Veteran actor opens his house and heart to 10 children; spokesman for adoption proves actions speak louder than words - Taurean Blacque

Ebony, Dec, 1990 by Aldore Collier

IN THE mid-1980s, Taurean Blacque's life was as perfect as he felt it would ever be. He was a cast member of TVs hit Hill Street Blues, the father of two successful adult sons and a property owner watching his investments soar.

All that changed five years ago when be was asked to serve as a celebrity spokesman at a Black adoption festival in Los Angeles. Seeing a number of abused Black youngsters who had been shuttled from one foster home to another, Blacque recalls feeling incredible guilt at his fortune.

"I told them [county officials] that I didn't just want to be a celebrity spokesman. I wanted to adopt. I wanted to know firsthand what it was really like. If I was going to tell people to adopt, then I had to know what it was like. I meant to be honest about it. "

Blacque, who is in his late 40s, expected to adopt only one child. He never imagined in his wildest dream that he would end up with 10. But whenever he saw or heard about kids of addicts or abused youngsters in need, he applied for custody.

The bureaucratic obstacles thrown in his way were far more formidable than he ever expected. A White woman from Children's Services told me that I could not adopt," he says. "She said, Don't waste your time; you won't be able to adopt.' When I asked why, she said, 'Three reasons: Number 1, you're single. Number 2, you're male, and Number 3, you're Black.' I told her she was wrong and that I was going to adopt. And five years later, I have 10 kids. You see, there is an oversupply of Black kids, especially boys. "

His efforts gained national recognition when President George Bush named Blacque the National Spokesperson for Adoption. The Newark, N.J., native has also received several state and local commendations for his. work with kids. He is also on the board of directors of the Institute of Black Parenting, an organization that encourages Blacks to get more involved in adopting.

Blacque says he had to consistently point out to social service officials that there are many Black men who take family responsibilities seriously, and who successfully rear children alone.

"Black men have to get into the system, fight the bureaucrats and not allow people to tell them they can't do this or that because they're single and/or male," he says. "If you have love in your heart and know that you can take care of a child, that's all you need. "

Blacque's first adoptees turned out to be twins he had seen on a local news program. "I told the lady from the county that I'd take them," he recalls. "But the thing was people had been inquiring about them before. They wanted the light one, but not the dark one." The boys were in his home within three months. The final adoption took over a year.

On the heels of the twins came a brother and sister, who were the off-spring of a jailed, drug-addicted mother. A friend of mine knew I had adopted some kids and knew of a woman incarcerated who had delivered a drug baby in jail," he says. "I said I'd think about it. I eventually went down to the court and was able to get the month-old boy. The judge told me the boy had a sister. I didn't know anything about a sister. The sister was 18 months old. She was living with a Black family. He had been living with a White family. I said, Your Honor, I'll take them both.' He asked, You will?' I said, Yes, I'm going to keep them together. "

About a year later, the same woman became pregnant again. This time Blacque took control. "She called me and I put her on a program, a prenatal program so the baby wouldn't be born addicted to drugs," he says. "I had a vacant apartment to put her in to make sure she had the right treatment." He eventually adopted four of the woman's children, three of whom were drug babies.

When he went back to county officials to check on a boy he had been denied several years earlier, Blacque ended up not only adopting him, but two' other older boys who were best friends. He adopted another daughter who was born to a single mother who could not afford to keep her. The 10th child was added early last year.

Even though he now has 10, Blacque refuses to say he is through. He added rooms to his home in the Baldwin Hills section of Los Angeles and leased the house next door with an option to buy. He now has 11,000 square feet of space with nine bedrooms and a large swimming pool. He plans to add five more bedrooms before he's finished.

It's rewarding," he says, "when you see where they are now from where they were before. Some of these kids were physically and sexually abused. You name it. It's rewarding when they come in saying Daddy this or Daddy that.' They are average, normal kids now.

The five older kids go to a private school sponsored by his church, West Angeles Church of God in Christ. He takes them to school every morning and picks them up in the evening. Blacque also does all of the shopping, even emergency items like Pampers.

A tutor comes by three times a week to work with the older kids. His housekeeper of three years, Daisy Morataya, from El Salvador, does the cooking and cleaning and watches the younger ones while Blacque is at work. Even on her days off, Blacque says she does things for the kids.