Interracial couple denied marriage license in La.

[BITTER]

Some of the South's oldest families have things in their family tree they don't want shaken out...

Maybe he is marrying a black couple after all and doesn't know it LOL.

[word]

Originally Posted by twitchy2.0

They come to my home, I marry them, they use my bathroom. I treat them just like everyone else."

wtf
why does he even mentiones something like that?

Originally Posted by DeadDwarf

I love how white racists claim to not be racist because they have black friends or because they married a black person or they have black people in their family, etc..... whatever. In reality those friends and family members are the exception to the group and they are still racist bigots. Just fucking admit it, you are a racist, at least be proud to be one and not bullshit us.

+1

[Mel1973]

Originally Posted by greysfang

Well I guess my plan to have my wedding in Louisiana is out the window.

And Texas takes the lead back!....

Originally Posted by RevellingInSane

This is just one man who was caught and turned in. There are many more like him and in LA, specifically, people who think and act as he does had better check their shared history within that particular area. The races have been mixing a long time down there and the cajuns and creoles are irrefutable proof of that. IR couples are turned down and or away by JOP's, ministers, venues, restaurants, newspapers which run wedding announcements, etc.

In fairness, I have to say there are members of every entry on the color wheel who act like this guy in areas of LA and MS.

If we're really to be fair, there are members of every entry on the color wheel who act like this guy in areas every fucking where.

Originally Posted by AliceInWonderland

reason #20,497,189,004,444 alice will not be in the south anytime soon

Good!

Originally Posted by RevellingInSane

Cajuns are of a predominantly French background, and other lineages, and damn proud of it. Cajuns are not pure French.

One man's particular situation is not an indicator of a whole culture. Was this the first or only "Cajun" family you've met?

The original settlers, from whom the Cajuns were thought to be descended, were thought to be all French, although that has been debated. Cajuns, as they exist today, even though calling themselves just Cajun, do not have completely French lineage as Cajuns in the past intermarried with other European, Native American (especially), Island, and yes, African descended people. Remember, your first husband was German/Cajun? Cajuns were intermarrying long before his parents decided to. Italian comes up quite often when Cajuns around here are asked their heritage. Some historians have presented evidence that the Cajun culture was the product of the intermarriage, not an ingredient. Cajuns vary as much as any other population and each family has a distinct makeup and look. While Cajuns can range from fair to dark, most of the ones I have had contact with throughout life, numbering a lot more than one family due to being a native of the area, were darker, with green, hazel, and brown eyes being most common.

The basic Creole mix is African, French, and Native American. Italian, Irish, British, and Spanish are also in there. Again, some historians present arguments Creole is a product of the process, not an ingredient. Like the Cajuns, each family has a unique makeup, so some may be more basic Creole, while others may have more of one than the others, or outside lineage as well.

I'm Creole, born and raised in this area, dated more than one Cajun, count three Cajuns amongst my best friends, grew up, went to school with, and worked with a slew of others. I wouldn't them their Native American, Italian, or whatever background doesn't count. Most of the people I know, who are from this area, have a Creole or Cajun background. What they have shared about their personal backgrounds, what I have seen firsthand at ground zero, and information shared by the local genealogists carry just a bit more weight than the situation of one family.

