African Woman Adopted By White Family In West Virginia | One54 Africa Podcast

[00:00:00]I was adopted two days after my first birthday. So I was with my birth mother for nine months. I was in foster care for three months and then I was adopted.

[00:00:07]>> Wow.

[00:00:08]>> Yeah.

[00:00:09]>> And so at that time you're young, didn't really know the difference. You moved into this new family. At what point did did it hit you like >> one of these kids is not like the other, right? [laughter] >> Well, you know, it's funny. My parents read a book to me about all kids being different when I was like four or five and that's when they talked to me about being adopted. So that's how that all came to be.

[00:00:34]>> Oh, so they told you they didn't wait till later in life. You knew at a certain age like hey you were adopted?

[00:00:40]>> Yes.

[00:00:40]>> Oh, okay. Well, that I mean that obviously minimized a lot of the confusion.

[00:00:44]>> For sure.

[00:00:45]>> But I'm sure there were still a lot of different experiences. I I guess I want to start off like what was your relationship with your siblings that you came into your your mom and your dad that you came into like what was that?

[00:00:55]>> Were they were they black or white?

[00:00:57]>> They're white. I was adopted into a white all white family.

[00:01:00]>> Okay. Okay. That's in West Virginia mama. Take me home. This ain't my home.

[00:01:09][laughter] >> Stop saying it's crazy.

[00:01:12]>> Okay.

[00:01:12]>> Yeah. So you know all white family like what was that like?

[00:01:15]>> You know what's interesting? I have the most I have the most incredible family and my dad who raised me is a neuroanatomist study of the brain and spinal cord. I know it's like over my head.

[00:01:27]>> Um but we lived in other countries growing up. So we lived in New Zealand and then we traveled all over. We were in um Kenya, we were in Thailand, we were in um >> Tasmania, we would go over to Sydney. So we started to do a lot of traveling when I was very young. And then when I was 14, we lived in England and we traveled there.

[00:01:48]>> Wow.

[00:01:49]>> So I grew up with these kind of global folks who grew up in Illinois, but my dad >> Illinois >> Illinois [laughter] who we live there and and but we traveled all over the world. So I grew up with these incredible parents who showed me the world.

[00:02:06]>> That's dope. That's really cool.

[00:02:07]>> So it's it's like grew up in West Virginia, right? You're thinking, "Oh my gosh, you grew up in West Virginia." But it >> How long were you out? It's a beautiful place.

[00:02:15]>> How long were you guys out traveling for? Like did you primarily go to school in V or like you?

[00:02:20]>> Yeah, I grew up in West Virginia. But um my first literally they just adopted me and then my dad got the sbatical. Can you imagine that? It's like, hi, we adopted this new little girl and now we're going around the world.

[00:02:30]>> Wow.

[00:02:31]>> And I was like, who are these people?

[00:02:33][laughter] >> Around the world. And then I had a sister, my sister Lynn. She was 10 at that time or no, she was 11. Lara was 10. Blonde hair, green eyes. like this is my family >> walking around. I had my huge afro rocking it. I was like power to the people.

[00:02:49]>> Did you come to a point where you came of age where you know you started to feel differently? Um especially being in like an all-white community?

[00:02:56]>> Oh yeah, for sure. Growing up I was um >> I was kind of this overachiever because I didn't look like everyone else.

[00:03:03]>> And uh so I became like I was a varsity basketball player. I was state track meet, homecoming queen, full scholarship to college, name it, I did it.

[00:03:13]>> Or maybe I'm just African. I don't know.

[00:03:15][laughter] >> But it was it was to fit in and just to be like, >> I'm different, but look how awesome I am.

[00:03:23]>> Did you ever get >> I always want to know this. You're like with your family and some other family says some crazy >> like it's like >> to my face, you know, just something weird.

[00:03:34]>> Did you ever get that? They were like this. Oh, you know, look what do you have here?

[00:03:38]>> Like who's this little kid?

[00:03:39]>> There's always general in general conversation. Yeah, something like that.

[00:03:43]>> You know what's funny? I feel like more of those things happened behind my back >> and were told to me later, but not too much.

[00:03:51]>> Okay, that's good. They probably shielded you away from that.

[00:03:54]>> Yeah, my parents were no joke. If you if you mess with my kid, you're out.

[00:03:58]>> That's great.

[00:03:59]>> Like, for example, my This is an interesting story. When I was first adopted, my grandmother, my mom's mom, they grew up in a small town in Illinois, Lynchfield, Illinois.

[00:04:10]>> Lynch.

[00:04:10]>> No. Everybody thinks I'm saying that.

[00:04:12]>> Well, we know why.

[00:04:16]>> No, no, no, no, no.

[00:04:19][laughter] >> My grandpappy >> and there are like 2,000 people in the town.

[00:04:23]>> Oh, you know that.

[00:04:23]>> And when I was first in small town, >> no negroes. Go ahead.

[00:04:27]>> No. One family, they left.

[00:04:29]>> Okay. [laughter] And my my grandmother stopped talking.

