African American therapist, Keia and husband Richardro, had always known that they wanted to adopt a child.
The North Carolina-based couple are parents to a biological daughter, Zariyah (15) and two adoptive biracial children, Ayden (8) and Karleigh (16), but they never thought that their next child would be white.
It all started when her foster care supervisor called her to ask if she could help with a severely underweight premature newborn, Princeton, who needed skin-to-skin as no one was there to hold and nurture him.
Keia didn't hesitate to help.
Little did she know that such a simple gesture would grow into a loving bond, not only with Keia but the whole family, and so they decided to adopt him.
But as simple as their decision was to take in little Princeton, the community they lived in found it difficult to accept.
The mom of four told TODAY Parents she gets a lot of stares and backlash because Princeton is white and his family is black.
Must read: 'We need a space where we could just feel like human beings': How a cross-racial adoptee is using her story to help others
"We get a lot of stares," Keia said. "I’m frequently asked if I’m Princeton’s babysitter. ... I get, 'Why didn't you let him stay with a family of his own race?'", she said.
People had gone as far as calling the police on Keia because they believed she had kidnapped Princeton. Since then, Keia and Richardro take Princeton's adoption papers with them when they go out to prove they are in custody of him.
The mom had since started a Facebook page and a YouTube channel called Raising Cultures to share her journey in raising multicultural children.
Keia shared on Facebook some of the backlash she gets, she wrote in her post:
Chat back:
Share your story with us, and we could publish your mail. Anonymous contributions are welcome.