What is the meaning of Creole?
Ask anybody what a Creole is and you may get many different answers. As a noun Webster's define Creole as (1) a person of French or Spanish descent born in Latin America. (2) a person descended from the original French settlers of Louisiana, and French as spoken by such people. (3) Loosely; a person with both Creole and Negro ancestry.
Sort of confusing isn't it? Unlike the noun Cajun. Creole has many connotations. When you say you a Cajun, we know you are a descendent of the Acadians who were exiled from Acadia (now Nova Scotia) by the British in 1755.
So what is a Creole? Historian George Cable wrote: "Even in Louisiana the question would be variously answered. The title here did not fist belong to the descendants of Spanish, but of French settlers."
In a July 5,1960 column in the Baton Rouge Sunday Advocate, Claire D'Artois Leeper writes, "Prof. Harrison says that he deduces the word, though with many misgivings, from the Spanish criallo, a native of America or West Indies; a corrupt word made by the Negros, said to be a contraction of criadilla, a diminutive of criado- one educated, instructed or bred up, past participle of criar, literally to create, also to nurse, instruct."
Historian Charles Gayarre says the word Creole was invented by the Spaniard to distinguish their children, native of their conquered colonial possessions from the original inhabitants, and that to be a criollo implied a certain excellence of orgin and so early came to include any native of French and Spanish descent by either parent, whose non-alliance with the slave race entitled him to social rank.
George W. Cable wrote this about the Creole: "They will not share their distinction with the worthy 'Acadians', he is a Creole only by courtesy, and in the second person singular. There are not Italian or Sicilian, nor any English, Scotch, Irish, or Yankee' Creole, unless of parentage married into, and themselves thoroughly proselyted in Creole society."
Historian Lyle Saxon writes that many German families changed their names to become Creoles. For an example he says the Zweig (which is German for twig) family became the LaBranche family.
According to the 1990 U.S. Census, with 187,658 persons speakng the language, Florida ranks number one with Creole speakers. Those Florida Creoles are mostly immigrants from the Caribbean including Haiti, Martinique and Guadaloupe, who were at one time under French rule. When I was sailing the Caribbean Sea as merchant seaman I had no trouble communicating with them. There is not that much difference between Cajun French and their dialect.
Father Jules Daigle in the preface of his "Dictionary of the Cajun Language," which was published in 1984, writes that "In Louisiana the term Creole applies to both the Spaniard and the French whose ancestors came to Louisiana directly from Europe. The Cajuns, whose ancestors came from Acadia are obviously not Louisiana Creoles. In the same way, Negroes and Mulattoes, even those with some white blood, cannot properly be considered to Creoles without falsifying the very definition of Creole."
Father Daigle concedes that "the adjective Creole has a much broader meaning. Thus we speak of Creole horses, Creole chicken, creole Negroes. By common usage this adjective so applied, simply means indigenous or local. When applied to animals, it also carry the implication of being smaller than those 'imported." In the case of Negro Creole, the ability to speak some French is implied."
Robert Hendrickson, who published his book "Whistlin' Dixie: A, dictionary of Southern Expressions" in i993 did not help my confusion when he wrote the word Creole comes from the French creole, meaning 'a native.' By the end of the 18th century, however, Creole began to black salves of the Creole as well as to themselves, was next applied to a black person with any French or Spanish blood, then came to mean a native born black as opposed to one born in Africa, and by the end of the 19th century described any Louisianan with the state of Louisiana dubbed the 'Creole State.' The word is confusing and can be defined in the context it is being used, for creole also means a pidgin language spoken by a second generation of speakers, and in Alaska of the last 1960s it even meant a native of Russian and Indian blood!" (Really, how about an Eskimo and a Russian?)
In the 192Os, Lyle Saxon was the most admired Louisiana author with his "Father Mississippi", "Old Louisiana" and other books. About Creoles Saxon wrote, "Although the term Creole was adopted by Negroes, the word was not conceded to them and the use of the word in that sense is very properly resented by the French and Spanish descendants. In fact, the erroneous use of the word Creole in reference to Negroes caused Louisianians in the 1880s to discard the popular title "The Creole State."
Of course today we have Creole music, Creole culture, Creole cooking and even Creole coffee (with chicory). Remember Creole Belle coffee dans l'paquet bleu?
My paternal progenitor, Gabriel Fuseller de la Clare, and my maternal progenitor Frencois Marcantel, came to Louisiana circa 1748, on different boats directly from Europe so as their seventh generation progeny born in Louisiana no one will argue that I'm not a Creole. But down the some, whom I'm directly descended from, married Acadians, so I am also Cajun.
So after doing much research and studying, and lots of soul-searching it is my conclusion and belief that regardless of the pigmentation of a person's skin any Native Louisiana who has French or Spanish blood running in their veins are right when they tell you: "moi je suis un Creole." (Me, I am a Creole.)

[celeb_2006]

The saddest thing is, as others pointed out, this isn't a rare occurence to this particular region. It happens across all socio-economic levels, races, ethnicities, etc.

[Mel1973]

no, it isn't a rare occurence. It happens alot more than any of us really want to believe. It's not just limited to one race either.

[kingcap72]

Originally Posted by Mel1973

no, it isn't a rare occurence. It happens alot more than any of us really want to believe. It's not just limited to one race either.

Exactly. It's not limited to one race at all. One of my relatives married a white guy back in the 90's and most of my relatives refused to go because of the race issue.

[Grimmlok]

^ if that happened to me those people would be forever cut from my life.

[kingcap72]

^Same here.

While those relatives that refused to go were wrong, the marriage had issues from the start. She was a Muslim and he was a white Muslim from Georgia. He started laying down rules about how no one could talk to him unless we were formally introduced to him and no one was allowed to take pictures at the wedding.

