"I don't do interracial marriages because I don't want to put children in a situation they didn't bring on themselves," Bardwell said. "In my heart, I feel the children will later suffer."
Highlighted above is Keith Bardwell's, justice of the peace in Tangipahoa Parish, reason for not performing interracial marriages. JOP Bardwell's "concern" for the offspring of interracial couples is "touching." We should be "thankful" that this is not as offensive as that of the judge in Scott v. Georgia* who made the claim that interracial children were "sickly and effeminate" and physically infererior to their full-blooded counterparts.
The use of "protecting" offsprings as a reason to enforce miscegenation statutes is not new. However, it is a bit surprising (even to those of us who are under the impression that we are now of the human race) to still read about this type of story.
For the mothers in the group, how have people reacted to your mixed-race children?
Any surprises?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/15/interracial-couple-denied_n_322784.html
Source: Virginia Hasn't Always Been for Lovers by Phyl Newbeck
*Scott v. Georgia is the 1869 case where the Georgia Surpreme Court indicted Charlotte Scott, "an unmarried woman of color," for "cohabitating and having sexual intercourse" with Leopold David, an unmarried white man. The judge convicted Ms. Scott of fornication even though both parties claimed to havde been legally married by a black preacher. - Woman of Color, Daughter of Privilege: Amanda America Dickson, 1849-1893 by Kent Anderson Leslie
2 comments:
Its funny, my cousin is Chinese and her husband is Italian. When she is out with their kids without her husband, people think she is the nanny. She gets that a lot!
Your cousin is one of the many women that inspired us to create the "Mommy, NOT Nanny™" greeting card and product lines.
I think most people don't mean to offend, but there are those who are vindictive and hate being proven wrong. Sometimes the only thing you can do is disarm their preconceived notions with humor.
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