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Podcast: Adoption: The Making of Me. An Oral History of Adoptee Stories
Episode: Shawn: Born Without a Race
Description: "Just a quick note - this episode contains language some listeners might find offensive -- regarding experiences involving racism."In 1963, Shawn was placed for adoption because his white mother's family didn't want a biracial grandson. As an infant, he passed for white, and he was adopted by a racist, rural Indiana family who didn't realize that he was black. Ashamed of his ethnicity, his mother concocted lies to hide his race from everyone, including Shawn.This lack of racial identity caused depressing confusion and conflict with his education, relationships, and career, but his...