Charles Lawrence and Jacquie Johnson
Recorded
October 19, 2023
Archived
October 19, 2023
51:52 minutes
0:00 / 0:00
Id:
osh000067
Description
One Small Step conversation partners Charles "Chak" Lawrence (42) and Jacquie Johnson (63) being adopted, adopting a child of a different race, finding multi-cultural identity and living overseas in North Africa.Subject Log / Time Code
Charles "Chak" Lawrence (CL) and Jacquie Johnson (JJ) introduce themselves and talk about why they wanted to participate in One Small Step.
CL talks about the racism his adopted Ethiopian son has experienced
CL asks JJ about her experience of being growing up as an adopted child. She appears to be white and was adopted by a Black Family.
JJ asks CL how his son identifies. CL talks about his son’s difficulty fitting in.
JJ talks about the difficulty of being accepted growing up white in a black family.
CL talks about influences growing up conservative but how he changed living overseas in an Arab country. He talks about how his true feelings might be mischaracterized.
CL talks about his friendship with the Bedouinin man in Tunisia. Also discussed having Palestinian friends.
CL says I’m pro-life but thinks there is more to the issue like supporting families and children.
JJ talks about her political values. She is pro-choice. She is not happy with the nastiness of politics. She feels we need more civility.
CL says coming back to the United States from Tunisia was a difficult adjustment.
JJ is not happy with single issue voters. She thinks a broader view is necessary.
CL thinks local politics are more important than national and thinks his local community has improved over the years.
CL thinks JJ’s experience is similar to his son’s trying to find out where he fits in culturally.
JJ feels her family helped to keep her “sane and whole.”
Participants
- Charles Lawrence
- Jacquie Johnson