Deborah Hoard of PhotoSynthesis Productions just informed me that Struggle For Identity: A Conversation 10 Years Later won another award. This is the new 20-minute film that features Michelle Johnson and John Raible as returning cast members from the original 1998 Struggle For Identity: Issues in Transracial Adoption.
In a related note: Given the recent media frenzy around the just-released Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute report on MEPA, emails have been flying between adoptee activists and advocates, some of whom report receiving hate mail and angry feedback, particularly from adoptive parents, when adult adoptees speak out for fairness and accountability. Some adult adoptee advocates continue to pay a huge price, for example, being unsupported and even shunned by colleagues and family members. Here’s my reply to my fellow TRADs:
“The individual price we pay for speaking our truth as adoptees is one of the personal sacrifices we make to advance the larger struggle for human rights. I applaud your courage and stand in solidarity with you to re-think assumptions, re-build community, and re-write the world.”
We are building a movement, after all.
