While outright racism is frowned at, some Black people have complained of the comments and suspicions they get when seen with a white child. A couple who recently adopted a child was the latest to share in the experience.

Keia Jones-Baldwin, a North Carolina-based therapist, and her husband Richardo Baldwin, thought they had passed the stage of raising infants; the couple never knew what life had in store for them.

The couple was considering adoption, but they only planned to adopt older kids as they had no intentions of changing a diaper again. However, things changed when a tiny baby made his way into their lives.

Keia Jones-Baldwin and her mixed family [right] Keia Jones-Baldwin and her adopted baby, Princeton [left]. | Photo:facebook.com/raisingcultures

BRING THE CHILD HOME

Princeton weighed only one pound when he was born in 2017. His mother, a drug addict, had abandoned him, and upon seeing the child, Keia felt she connected strongly with the baby.

The therapist said she was called by her foster care supervisor, who asked if she would love to visit a baby in the hospital and do a skin-to-skin. Keia said she bonded with the then-infant so much that she began to see him every day.

Princeton soon became healthy enough to leave the NICU and had a Black family waiting excitedly to receive him. He moved in with the Baldwins, and the entire family fell in love with his pure soul.

What was planned to be a three-month visit evolved into a lifetime family bond. The Baldwin couple adopted Princeton. Princeton is white, and his parents are colored, making their family's tale interesting.

WEIRD LOOKS

The color difference has sometimes made the family uncomfortable. Keia reportedly said, "we get a lot of stares. I'm frequently asked if I'm Princeton's babysitter. ... I get, 'Why didn't you let him stay with a family of his own race?'"

On two occasions, some people called the cops wondering why a white child was made to live with a white couple. Speaking to TODAY about one funny experience, Keia said:

"We were vacationing in Tennessee, and we went to do an old time, Western photo shoot. The girl behind the camera [...] asked, 'Is that your baby?' I told her he was[...]."

Minutes later, authorities arrived. Keia had to show a letter stating that the infant was in her care and that she was allowed to travel with him.

In another incident, the North Carolina resident got a flat tire and stopped outside a man's house; she tried to explain why she was on his property, but he instead contacted the cops, accusing her of stealing the baby and the car.

NOT BITTER

Rather than stay bitter, the Baldwins are bent on educating people on racism. The family opened a Facebook page where they shared clips from their blended family. Keia also enjoying her journey as Princeton's mom.

There are other stories associated with the difficulties of transracial adoption. A North Carolina father, Peter, also experienced several troubling incidents with his white foster son, Johnny.

According to the Black dad, he was often accused of kidnapping his son. All his life, the Uganda native had tried to open his door to foster kids because he was given a chance to live by his foster father.

However, the prejudice he faced with raising white kids was a source of concern. Peter has had to explain to his foster kids that the bias against Blacks adopting white kids is bound to be a regular experience. Hopefully, these experiences could help conquer prejudice and bias.

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