A recent NPR StoryCorps piece caught the attention of two Adoption STAR staff members.
Adoption STAR’s Associate Director Michael Hill and Adoptive Parent Social Worker and Family Advocate Rachael Metz both heard a powerful radio interview while listening to NPR. The piece was a part of NPR’s StoryCorps, a series (as per NPR’s website) that “since 2003 has collected and archived more than 50,000 interviews with over 90,000 participants. Each conversation is recorded on a CD to share, and is preserved at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. StoryCorps is one of the largest oral history projects of its kind.”
Also as per NPR’s website, “StoryCorps mission is to provide people of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to record, share and preserve the stories of our lives. We do this to remind one another of our shared humanity, to strengthen and build the connections between people, to teach the value of listening, and to weave into the fabric of our culture the understanding that everyone’s story matters. At the same time, we are creating an invaluable archive for future generations.”
Given the recent, tragic shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, this interview seems especially timely and poignant. The story is especially important for families that have been touched by transracial adoption. Here’s a link to the piece: After A Traffic Stop, Teen Was ‘Almost Another Dead Black Male’
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