In 2015, I had the opportunity to hear transracial adoptee Angela Tucker speak at an annual convention for adoption in Boston, Massachusetts. She was, in summary, poignant, honest, and insightful.
I listened to her speak on a panel with the writing collective group Lost Daughters. The panel consisted of 9 women, all adoptees, with different stories and perspectives on what it means to be adopted. Their bond was apparent. Through their varied styles and interests, the common bond of being an adoptee united them as one.
Angela touched my heart and reached my soul with her discussion about being a transracial adoptee. She is a young woman who speaks with steadfast conviction and honesty. Whether you are a member of the adoption community or not, whether you are a part of a transracial adoptive family or not, Angela is a woman to follow and listen to with open ears and an open heart.
Angela Tucker began publicly writing about her emotional journey as a transracial adoptee in 2009. I, too, am an adoptee and can relate to her strategy of writing as self-exploration. Writing is cathartic for me, and it seems that through writing Angela found herself discovering emotions she never knew she had.
Angela was recently featured on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360, where she discussed her views on being a transracial adoptee in today’s world. She recently announced yet another project called The Adopted Life. She launched a successful crowdfunding campaign and has been working tirelessly to see this project come to fruition. Her project is an episodic series that will feature Angela interviewing transracial adoptees who are in the throes of their preteen and teenage years. Angela will dive into their thoughts and offer solace as an adult adoptee who has walked in their shoes.
Angela has taken discovering the inner workings of adoptees to a different level. She is focused on the unique challenges that transracial adoptees face, as they differ from adoptees who are raised by parents of the same race. Angela will touch upon issues that include racial identity formation, search and reunion with biological families, and also grappling with not having much information about where one came from.
I am excited for this series to get off the ground because any media awareness on adoption is helpful—particularly when stories are told in sensitive ways that honor the adoptee experience. Having seen the spellbinding documentary, Closure, where Angela is featured in her search for her birth parents, I know that this upcoming project will educate others and advocate for adoptee rights. I was riveted by Closure. I watched anxiously, waiting to see how her journey would end. I loved how the filmmaker showed that her journey did not end, as the title may lead one to think, but that it was actually just beginning. The emotions I felt while watching Angela trace the steps of her heritage and her biological ties reminded me of when I was reunited.
I am eagerly anticipating yet another groundbreaking documentary series. A series that will take audiences of all ages into a world that is constantly filled with questions, unknown answers, and hopes that are sometimes fulfilled and sometimes left to drift away.
I believe Angela is about to open up a door to adoption that has always been there but has not, until now, been opened.
