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Update as of June 2018: To protect the privacy of the people in this story, especially the minors, we’ve removed the pictures form this page. Also, Paul and Melissa Frantz have recently asked that we share the following statement from them about the episode (which is meant to be the first in a series about the family).

Hey Strangers. We know that this show resonated with many people and we have been moved by the feedback that so many folks have shared with us. We want to specifically acknowledge the People of Colour raised by White People that reached out to us. Thank you. One of the reasons we agreed to this project was to have a record of what was going on during this time and to tell a different kind of story of family. It was for our kids:

how deeply we love them, how we sought to match our intentions with our actions, and conversely, the ways we’ve messed all of that up. Of course, in the telling of it, we definitely messed some of it up. Most importantly, we believe that some of the ways we chose to share continues to uphold a narrative that centers Whiteness. And White Dominance is the very thing that leads to the disruption and destruction of Black and Brown families which, in turn, is the very injustice that made our family possible. Because this story lives in perpetuity, we want to make sure that we are clear that this story is still evolving. We are still learning and growing and it is more important than ever to figure out how *exactly* we disrupt a narrative where we hold the power. While we know Julie used her own agency in participation, we know that she would not have shared what she did share without our collaboration. This story is not over. There will be more and we hope that you will listen with a critical ear. We are committed to doing better and articulating the ways that we both have upheld Whiteness in our family and who it has hurt. We also remain deeply committed to our family both here and in Florida, and want to honor and follow their lead in how we continue to share.”

— Melissa & Paul, June 2018

Original post:
Today’s story is about two families trying to become one family. One set of parents is white, one is black, one lives in Portland, OR, the other in Miami, FL, one is Canadian/American, the other is Haitian/American. So, geographically, demographically, and socio-economically they live in very different worlds, but when we started following them more than a year ago, they’d made a plan to become one family under one roof with the eight children they have between them — eleven people in all. Why? Well, that’s the story you’ll hear today, and we hope to follow the gang for many years to come as the experiment continues to evolve, sort of like the famous Up documentary series.