- It's been challenging because racism is very real,
and upfront, and we've experienced that racism.
It was almost every day.
We couldn't go out without someone saying
that we've kidnapped our child.
I remember it, one time we were in a department store
and this guy came up and started taking pictures.
And I was like, what are you taking pictures?
Like no, get the camera out of my son's face.
And he was like, oh you've kidnapped this child.
I'm going to security right now.
Security came over, and I'm like, are you kidding me?
This is my son.
And by people like, oh, is he adopted?
Or where is his real parents?
The other way around it's like, oh, it's okay,
when you have Caucasian families
with African American children.
(calm music)
You gotta put your coat on.
Very good.
Put your right arm in.
(laughs)
- Now let's zip.
My name is Keia Jones-Baldwin.
This is my husband.
- Richardro Baldwin.
- And we have four children.
I have a biological daughter from a previous relationship.
Then along comes Karleigh, she's also 16.
And Ayden came first, he was our first son.
We adopted him in 2017.
And then there's that baby, woo.
We've had him since he was just a few days old.
How would you describe that toddler?
- Full of energy.
(laughs)
- Full of energy.
(feet stomping)
- We're gonna show you all the dance and then.
- Okay.
Richardro tried to pull up on me at work,
at a company bowling game.
We were bowling, and I know that's so cliche,
everybody always joke about meeting at work,
and having office husbands, and things like that.
But I really did have a office boo.
We got pregnant and we were so excited.
And then we ended up having a miscarriage.
We got pregnant again, miscarriage again.
We tried IVF and that failed.
I was just like, I can't do this anymore.
We called out a local agency here.
And we became foster parents.
- To me, adoption or foster care it's really not a choice,
it has to be a lifestyle, it has to be a want to.
I mean, it's so many kids out here that actually need it,
I would love for everybody to do it,
but I know everybody can't do it.
Because it's a lot of kids, like I said,
it's a lot of kids that actually really need it.
- Push forward.
Push forward.
Push.
Yeah.
You're getting it, you're getting it!
Your legs, work your legs.
I don't think that we knew
what we were getting into at first.
Foster care is like, a lot of people call, a beautiful mess.
Foster care is just so beautiful,
but the behind the scenes of it all
can be very messy with the social workers and the courts.
And you never know what background the kids are coming from
and so you have to be very patient.
Once we went through the process,
and I am a therapist, I kinda understood
where these kids are coming from.
I provide trauma focused therapy.
And I thought well hm, I think I can best use
my talents to kinda help kids get over the hump
until they're reunified with their parents.
And that's the point of foster care,
to stand in the gap until their parents
are able to get themselves back together.
(laughs)
- You did it. - I wasn't watching.
All right, y'all can do it by yourselves.
- Oh no now. - We gotta see it.
- Oh no, no, no.
We talked about foster to adopt
with our foster care supervisor.
And she said, if you guys are open to adopt
then we can go that route too.
I think you felt outnumbered 'cause it was three girls
and you wanted some sons.
That's how you got me.
Ayden came, they said oh, you know,
he's only gonna be with you guys for three months.
And that was, he was three and half years old, he nine.
I don't think he going nowhere.
(laughs)
Uh uh, no, no.
No mom, you cheat.
No you ain't cheating. - Come on.
- No look, you wait.
With Karleigh, her mom, they just kinda fell on hard times.
And she just really didn't have the capacity at the time
to really take care of her.
And we kind of provided that
guardianship piece at that time.
Say hey, She's been kinda coming over every now and again,
and we're able to provide her with some stability,
and a permanent situation.
- Say it so mom can hear you, say Karleigh.
- Karleigh. - Yay!
(laughs)
With Princeton, foster care supervisor calls us
and says, we have a few day old baby boy,
we just need you to do skin to skin with him.
I get over to the hospital, and I'm looking around
in the NICU and I see all these black and brown babies,
and I'm like, oh.
And the nurse is like, no, that's not the one.
It's the white baby over here.
And I'm like, okay, well put him right here.
And I did skin to skin and we developed this great bond.
His dad, he was 17.
And mom has really just never been in the picture.
And he asked me, he said, if I give my rights up,
can you be Princeton's mom?
And I was like, yeah.
I was crying because I was like, oh my goodness,
this is so sweet.
And then we brought him home and...
That been three years ago.
He ain't going nowhere either I don't think.
We've always had to carry around his foster care paperwork,
proving that he was in our care.
It's also been times where we've been in restaurants,
the ones that are really bold will come over to the table
and say, are you the babysitter?
I don't think that child's mother will like you
handling that child like that.
And I'm like, hold on, let me ask the child's mother.
Self, you know?
We've definitely had conversations with our children
because we have biracial children,
a lot of times we do get those questions like,
oh your biracial children are beautiful.
And I'm like, no, all of my children are beautiful.
They only see the lighter skin,
the American standard of beauty.
(calm music)
Raising Cultures was started in 2018.
It really didn't start off as a platform
until we were in a foster care training.
We were the only black family that had a white son.
And we were talking about our experiences,
and they were all crying.
And I was like, what?
You guys don't experience this?
They was like, no, we don't experience that.
That's mortifying.
And I was like, oh no, I'm not getting ready
to be out here on the boat by myself.
Somebody better come get on this boat with me.
And I started to use the platform to talk about
biases, and prejudice, and stereotypes in foster care,
and adoption, and just parenting in general.
Hey cyber family, oh my gosh y'all.
I had to come on really quick
and share something with you guys.
We're all in this together, that's how I look at it.
We're all in this together,
and we have to talk about the things
that kind of divide us so that we can move forward.
What sound does the cat make?
(roars)
Okay, good job.
How about the ladybug?
- Whee, whee.
(laughs)
- A couple of days ago we were at an appointment.
I walked up there and I was checking him in,
and she said, where's his legal guardian or parent?
And I said, well I am his parent.
So she was like, well do you have
legal guardianship paperwork?
And I said, no, I'm his mother.
So she walked away and came back with another lady.
And she was like, well ma'am, we have to have
paperwork proving that you're his mother.
Like I've never heard that.
The lady behind me, she had her daughter with her,
she was Caucasian and her daughter was Caucasian, obviously.
I said, you know what you go ahead
because I need to just kinda calm down.
And so they checked her in.
And they asked for zero paperwork.
And so I was like, well does she need paperwork
to prove that she was the mother?
And the lady was like, well no,
it's protocol, I don't have time for this.
I was getting so upset because I'm like,
now I have to carry around his adoption decree.
I don't know when it's going to end,
but sometimes it's frustrating to have to
continuously defend your family.
All right.
We gotta get it on your head.
We gotta get it on your head, hold up.
Hold your neck up.
People always ask me, I've been wanting to foster,
but I've been discouraged.
And I always tell them, don't listen to no one else's story.
Everybody's story is different with it.
It's so fulfilling and joyful when I get those hugs
from my sons, and those kisses, and just being called mom.
Because I don't ever pressure any of my children
to call me mom, or any of the kids
that come inside our foster home to call us mom or dad.
But you know, that title is earned.
And when they do call you that it's like,
okay, I'm doing something right.
- [Ayden] That hurt.
- Oh lord, lord God, please bring some strength
back into my baby's leg.
'Cause this is just hurting so bad.
You don't have to look alike to love alike.
Families don't have to match.
We're a normal family that do normal things.
Just because we have multiracial children,
or our family has grown through transracial adoption,
we're no different from a family
that had biological children.
The judgment has to stop.
(calm music)