Adoptees Crossing Lines

The Role of Legal Advocacy in Family Reunification w/ Keshia Adeniyi

Episode Summary: 

The child welfare system is waging war on Black families, and Keshia Adeniyi-Dorsey is on the front lines. In this episode, she shares her journey from foster child to family defender, exposing the racist roots of CPS and the urgent need for change. Keisha breaks down her tactics for protecting families during CPS investigations, from refusing home entry to shutting down fishing expeditions. Her success rates are fantastic: 95.8% of parental rights protected and 93.7% of families reunified. "We already know, and we've already done in the past, like, right? Like, took care of ourselves, we took care of everybody else's kids too, right? We don't need the system to do it." 

In this episode, we cover:

(00:23) Meet Keshia Adeniyi-Dorsey

(01:37) Adoptions and Safe Families Act

(06:08) Reality of CPS investigations

(12:17) Protecting families during CPS investigations

(17:11) Reuniting 93.7% of families 

(23:46) Challenges of advocating for families OR Dealing with incompetence

(28:56) We don’t need police for that OR The color of the system OR  Black families don’t need CPS OR We don’t need help OR Not everyone needs help

(35:33) Affording counsel 

(43:39) Truth to power

Call To Action:

Subscribe to Adoptees Crossing Lines wherever you listen to podcasts, follow us on social media, and subscribe to our Substack for more content and community:

• Website: adopteescrossinglines.com
• Instagram: @adopteescrossinglines
• BlueSky: adopteecrossing.bsky.social
• TikTok: @adopteescrossinglines_
• Substack: Adoptees Crossing Lines Substack

Connect with Keshia: 

• Website 
• LinkedIn

Work With Me:

Email [email protected] for brand partnerships and business inquiries.

Editing by Samuel Oyedele (Editor)

Special thanks to Samuel Oyedele for editing our podcast, support his work on Instagram or email him at [email protected].

Exploring Abolition, Intergenerational Trauma, and Creative Resistance w/ Benjamin Lundberg Torres Sánchez

Episode Summary:

Words matter. Especially when it comes to adoption. Benjamin Lundberg Torres Sanchez isn't just "adopted" - they were separated from their first family for 28 years. In this episode, we unpack how the language we use shapes our understanding of adoption. Benjamin shares their journey of rejecting industry terminology and embracing more accurate descriptions of their experience. We discuss how this shift in language opens up new possibilities for solidarity and political action. "I think it's just really important to name what happened to us."

In this episode, we cover:

(00:22) Who is Benjamin Lundberg Torres Sanchez?

(01:41) Conceived in violence

(04:58) Adoption day

(07:23) Good experiences but still angry OR Good vs. bad adoptions

(10:10) Learning to think critically about adoption OR Language of adoption

(14:35) Being hungry for community OR Availability of light skinned children

(18:56) Not only focusing on adoptees OR Adoptees are not alone 

(26:46) Organized abandonment 

(28:30) We Are Holding This Magazine

(37:46) Intersectionality vs. isolation

(44:12) Finding alternative power brokers OR Finding power brokers 

(48:14) Get curious 

(51:32) Support Benjamin

Call To Action:

Subscribe to Adoptees Crossing Lines wherever you listen to podcasts, follow us on social media, and subscribe to our Substack for more content and community:

• Website: adopteescrossinglines.com
• Instagram: @adopteescrossinglines
• BlueSky: adopteecrossing.bsky.social
• TikTok: @adopteescrossinglines_
• Substack: Adoptees Crossing Lines Substack

Resources:

• We Are Holding This Magazine
• Benjamin’s website

Work With Me:

Email [email protected] for brand partnerships and business inquiries.

Editing by Samuel Oyedele (Editor)

Special thanks to Samuel Oyedele for editing our podcast, support his work on Instagram or email him at [email protected] 

Unpacking Adoption w/ Henry: Identity, Community, and Healing

Episode Summary:

What happens when a Black child is adopted into a white Mormon family? The Mormon church silenced Henry's identity as a Black transracial adoptee, but he's done being quiet. From "colorblind" racism to the weight of forced gratitude, he exposes the ugly truth behind his adoption. We explore the impact of media representation, the importance of acknowledging adoptee anger, and why abolishing the current system might be the only way forward. Henry shares his journey of finding community with other adoptees and reclaiming his voice. "My life was really to fill this hole in my parents' life instead of my parents being there to raise children.

In this episode, we cover:

(00:22) Who is Henry? 

