VERSIONS: روسيا اليوم NOTICIAS FREEVIDEO ИНОТВ RTД
breakingnews
Go to main page   USA   News   Mixed couple denied right to marry  
MORE ON THE STORY
AFP Photo / Patrik Stollarz 19.10.2010, 22:52 17 comments

Germany rethinks multiculturalism

All immigrants in Germany should actively integrate into society, German president Christian Wulff said in an address to the Turkish parliament.

19.10.2010, 10:21 16 comments

Stumbling blockade: Opposition grows in US over Cuban embargo

50 years since the US imposed a crippling trade embargo on Cuba, new facts speak for a major rethink of the blockade.

AFP Photo / Ali Al-Saadi 23.10.2010, 09:36 15 comments

Poisonous US weapons in Iraq kill thousands and mar generations

US commanders in Iraq ignored evidence of torture and the murder of civilians. These are the major findings from the leak of 400,000 secret American military files from the whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks.

26.10.2010, 12:10 13 comments

There mustn't be any false tolerance - German politician

Society does not have to adopt cultural traditions and the laws of immigrants. There can be no compromise between the German rule of law and Sharia law, which has no place in Germany – a German politician told RT.

25.10.2010, 16:31 14 comments

Vatican rejects “chosen people” claim, calls on Israel to end “occupation”

A high-ranking Israeli official on Sunday slammed a statement from Catholic bishops, who called for international organizations to lead the cause of Palestinian statehood.

19.10.2010, 11:38 12 comments

Go back to where you are happy – German author on immigration issue

Immigration tensions are rising in Germany following Chancellor Angela Merkel's statement that multiculturalism has failed in the country.

Adolf Hitler (AFP Photo) 15.10.2010, 08:40 8 comments

10% of Germans want Führer back - survey

One in ten Germans would like to see a Führer in power; they see dictatorship as the best option for the country, a survey has revealed.

Mistakes acknowledged: US soldiers question a man in Iraq (AFP: Oliver Laban-Mattei, file photo) 24.10.2010, 21:54 4 comments

“Increased secrecy breeds corruption” – WikiLeaks spokesperson

Governments should work on decreasing secrecy around its activities, believes WiliLeaks spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson.

Rail workers hold flares on October 21, 2010 in Paris (AFP Photo / Fred Dufour) 28.10.2010, 09:01 8 comments

French trade unions remain defiant in face of defeat

French trade unions are still taking people out onto the streets, despite the pension reform they are protesting against being given the green light.

12.10.2010, 14:30 7 comments

Estonia says no to “guests” from Guantanamo

Estonia has refused to take in prisoners from Guantanamo detention center, citing legal reasons.

Mixed couple denied right to marry

Published: 09 November, 2009, 09:40
Edited: 10 November, 2009, 13:42

(14.0Mb) embed video

TAGS: Human rights, USA


A justice of the peace in Louisiana in the US has resigned after refusing to marry a mixed-race couple. Keith Bardwell came under strong criticism in the state, where race has long been a contentious issue.

The story of Beth and Terence McKay has made headlines across the world. They are settling into newlywed life, but their road to matrimony wasn't that easy.

The McKays live in Hammond, Louisiana, with the population around 20,000. The state has one of the highest proportionate populations of African Americans in the country.

And many believe that, in the place where slavery existed in the 1800s, racism still exists today.

“They just try to demean white women. When they do that they try to make them feel like they're less of a woman because they're stepping down,” Beth says.

And it is not just white people that have a problem with their decision

“The older generation says the races shouldn’t mix and it’s not right, but it’s our choice. You don't have to like it but you will respect it,” Terence is convinced.

The local judge later explained that he refused to marry the couple out of concern that biracial kids wouldn't be accepted by either race.

Many people in town admitted that the judge could have a point.

“I think biracial kids have a tough time everywhere and I think the reason for that is the white people think that, you know, they don't really fit in with the white people and they don't fit in with the black people,” one white woman in her fifties told RT.

“Well around here, when I was younger it was a big problem,” a middle-aged white man said.

A young black man in his twenties admitted racism does exist:

“Definitely there’s no ifs ands or buts about it – definitely it does. The older generation: they're afraid of change. That’s fine to a certain degree, but let everybody else have their change.”

The McKays realize the challenges they will face raising a biracial child in Louisiana.

“I think that for any child who is not white in America there is always going to be problems that they face as long as people keep teaching their children to be racist,”
Beth says. “Because children are not racist – they are taught that.”

But this couple is not afraid of the challenge, and say that people’s ignorance will not make them feel humiliated.

+11 (18 votes)
 
Back to top
next MORE NEWS
US President George Bush (L) and Soviet counterpart Mikhail Gorbachev confer during their joint press conference 31 July 1991 in Moscow (AFP Photo / Mike Fisher) 08.11.2009, 14:05

START I treaty

The full text of the START I treaty, signed by the United States and the Soviet Union on July 31, 1991.

US Army's Patriot Surface (AFP Photo / Kim Jae-Hwan) 09.11.2009, 13:38 4 comments

US to send $100M worth of weapons to Georgia – intelligence

The US has offered to sell Georgia up to $100 million worth of weapons, which would include, among others, a sophisticated air defense system, small arms and ammunition, according to Russian security services

truth November 09, 2009, 19:35
0

What is the status of mixed races in the Russian Federation? Do the Russian people prefer other Russians or are they more attracted to people of other races? I hear a lot about Russian women wanting to leave Russia and mary men of other races. Do the Russian men do the same thing? America just elected the first muletto [MIXED RACE, BLACK & WHITE] president in American history. Russia could follow America's example and elect a muletto president/prime minister and put Russia on the road to a mixed race society, if this is the will of the majority of the Russian people.