Former Atlanta mayor and Georgia Democratic governor candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms has navigated some of the toughest rooms in American politics. But nothing was harder for her than trying to adopt Black boys.
In a recent interview with TheGrio’s Natasha S. Alford, Keisha Lance Bottoms discussed her new memoir, “The Rough Side of the Mountain,” in which she delves into her political career, her father’s death, motherhood and the reproductive health struggles that ultimately led to her adoption journey.
“For me, it was a journey to say the least. I suffered from very bad fibroids. I had more surgeries than I literally can count, probably more than a dozen. At some point, I made a very difficult decision to even have a partial hysterectomy,” Bottoms said.
According to the report “Americans’ Views of U.S. Foster Care: Elevating Black Americans’ Perspectives and Experiences,” published by the Gallup Center on Black Voices, Black children are more likely to remain in the foster care system longer than children of other races. Black adoptive parents also often face barriers when adopting Black children, but for Bottoms, those challenges did not deter her from becoming a mother.
Before the surgeries, Bottom said she and her husband, Derek, tried everything, including in vitro fertilization and other alternatives to “conceive a baby biologically,” but were unsuccessful. It wasn’t until her husband suggested adoption that they began to consider how they could still have the family they always wanted.
“I thought there was a conflict between adopting and faith that God would give us this baby naturally. And I can tell you again, one of these rough patches going up the mountain, I wouldn’t trade anything for the world,” Bottoms explained.
The couple now has four children. In 1992, they adopted a six-month-old child named Lance. They later adopted another son, Langston, and continued expanding their family with twins Lincoln and Lennox, according to Yahoo! Life.
After years of fertility struggles and a long adoption journey, Bottoms reflected on what it ultimately meant to become a mother.
“If I had to do it all over again to get back to the four that I get to call my children, I would do it all over again,” Bottoms said.
She continued, “It was a journey and really eye-opening just in terms of adoption in general, and the availability of Black boys. Black boys are often the last chosen.”
In September 2020, about 407,000 children were in foster care nationwide, and 57,881 were adopted that year, according to a report from the Children’s Bureau of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Black children make up the largest percentage of those in foster care, with 92,237 in care and 9,588 adopted.
Bottoms reflected on the challenges Black boys often face in the adoption system. “The fear of Black men starts at birth. That black boys are not always the chosen ones when it comes to adoption.”
“I’m fortunate that I have three sons and a daughter. But it is something that I’m very grateful for, sharing our story with friends—we have so many friends who have gone on to adopt. And I truly hope that even in writing about it, more hearts will be open to it,” she added.
