Ohio University | August 2, 2025 | 1:30–2:30 PM | Tickets: In-person $25 Virtual $10

Join us for a powerful preview of Blended Together at Transracial Journeys Family Camp—a community moment centered on identity, hair care, and belonging, featuring Johnny Wright, April Dinwoodie and special guests. We’ll be hearing from transracially adopted persons on their hair and identity journey, and we’ll have a live “Wash Day” demo with Johnny Wright.

This live, in-person and livestreamed gathering marks the official preview of a first-of-its-kind community for individuals and families navigating the beautiful and complex realities of being mixed race or parenting across racial lines.

TRJ was born out of the need for greater understanding of and support for transracially adopted persons and their families in all stages of life and sectors of society. Founded by an adoptive parent in 2013, TRJ began hosting a 4-day family camp for the Black and Brown adopted children and their white adoptive parents to come together to explore issues of adoption, identity, and race with the support of counselors for the children and outside speakers for the adults. Children and their parents found a safe space to have challenging discussions, friendships developed, and a geographically dispersed community took root.

TRJ Annual Family Camp continues to be our primary programming and highlight of the year. Families return year after year. New families join. Older campers became counselors-in-training and then counselors.

Post-Adoption Resources

As there are few resources in the adoption field that specifically provide post-adoption support for transracial families, TRJ has developed additional online and physical resources for families to successfully navigate issues all year long.

● TRJ Monthly Email Newsletter with articles related to the monthly themes connected to transracial adoption, celebrates Black excellence, and highlights books that integrate adoption into the story.  SUBSCRIBE TO OUR EMAIL NEWSLETTER

● TRJ texting platform. Text "TRJ" to 866-578-0568 to get real time information. Message and Data rates may apply.

● TRJ Monthly Parent Meet-ups to talk with other adoptive parents about the monthly theme or adoption-related issues that are happening in your life. (Zoom link provided in our monthly email newsletter)

● TRJ/June-in-April Activity Deck has a card for each month of the year that connects with the monthly theme and poses corresponding questions, conversation starters, or prompts for having more regular and intentional conversations about adoption, identity and differences of race. The cards are designed for children to ask parents the questions and spark reflections and conversations. (Email info@transracialjourneys.org for more information)

● TRJ Consulting Support to organize a mini-TRJ Camp in your area in collaboration with your local social service/post-adoption support agency. (Email info@transracialjourneys.org for more information)

Why We Exist

Adoption is often spoken about in terms of love and gratitude, but the reality is more layered. Transracially adopted children grow up navigating profound questions of identity, belonging, and cultural connection—often in families and communities that don’t fully understand their lived experience. Without intentional support, these children can feel isolated in both their racial and adoptive identities, caught between worlds that don’t always see or affirm them.

This is why TRJ exists. We are more than an organization—we are a movement, a home, and a place of transformation. TRJ ensures that transracially adopted persons and their families don’t have to navigate this journey alone. We provide spaces where transracially adopted persons can be fully seen and heard, where parents can grow in their ability to support children, and where community becomes the foundation for healing, identity, and empowerment.

Latest from Our Newsletter

Surviving the White Gaze: A Memoir  by Rebecca Carroll Adult Transracial adoptee Becky had an idyllic early childhood in a loving family. Living in a rural community, she was the only person of color in her town, and as she grew older, Becky felt isolated and confused. Life became even more difficult when she met Tess, her white birth mother, at age 16. Tess refused to talk about Becky’s Black father and undermined Becky’s identity and self-esteem. Becky’s journey to read more

TRJ Family Camp 2025 Newsletter Feature from April Dinwoodie and the TRJ Board of Directors Every July, the calendar turns our attention to freedom. Fireworks, flags, and family cookouts remind us of independence—but for those of us connected to adoption, freedom carries a deeper, more complex meaning. At TRJ, we know that freedom doesn’t begin with independence alone. It begins with truth—and the courage to name it. It requires access to origins, permission to grieve, and space to explore identity read more

Frederick Douglass stands as an undeniable pillar of Black excellence, his life an unwavering testament to the power of self-liberation, intellect, and the relentless pursuit of justice. Born into the brutal dehumanization of slavery in Talbot County, Maryland, around 1818, Douglass’s journey from bondage to becoming one of the most influential abolitionists and human rights advocates in American history is a profound narrative of resilience and triumph. Douglass’s early life under slavery exposed him to its inherent cruelties, but also read more