Wood encouraged orphans and adoptees to remember that they were not alone
Joseph Wood was hopeful that he would finally find the answers to the questions that had troubled him for 45+ years when Illinois made in 2010 the possibility for adult adoptees to apply for their original birth certificates.
Wood, a Chicago native, is now county judge for Washington County, Arkansas. Instead, he discovered that his earliest record was a foundling certificate. It listed March 20, 1965, what he believed to be his birthday, as the date he was abandoned in a shoebox in front of an apartment.
Wood shared his story with Fox News Digital in November to mark National Adoption Month. He recounted his journey from a Chicago orphanage to the Arkansas lieutenant governor’s election next year.
“The struggle was real”
Wood discovered his foundling certificate and learned that he was found by Ceasar Johnson. He later tracked him down and they met. Wood discovered that Johnson had found him at just two weeks of age and took him to a downtown orphanage.
Wood spent a lot of his childhood in foster homes, before he was adopted at the age of 10.
He said that his adoptive parents loved him and wanted children in the worst possible way. They would have more children later on. Wood struggled with a deep identity crisis even though he was adopted.
Wood stated, “I have struggled to identify myself,” “Why was I abandoned for adoption?” What did you do?
Wood said that he was a teenager who ruminated on possible reasons for his adoption. Wood wondered if his mother was a prostitute, or if his parents were involved in an interracial or incestuous relationship. He was concerned that he could have been conceived by rape.
“The struggle was real”
Wood discovered his foundling certificate and learned that he was found by Ceasar Johnson. He later tracked him down and they met. Wood discovered that Johnson had found him at just two weeks of age and took him to a downtown orphanage.
Wood spent a lot of his childhood in foster homes, before he was adopted at the age of 10.
He said that his adoptive parents loved him and wanted children in the worst possible way. They would have more children later on. Wood struggled with a deep identity crisis even though he was adopted.
Wood stated, “I have struggled to identify myself,” “Why was I abandoned for adoption?” What did you do?
Wood said that he was a teenager who pondered many possible reasons for his adoption. Wood wondered if his mother was a prostitute, or if his parents were involved in an interracial or incestuous relationship. He was concerned that he could have been conceived by rape.
Wood recalled how he used to pray and write to God his many questions. He said that he was wrestling with passages from The Book of Proverbs concerning knowledge, wisdom, and understanding at the time.
The service featured the verses and topics that he had been praying about. Wood was convinced God was telling him that he wasn’t the only one.
Wood stated that God revealed to him right away, despite his difficulties, “I’ve had my hands on you and have been walking alongside you.”
Wood stated that despite growing up in the Church, it wasn’t until that moment that his faith became a relationship to God.
Wood cited someone saying to him that he voted against everything he believed when he switched parties back in 1988. Wood said that he is a believer because he’s a member of the church. You believe in smarter government and pro-life. Yet, on Tuesday, you vote against everything that you believe in.
Wood said, “It just became an historic moment.”
County judge
Wood eventually made the move to Washington County in Arkansas in 1997. He was then head of international recruiting and staffing at Walmart.
He said, “Next thing you knew, I was being asked if I wanted to run for office.” “And so, I became vice chair of Republicans here in Arkansas.”
Wood was elected the treasurer of the state Republican Party. He held that office for three terms. Wood was also the chairman candidate for Republican Party of Arkansas.
Wood said that if Mark Martin, former Arkansas Secretary, asked him to be his deputy secretary of state, he would. My whole life I have been volunteering. I was never taught by my mother that you can get paid for this.
Wood, who served as chief executive officer of the county government, was elected to the office in Washington County, Arkansas, as Arkansas’ first Black county judge. Wood is proud of his county’s first “Pro-Life City”, which he self-declared in Arkansas.
He also mentioned that Washington County has always had a heart for foster and adopted children.
Wood declared in May his candidacy to be Arkansas lieutenant governor.
‘Not alone’
Wood admitted that despite all the progress he made since his time in Chicago’s orphanage, he still struggles. It’s not easy.
He says he still longs for the identity of his birth parents as well as the reasons they abandoned him. His emotions are fresh every time he talks about them.
He said, “I still wonder what could have been so horrendous that I would be put in a box in winter.” He did not forget that Ceasar Johnson had told him his mother loved him, as she put him wherever he could find him.
He said that he can get choked up when talking about his parents because “whatever happened, they gave us an opportunity.”
He has a deep compassion for orphans and adoptees struggling with identity and belonging. Wood acknowledged that sometimes, it can be tempting for them to escape by using drugs or other self-destructive behaviors. His biggest advice is that they matter.
He said, “Let them know they matter, that their actual matter, that it’s here,” “Just because it was your beginning, doesn’t mean that it must be your ending. If they don’t tap out, there are many people who won’t have their influence and impact.
He said, “And so I would encourage them to keep fighting.” Let them know they are not alone and they matter. They do matter. There are many people like me out there who would be happy to share that journey with them.”
