Fellow Bastards!
Last spring, Emm Paul and I attended the American Adoption Congress conference in Denver. In the past Bastard Nationals, including myself, have attended and presented at AAC conferences, but Bastard Nation and the AAC have also been in opposition over legislative strategies and outcomes for many years. We weren’t sure of what kind of reception we would receive as proud Bastards.
Much to our surprise, everyone was very kind and interested in talking to us. Many had heard things about Bastard Nation, but were essentially unaware of what our mission is. We had the opportunity to educate some AAC members on the history of our “distasteful” name, and about equality legislation. Many were surprised to find that the AAC has supported compromise legislation in the past. We even won a few people over who have since become members.
With a new board and a new President, the AAC has graciously extended BN an invitation to present at their 2017 conference so that we could educate interested members about our “Leave No One Behind” approach to open records legislation. After some heated discussion, we have decided to take them up on their offer. With so much legislation (most of it dirty) happening in the last couple of years, it would be a good thing to garner more allies than opposition in our fight for equality. And we need to put a face to BN, to quell the rumors that we’re “just two people on the Internet messing it all up for the rest of us”.
So with cautious optimism, Emm, Brenda Romanchik, Mirren Kara Theiding and I will be presenting “Radical Reform and Grassroots Activism; How to Achieve Adoptee Equality in Your State” at the next AAC conference.
New York Adoptee Rights Coalition