(01:48) Coming out of the fog

(03:52) Adopted through the mormon church 

(06:34) Growing up with adopted sisters 

(08:26) Adoptees vs. adoptive parents on This is Us OR Adoptees vs. Adoptive parents on TV

(13:23) Expectation of gratefulness OR “I want someone to love me”

(20:26) Being allowed to feel & express

(23:21) Alternatives to family policing OR Mind your own business

(26:02) Relationship with adoptive parents while being abolitionist 

(32:27) Find your inner voice 

Call To Action:

Subscribe to Adoptees Crossing Lines wherever you listen to podcasts, follow us on social media, and subscribe to our Substack for more content and community:

• Website: adopteescrossinglines.com
• Instagram: @adopteescrossinglines
• BlueSky: adopteecrossing.bsky.social
• TikTok: @adopteescrossinglines_
• Substack: Adoptees Crossing Lines Substack

Resources:

• Black Adoptee Facebook Group 

Work With Me:

Email [email protected] for brand partnerships and business inquiries.

Editing by Samuel Oyedele (Editor)

Special thanks to Samuel Oyedele for editing our podcast, support his work on Instagram or email him at [email protected] 

Adoption, Therapy, and Self-Discovery: Fai Knudson's Story

Episode Summary: 

Fai Knudson grew up in a white, conservative town, always feeling different. As a biracial, transracial adoptee, Faye faced racism and isolation. Leaving their hometown ignited a journey of self-discovery, leading to advocacy and therapy focused on adoptee mental health. In this episode, Fai shares their powerful story, the challenges of being a transracial adoptee, and how they now help others navigate similar paths.

In this episode, we cover:

(00:18) Who is Fai Knudson? 

(04:05) Feeling different

(05:32) Not allowed to read adoption paperwork 

(06:30) Coming out of the fog

(09:11) Studying adoption for master’s

(13:53) Adoptee therapists 

(21:32) Adoptee care is neglected 

(28:12) Story behind “Good Faith Therapy”

(33:20) Support for adoptees 

(35:01) Genetic graveyard 

(36:24) Finding an adoptee affirming therapist 

(39:34) Partial reunion

(47:54) Finding your authentic self 

Call To Action:

Subscribe to Adoptees Crossing Lines wherever you listen to podcasts, follow us on social media, and subscribe to our Substack for more content and community:

• Website: adopteescrossinglines.com
• Instagram: @adopteescrossinglines
• BlueSky: adopteecrossing.bsky.social
• TikTok: @adopteescrossinglines_
• Substack: Adoptees Crossing Lines Substack

Connect with Fai Knudson: 

• LinkedIn
• Good Faith Therapy Website 
• Good Faith Therapy Instagram  

Resources:

• Peer Support Space 
• Grow Beyond Words
• Journey of The Adopted Self 
• Psychology Today

Work With Me:

Email [email protected] for brand partnerships and business inquiries.

Editing by Samuel Oyedele (Editor)

Special thanks to Samuel Oyedele for editing our podcast, support his work on Instagram or email him at [email protected] 

Finding Freedom: Reflections on One Year of No Contact

Episode Summary:

It's been 365 days since I cut ties with my adopters to protect myself. A year of healing, self-discovery, and finding my voice.  In this episode, I share my no contact journey, the reasons behind my decision, the process of healing, and the freedom I’ve found. Hear my story of setting boundaries, seeking safety, and reclaiming my identity.

In this episode, we cover:

(00:24) 1 year of no contact 

(01:50) “but they’re your parents” OR Expectation to be grateful 

(04:17) How I felt after no contact 

(06:21) Family policing gaslit me

(11:20) Forgiveness as a weapon

(14:36) Becoming free, finally

(18:01) Getting tattoos (& my favorite one) 

(20:26) Being able to grieve my mom

(30:56) Healing by finding biological family

(34:38) Stealing me from my mom  

(36:12) #1 reason for child removal 

(39:43) Why I do this work

Call To Action:

Subscribe to Adoptees Crossing Lines wherever you listen to podcasts, follow us on social media, and subscribe to our Substack for more content and community:

• Website: adopteescrossinglines.com
• Instagram: @adopteescrossinglines
• BlueSky: adopteecrossing.bsky.social
• TikTok: @adopteescrossinglines_
• Substack: Adoptees Crossing Lines Substack

Work With Me:

Email [email protected] for brand partnerships and business inquiries.

Editing by Samuel Oyedele (Editor)

Special thanks to Samuel Oyedele for editing our podcast, support his work on Instagram or email him at [email protected] 

Operation Stop CPS w/ Amanda Wallace

Episode Summary:

Amanda Wallace helps families powerfully stop Child Protective Services from stealing their children. In this episode she talk about how you can do it too, how her organization reunited 20+ families, and why we should abolish the belief that the CPS system should even exist. Listen and let’s stop CPS.

