Detroit Public Library Hosted Michigan Adoptees

Adoptees After Party

AAOM sponsored an After Party for our guests.

Chris Bloodworth, DPL Employee Moderates

Working with Mr. Bloodworth and the other staff at the Detroit Public Library was an excellent experience.

Tiana on the Main Screen

The Clara Stanton Jones Friends Auditorium screen showed Tiana Hawver’s Documentary “Reconnecting the Dots”

The Clara Stanton Jones Friends Auditorium honors the life and legacy of Clara Stanton Jones, Former Director at the Detroit Public Library, also known as “the people’s librarian.”

Tiana and her Mother answer questions

Audience members were able to ask Tiana and her Mother about their experience with transracial adoption.

Tiana finds her parents info at the library!

Several East Side Detroit and West Side Detroit Polk City Directories were reviewed, and separate entries for both Tiana’s birthmother and birthfather were found, giving more information about them and their families. The Detroit Public Library collection was often used to conduct searches for birth family.

Adoptees visit the historical records.

A group of us wanted to see where searches took place.

Detroit Public Library entry.

Reconnecting the Dots Poster

Front of the Detroit Public Library

Michigan adoptees had a great time at the Main Detroit Public Library on October 19th 2024. We were there for Vitamin T Productions and the Detroit Public Library’s presentation of Reconnecting the Dots: A Detroit-Based Transracial Adoptee’s Story. Tiana Hawver, a native Detroiter, presented her heartfelt documentary about reconnecting with her biological family from Detroit, followed by a Q&A discussion about the challenges of transracial adoption and how adoption affects adoptees and their families. We invited the public to join us for this powerful event that dives into the unique experiences of being a transracial adoptee, and explores Tiana's personal story of identity, belonging, and self-discovery. Many gained a new perspective on the adoption experience.

We can’t say enough about how well we were treated by the Detroit Public Library staff. Tiana’s film is very moving and honest, and adoptive parents listened as she explained how meeting her biological family filled a void that adoptees can have despite the love and care of good adoptive parents and other things many adoptees would support. After the film, the audience had an opportunity to ask all kinds of questions of both Tiana and her Mom, like how they handled culture challenges and complications related to transracial adoption for example. There were a variety of attendees: family, friends, adoptees, some who worked in the family social work system and others who just liked attending events at the library.

A really special part of the day happened when one of our members, Jennifer Royal-a former Michigan C.I., took a group of us up to the area where thousands of reunion searches for bio family took place by digging through the Detroit city directories. Jennifer found the records of both of Tiana’s birth parents and we all got to bear witness to that special moment.

It was a beautiful day, and I would like to thank all that showed up to support Tiana and our community. Thank you to all who pitched in to make this happen.