Poll:
How many friends do you have of another race?
(WHAS11) - The face of the American family is changing in part because the number of minority children up for adoption.
Transracial adoptions are becoming more commonplace.
As part of the WHAS11 series Black and White in Kentuckiana, we bring you the story of one Kentuckiana family who opened their home and their hearts.
They are two ministers who believe that in the end love wins.
It's the kind of picture you find in many houses; a family portrait.
Meet the Gerard's: Bryan and Carrie, their older son Ethan and younger son Graham.
They are the new face of many families emerging throughout America and here in Kentuckiana; families that consist of different races and cultures.
The Gerard's always knew they wanted to adopt and welcome a child of color.
Ethan is of African American, Mexican and European descent and would become the Gerard's first child.
They live in Louisville now but were living in Montgomery, Alabama at the time. Bryan was heading a church that at one point in its history didn't allow African Americans.
“They may have been startled but they were excited their pastors were bringing home a baby,” says Bryan.
Ethan would change lives and hearts, particularly an elderly white man who hadn't approved of the Gerard's adopting a child of color.
Bryan is a pastor at First Christian Church and Carrie is a minister at Eastern Area Community Ministries. Their faith is central to this journey.
Yes, it has led to some confusion among children but for the Gerard family its real life.
Graham is Ethan's younger brother and he is the biological child of Bryan and Carrie.
How they arrived and what they look like doesn't seem to enter into the family dynamic of being brothers.
The Gerard's know as the boys grow the challenges may grow more complex but they know love is on their side.
Love is the cornerstone of the Gerard family; a family that may get some stares and glances but sometimes they say, for all the right reasons.
The Gerard's are proof that family can come together in all ways and in all colors.
