About the Author

 

President, Parenting Across Color www.parentingacrosscolor.com

Author, Brown Babies Pink Parents www.brownbabiespinkparents.com

When Amy Ford and her partner became licensed foster parents in 2002, they were asked if they were willing to take a Jewish foster placement to Synagogue in order to maintain the child's cultural heritage. They couple assured the Department of Family and Protective Services of Texas they are willing to honor the cultural heritage of any placement, including a Jewish one, even though they were Christians. Well, the Jewish kid never arrived. Instead, Ford and her partner welcomed one child of color after another into their home, eventually adopting three African American daughters. Nine weeks of training to become foster parents left this family unprepared to meet the needs of their African American children.

• How does a person learn to comb black hair or care for black skin?
• How does a person build a bridge from their home to their child's culture of origin?
• How does a person impart life lessons and skills to a child that were never personally experienced by the parent?

These are the questions that haunted Ford and her partner as they struggled to learn how to meet the needs of their multicultural family. In 2003, they learned of a support group for transracial families forming at St. James Episcopal Church in East Austin. Originally called the Transracial Parenting Group, the adoption support group met on a monthly basis as to discuss white privilege, skin and hair care, the reality of racism, and the necessity of creating a home where a child's culture is honored and respected. In 2005, Ford assumed leadership of the group and the name changed to Parenting Across Color. In 2009, she incorporated the organization in an effort to gain non-profit status, which was granted in 2010. At the suggestion of a fellow parent, Ford collected the hard learned lessons of being a multicultural family and shared them with other families in the form of a book – Brown Babies Pink Parents. There are dozens of books written on the subject of transracial parenting by social workers, therapists, and adult adoptees, but Ford wanted a book written by a parent for a parent. According to Dr. Ruth McRoy, Brown Babies Pink Parents is "the first how- to" book. Today, Ford works closely with both public and private agencies to prepare families for the joys and challenges of transracial parenting. She has presented workshops for Lutheran Social Services, the Mentor Network, the Settlement Home, Texas CASA, Texas Foster Family Association, and the North American Council for Adoptable Children (NACAC). In addition to presenting workshops, Ford is also a dynamic speaker who receives rave reviews on the topics of adoption, the foster system, and parenting. She is available for consulting and speaking engagements with both private and public agencies. Her articles on adoption have appeared in Adoptive Families Magazine and she maintains a blog about hair care in transracial families at www.naturallycurly.com. Ford is the President of Parenting Across Color, sits on the Board of Directors for the Texas Council on Adoptable Children, and is an honorary board member of the Central Texas Heart Gallery.

Services Include:

• Diversity in Adoption Consulting
• Individual Family Coaching
• Workshops/Seminars (Topics range from hair care to white privilege)
• Key Note Addresses

Please contact Amy Ford regarding fees and availability.