[00:04:33]She my mom called and said, "We adopted this new little girl, Sarah." And my grandmother said, "I told you I think adopting this black little girl into the family is only going to cause problems, and I don't want to talk to you about it." And she hung up on my mom. My mom's like, "You know what? We're going to go home to Illinois like we always do, and my mom's going to have to deal with this." So we she grew up this big, beautiful farm. We drove to the farm that summer. I get out. Now, I don't remember any of this. I was a baby. I was one. She's holding me and my grandmother, the door screeches open.

[00:05:02]>> She walks out of the farmhouse, her arms crossed, she looks at me, she looks away, then she looks back at me and she says, >> "Can I hold her?" And that moment my mom said I was breaking racial barriers within my own family >> really.

[00:05:14]>> So I was getting to know now I fed the chickens on the farm with my grandma.

[00:05:18]>> Oh, now they put you to work. See, that's [laughter] that bull. I knew it.

[00:05:23]When the black WOMAN COMES TO THE FATHER, ALL OF A SUDDEN SHE'S [laughter] FEEDING THE CHICKENS AND WASHING THE COWS AND BAILING THAT HAY. I KNEW IT.

[00:05:32]YOU'VE been duped. You've been tricked.

[00:05:34]You've been hoodwinkedked.

[00:05:36]>> America, I say to you, my friends, my brothers and sisters, THAT WAS A TRICK THAT THEY USED FOR YOU LABOR. I KNOW HE'S GOING INTO I KNOW THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD HAS TAUGHT me >> that when they BRING YOU INTO THESE WHITE FAMILIES, THEY USE YOU for labor.

[00:05:55]>> Oh [laughter] my god.

[00:05:57]>> I just WANT TO SAY I'M NOT YOU'RE LIKE, "HOW DO I EVEN come back to?"

[00:06:01]>> BUT I'M NOT TRYING TO DESTROY YOUR STORY, BUT I [laughter] knew it. I knew IT WAS A SETUP. THAT'S WHAT LIBERAL WHITES DO. THEY PAT YOU ON YOUR BOOTY AND TELL YOU THAT YOU'RE GOOD, but then they set YOU TO WORK. FOUR YEARS OLD.

[00:06:14]>> SO, SO you you were driving the tractor at 4 years old. [laughter] >> No, I know.

[00:06:20]>> I THOUGHT MAKE SURE YOU make sure they're all plowed by six.

[00:06:26]>> You This [laughter] man is in serious trouble.

[00:06:29]>> He is. He is.

[00:06:30]>> So, I was driving the I was in the dairy truck with my grandpa and I would eat all the ice cream. I still eat too much ice cream to this day. I was totally spoiled >> and I got to have so much fun on the farm. And then we go to my other grandparents who live in town. And this is on your father's side.

[00:06:48]>> On my Yeah. My dad's side. And they live cuz my parents were high school sweethearts. Okay.

[00:06:53]>> And so we would go [laughter] >> I was trying to get over this. And then we go I learned how to water ski with them cuz they had this little old boat and we go out water skiing. So I go water skiing. They didn't put me >> to work. I was water skiing.

[00:07:07]>> [laughter] >> It's >> like we going to put you out the water skate, >> you know. So, you know, >> get out the water, slide her down there.

[00:07:14]>> You I I This is This is what I had to do. This had to deal with the bird [laughter] man barely to catch his family. Then one day he was shooting at some food and up through the ground.

[00:07:24][laughter] Sorry, >> I know that song.

[00:07:26]>> You know that song? I don't even know that song. I >> You don't know Beverly Hillbillies? Come on now. It was in black and white when I was growing up.

[00:07:32]>> Yeah, me too.

[00:07:33]>> Yeah. [laughter] Um, >> I would I would imagine cuz your experiences were so different that they would have probably caused some issues maybe culturally, you know, as you're hanging around, you know, other people.

[00:07:48]Um, especially black folks, you know, like, oh, wait, you did what on a tractor? You did what? Water skiing.

[00:07:54]Like, like, did you find >> Right. I studied classical ballet. I studied classical singing.

[00:07:59]>> Oh, yeah. Did you have did you feel like you went through sort of a an identity crisis? Yeah.

[00:08:06]>> Like how did that manifest?

[00:08:07]>> I think um but I don't I think a lot of people go through identity crisis crisis no matter if you're adopted or not. But I think I was dealing with >> my identity trying to figure out where I belong, who am I, and like living in this in between.

[00:08:23]>> Um however, >> I had I'm going to be really honest. I had so much love.

[00:08:29]>> That's what's up.

[00:08:30]>> So much support. And I was with the same kids from first grade to high school. So they were like my people.

[00:08:37]>> That helped.

[00:08:38]>> There's no better time than now to drop the new jersey right here at the World Cup 154 jersey. Go get it.

[00:08:46]>> Bringing Africa around the [music and singing] whole globe.

[00:08:49]Ain't no place like ain't no place like [singing] home.

[00:08:55]Ain't no place [music] like Ain't no place like Ain't no place like