3/6/02-Boston College Law School is pleased to announce that it will be hosting the Boston screening premiere of Outside Looking In: Transracial Adoption in America, a public television documentary about white couples adopting African-American children. The film will be shown on March 26th at 7 p.m. in room 120 of the Law School’s East Wing, and will be followed by a question and answer panel that includes the film’s director.

BC Law professor Ruth-Arlene Howe served a vital role as an advisor on the documentary, which was produced by Big Mouth Productions. Directed by Phil Bertelsen, an African-American filmmaker who was himself adopted by white parents in the early 1970s, the film features three American families brought together—and at times pushed apart—by transracial adoption. The film examines the bonds and strains that family members can experience when white couples decide to adopt black children. Through the stories of three generations of adoptees, the film explores how transracial adoption has changed since the early 1970s.

"I recently showed the film to my Family Law: Child, Parent & State class," said Professor Howe. "It's such a powerful and moving piece. It really left many just speechless."

Outside Looking In is a presentation of the Independent Television Service (ITVS) with funding provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the National Black Programming Consortium. The screening at Boston College Law School is part of the school’s Diversity Month activities, and is free and open to the public.