In this episode, we cover:

(00:22) Who is Amanda Wallace?

(01:25) Why she wants to stop CPS - Child Protective Services

(05:16) Why are you in my house?!

(06:32) Repealing the Child Abuse Prevention & Treatment Act + Adoption & Safe Families Act  

(08:12) How to respond to CPS 

(11:29) Reuniting 20 families 

(15:32) Reparations are not enough

(18:08) Black Mother’s March (Collective power)

(23:07) Drug testing a birth & Interrogating children 

(24:42) Creative collabs for collective action

(26:50) How can you stop CPS?

(33:07) Freedom can happen in our lifetime OR Freedom is not complicated

Call To Action:

Subscribe to Adoptees Crossing Lines wherever you listen to podcasts, follow us on social media, and subscribe to our Substack for more content and community:

• Website: adopteescrossinglines.com
• Instagram: @adopteescrossinglines
• BlueSky: adopteecrossing.bsky.social
• TikTok: @adopteescrossinglines_
• Substack: Adoptees Crossing Lines Substack

Connect with Amanda Wallace: 

• Stop CPS Website
• Instagram
• Tiktok 

Resources:

• Respond In Power Guide 
• Black Mother’s March
• Twisted Yogi

Work With Me:

Email [email protected] for brand partnerships and business inquiries.

Editing by Samuel Oyedele (Editor)

Special thanks to Samuel Oyedele for editing our podcast, support his work on Instagram or email him at [email protected] 

Adoption is Not A Part Of God’s Plan

Episode Summary:

Some people who adopt say it’s God’s plan for them to adopt. But, they almost never say that God’s plan is for them NOT to have children. This is just one of the many ways people use religion to justify human trafficking.  I found out, through an archived article, that I was trafficked by the Church through the One Church, One Child movement which operates in 32 states. 

In this episode, we cover:

(00:22) Is adoption God’s plan? 

(04:23) Forcing adoptees to go to church OR “Go to church or leave”

(11:53) Making adoptees mini versions of them  

(13:04) Telling my adoptive parents I’m stepping away from the church  

(14:51) One Church, One Child business 

(20:36) The church trafficked me

(28:39) Orphan sundays 

(30:07) Church preaches family separation (hypocritical?)

(34:24) Forced assimilation 

(36:13) Adoption is not God’s plan

Call To Action:

Subscribe to Adoptees Crossing Lines wherever you listen to podcasts, follow us on social media, and subscribe to our Substack for more content and community:

• Website: adopteescrossinglines.com
• Instagram: @adopteescrossinglines
• BlueSky: adopteecrossing.bsky.social
• TikTok: @adopteescrossinglines_
• Substack: Adoptees Crossing Lines Substack

Work With Me:

Email [email protected] for brand partnerships and business inquiries.

Editing by Samuel Oyedele (Editor)

Special thanks to Samuel Oyedele for editing our podcast, support his work on Instagram or email him at [email protected] 

Mila's Truth: Navigating Adoption, Liberation, and Community

Episode Summary: 

The Church does an excellent job of silencing you if you oppose them. They’d even hire a marketing company to rebrand adoption so that their business as adoption middlemen can continue to thrive. But, it’s not just the Church. The dominant culture is to silence anyone who speaks up against adoption. That was Mila Konomos’ experience once she realized how adoption has wounded her.  Mila tells her story of how she was forcibly removed from her family in 1975 to the realization in 2009 that everything she thought she knew about adoption was a lie. She discusses how reuniting with her biological parents changed everything, how similar she realized she was hto her bio parents, grappling with her identity, the power of speaking up,  and the cultural resistance against accepting the truth about adoption.  Mila is the host of the podcast called Everything You Think You Know About Adoption Is A Lie. 

In this episode, we cover:

(00:22) Who is Mila Kanomos? 

(01:39) Being a (clueless) grateful adoptee 

(06:00) “You had this information all of my life?!”

(12:55) Terrified of opposing adoption publicly 

(15:50) The church is complicit 

(18:23) Propaganda around adoption 

(19:38) Surviving reunion 

(22:04) How do I become Korean?

(30:55) Everything you know about adoption is a lie

(36:43) Church PAID to rebrand adoption 

(41:03) Centering adoptee narratives  

(44:47) Adoption IS oppression 

(49:03) What can you do about this?

