Kim Callahan
Portland, OR

I am a white single mom, my son and daughter (11 & 10) are siblings I adopted from Haiti. For all its liberalism, Portland is still a pretty segregated city and we live in a predominantly white neighborhood. My kids have African American & Haitian mentors, Big Sister, therapists, etc.. and I do everything I can to put my kids in places and experiences where they don’t always feel like they stand out so much. We’re dialed in with the Haitian community and also with other families who’ve adopted from Haiti. So I was extra happy when Obama was elected b/c it gave concrete evidence to when I tell them they can do anything they want to do when they grow up—b/c even the brown president was the son of a white single mother!! (we say “brown” in our house b/c kids are so literal and they are young enough that they say things like, “Mom, I’m not black, your pants are black, I am brown…” As a mom, it is a GREAT feeling that my kids only know a world where the most powerful man in the world looks like them!!

Thank you for doing this project. Many adults still need to catch up with our kids on issues like skin color, gay marriage, etc..