me over to this small little 2-pound white baby boy, who was also beautiful I might add! Initially, I thought to myself, \u2018Are they serious. Is this a joke?\u2019 Then my motherly instincts kicked in!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

After Princeton (2) was strong enough to leave the hospital, he came into our home where he was loved, nurtured, protected, cared for, and spoiled! To us, it didn\u2019t matter that he was white but boy, but it did matter to others!<\/p>\n

I would have never thought my son being white would cause so much judgment, ridicule, backlash, and downright hatred and racism.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Facing Discrimination<\/strong><\/p>\n

We\u2019ve had the police called on us several times when he was an infant because they thought we\u2019d kidnapped him. Once, in a grocery store, an older white gentleman came up to my son and I while he was sitting in the shopping cart and started recording and taking pictures.<\/p>\n

I asked him what he was doing and to stop immediately. He explained to me that he was going to take this \u2018evidence\u2019 to security because I had \u2018obviously stolen\u2019 someone\u2019s baby.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve been faced with judgement from our children\u2019s teachers where our daughters have been asked if he is \u2018really\u2019 their brother. I must be the \u2018babysitter\u2019 they add.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve gotten, \u2018Why didn\u2019t you adopt a black child when so many black children need good homes?\u2019 Or, \u2018Why didn\u2019t you let that baby stay with his kind?\u2019<\/p>\n

We have been in restaurants and have almost been \u2018held hostage\u2019 and not let out the door because they thought Princeton was kidnapped.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

All of these types of incidents are very hurtful, but not once in my mind or in my heart did I feel as if Princeton didn\u2019t belong to me. I will always choose him! I have never been scared to fight a battle that God has ordained me to fight, because those battles I know I will win!<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll never say that fostering and adoption is easy or a cakewalk because it\u2019s not. It\u2019s filled with ups and downs, disappointments, proud moments. Sadness, happiness, weakness, and strength.<\/p>\n

The day we bought Princeton home from the hospital was the day our lives changed for the better! Being his mother is one of the best decisions I\u2019ve ever made. I\u2019m stronger, wiser, kinder, and definitely more patient.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Spreading Awareness<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We\u2019ve had the opportunity to stay connected to our children\u2019s birth families (our bonus family members). Because we are all different in our culture, sexuality, race, ethnicities, and age, we have to be intentional to not offend and grow to love one another, especially if we want to continue to have our children apart of everyone\u2019s lives.<\/p>\n

Ayden\u2019s bio siblings are adopted in another family (caucasian) and we absolutely adore them! They have always been supportive of us adopting Princeton and continue to be an important part of our lives as we share a sibling group.<\/p>\n

Although faced with a lot of challenges, the support for our multiracial family has been overwhelming. Through our family blog Raising Cultures, we have met some amazing people. I loving referring to them as my kids\u2019 cyber aunties and uncles!<\/p>\n

We get the opportunity to educate others on the realities of being a multicultural family: good, bad, or indifferent.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Education is key to breaking down barriers of racism, prejudices, stereotypes, and division. Our hope is that because of our love story, others will not be afraid to foster\/adopt and not place limitations on love.<\/p>\n

Love is colorful! We all have the capacity to love without limits, we just have to be willing to open our hearts up to do so!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Infertility Battle \u201cI\u2019m Keia Jones-Baldwin and I\u2019ve been married to my husband, Richardo Baldwin, for 9 years; we\u2019ve been together for 14. Although I already<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":230,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-229","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/storieshub.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/storieshub.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/storieshub.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storieshub.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storieshub.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=229"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/storieshub.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":239,"href":"https:\/\/storieshub.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229\/revisions\/239"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storieshub.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/230"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/storieshub.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=229"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storieshub.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=229"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storieshub.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=229"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}