(55:51) You already know who you are

Call To Action:

Subscribe to Adoptees Crossing Lines wherever you listen to podcasts, follow us on social media, and subscribe to our Substack for more content and community:

• Website: adopteescrossinglines.com
• Instagram: @adopteescrossinglines
• BlueSky: adopteecrossing.bsky.social
• TikTok: @adopteescrossinglines_
• Substack: Adoptees Crossing Lines Substack

Connect with Mila: 

• Instagram
• Podcast Instagram 

Resources:

• Everything You Think You Know About Adoption Is A Lie Podcast
• Child Catchers by Catherine Joyce 

Work With Me:

Email [email protected] for brand partnerships and business inquiries.

Editing by  Samuel Oyedele (Editor)

Special thanks to Samuel Oyedele for editing our podcast, support his work on Instagram or email him at [email protected]

My Journey To Abolition

Content Warning: Sexual and Physical Abuse

Episode Summary:

Every adult in my childhood has failed me, none of them did what they’re supposed to. Every part of the system failed me, it did exactly what it’s supposed to. The system kills children and breaks families, it must be abolished. In this episode, I share how I gradually evolved towards this deep belief starting from a school trip to juvie when I was just 10. I talk about my encounters with the family policing system growing up and how it failed me. My story is not an is not an anomaly or an isolated incident. This is the experience of many children who are victims of the family policing system that they carry with them through adulthood. Abolition is a journey toward collective liberation, this is my journey so far.

In this episode, we cover:

(00:22) Taking a trip to juvie at 10 years old

(04:42) [CW] Punished for speaking up about abuse   

(07:30) Losing faith in adoption, police, and the system OR My first encounter with family policing system

(10:32) Going to school with bruises on my arm OR “You had a really good school year because DCF did not show up at my door” OR DCF shows up, I’m a disappointment OR DCF gets me in trouble

(16:41) My adopters’ public facade OR Where my skepticism started OR Losing respect for authority

(25:54) The system doesn’t care about children [CW: school shootings] OR They let alligators eat Black babies (true story)

(31:45) My journey with queerness OR Queer people in evangelical homes 

Call To Action:

Subscribe to Adoptees Crossing Lines wherever you listen to podcasts, follow us on social media, and subscribe to our Substack for more content and community:

• Website: adopteescrossinglines.com
• Instagram: @adopteescrossinglines
• BlueSky: adopteecrossing.bsky.social
• TikTok: @adopteescrossinglines_
• Substack: Adoptees Crossing Lines Substack

Listen to this episodes next:

• Alan Dettlaff

Resources:

• Torn Apart by Dorothy Roberts 
• Confronting the Racist Legacy of the American Child Welfare System 
• 13th Documentary  
• The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander 

Work With Me:

Email [email protected] for brand partnerships and business inquiries.

Editing by Samuel Oyedele (Editor)

Special thanks to Samuel Oyedele for editing our podcast, support his work on Instagram or email him at [email protected] 

Navigating Change: A Conversation with Josh Lamers, Co-founder of Collective of Child Welfare Survivors

Episode Summary: 

Adoption is trauma. How do we help surviving children heal the wounds they’ve sustained from the child welfare system? Josh Lamers, a transracial adoptee, is public enemy #1 for child welfare agencies in Canada. He joins the show to discuss what adoption and child welfare are like in Canada; and how his organization, Collective of Child Welfare Survivors, advocates for child welfare survivors though addressing harm reduction, counseling, unpacking racial displacement, and community development…amongst many other things. “The child who's now back in your home is not the same child who was taken out of your home.” 

In this episode, we cover:

(00:21) Who is Josh Lamers?

(01:57) His transracial adoption experience OR “My adoption was illegal”

(08:51) How child welfare works in Canada OR Adoption system in Canada 

(13:47) Insights from studying adoption OR What’s wrong with research about adoption

(23:51) Psychiatric system and adoption 

(26:26) Disability and adoption (and why Josh’s adoption was illegal)

(32:22) Myth of “unmanageable kids”

(34:05) How they advocate for child welfare survivors 

(45:50) How to support child advocacy work

Call To Action:

Subscribe to Adoptees Crossing Lines wherever you listen to podcasts, follow us on social media, and subscribe to our Substack for more content and community:

• Website: adopteescrossinglines.com
• Instagram: @adopteescrossinglines
• BlueSky: adopteecrossing.bsky.social
• TikTok: @adopteescrossinglines_
• Substack: Adoptees Crossing Lines Substack

Resources:

• Outsiders Within 
• Collective of Child Welfare Survivors: Donate 

Work With Me:

Email [email protected] for brand partnerships and business inquiries.

Editing by Samuel Oyedele (Editor)

Special thanks to Samuel Oyedele for editing our podcast, support his work on Instagram or email him at [email protected]