Dr. Maxine Bryant
Category: Connections
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1h 29m
Dr. Maxine Bryant provides an important and rarely highlighted perspective as a domestic Black adoptee adopted by Black parents during a time when formal adoption in the Black community was rare. Alongside her personal story, Maxine also brings crucial insight into the history of the practice of adoption within Black families, providing perspective regarding how Black communities 'take care of their own.' Her story includes initiating reunion through Ancestry.com and meeting, building, and sustaining relationships with her biological siblings. Dr. Bryant also discusses the adult adoptee experience, which often is overlooked in adoption education, research and practice. Dr. Bryant offers meaningful insight into what it looks like to process and explore identity over many years and discusses how she has reached a place of healing and resilience despite her hardships. Dr. Bryant is the Director of the Center for Africana Studies and the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Center at Georgia Southern University.
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