Within a few weeks of their marriage he lost his job and totaled his car, so they moved in with my aunt. A few months into the marriage she got pregnant and they moved back to Georgia. Before the baby was born he told her that she should give him the kid and he would go marry someone else. They were divorced not long after that and she kept the kid, until she let him take their son when he decided to move to the Middle East.

[RevellingInSane]

Originally Posted by Mel1973

What is the meaning of Creole?
Ask anybody what a Creole is and you may get many different answers. As a noun Webster's define Creole as (1) a person of French or Spanish descent born in Latin America. (2) a person descended from the original French settlers of Louisiana, and French as spoken by such people. (3) Loosely; a person with both Creole and Negro ancestry.
Sort of confusing isn't it? Unlike the noun Cajun. Creole has many connotations. When you say you a Cajun, we know you are a descendent of the Acadians who were exiled from Acadia (now Nova Scotia) by the British in 1755.
So what is a Creole? Historian George Cable wrote: "Even in Louisiana the question would be variously answered. The title here did not fist belong to the descendants of Spanish, but of French settlers."
In a July 5,1960 column in the Baton Rouge Sunday Advocate, Claire D'Artois Leeper writes, "Prof. Harrison says that he deduces the word, though with many misgivings, from the Spanish criallo, a native of America or West Indies; a corrupt word made by the Negros, said to be a contraction of criadilla, a diminutive of criado- one educated, instructed or bred up, past participle of criar, literally to create, also to nurse, instruct."
Historian Charles Gayarre says the word Creole was invented by the Spaniard to distinguish their children, native of their conquered colonial possessions from the original inhabitants, and that to be a criollo implied a certain excellence of orgin and so early came to include any native of French and Spanish descent by either parent, whose non-alliance with the slave race entitled him to social rank.
George W. Cable wrote this about the Creole: "They will not share their distinction with the worthy 'Acadians', he is a Creole only by courtesy, and in the second person singular. There are not Italian or Sicilian, nor any English, Scotch, Irish, or Yankee' Creole, unless of parentage married into, and themselves thoroughly proselyted in Creole society."
Historian Lyle Saxon writes that many German families changed their names to become Creoles. For an example he says the Zweig (which is German for twig) family became the LaBranche family.
According to the 1990 U.S. Census, with 187,658 persons speakng the language, Florida ranks number one with Creole speakers. Those Florida Creoles are mostly immigrants from the Caribbean including Haiti, Martinique and Guadaloupe, who were at one time under French rule. When I was sailing the Caribbean Sea as merchant seaman I had no trouble communicating with them. There is not that much difference between Cajun French and their dialect.
Father Jules Daigle in the preface of his "Dictionary of the Cajun Language," which was published in 1984, writes that "In Louisiana the term Creole applies to both the Spaniard and the French whose ancestors came to Louisiana directly from Europe. The Cajuns, whose ancestors came from Acadia are obviously not Louisiana Creoles. In the same way, Negroes and Mulattoes, even those with some white blood, cannot properly be considered to Creoles without falsifying the very definition of Creole."
Father Daigle concedes that "the adjective Creole has a much broader meaning. Thus we speak of Creole horses, Creole chicken, creole Negroes. By common usage this adjective so applied, simply means indigenous or local. When applied to animals, it also carry the implication of being smaller than those 'imported." In the case of Negro Creole, the ability to speak some French is implied."
Robert Hendrickson, who published his book "Whistlin' Dixie: A, dictionary of Southern Expressions" in i993 did not help my confusion when he wrote the word Creole comes from the French creole, meaning 'a native.' By the end of the 18th century, however, Creole began to black salves of the Creole as well as to themselves, was next applied to a black person with any French or Spanish blood, then came to mean a native born black as opposed to one born in Africa, and by the end of the 19th century described any Louisianan with the state of Louisiana dubbed the 'Creole State.' The word is confusing and can be defined in the context it is being used, for creole also means a pidgin language spoken by a second generation of speakers, and in Alaska of the last 1960s it even meant a native of Russian and Indian blood!" (Really, how about an Eskimo and a Russian?)
In the 192Os, Lyle Saxon was the most admired Louisiana author with his "Father Mississippi", "Old Louisiana" and other books. About Creoles Saxon wrote, "Although the term Creole was adopted by Negroes, the word was not conceded to them and the use of the word in that sense is very properly resented by the French and Spanish descendants. In fact, the erroneous use of the word Creole in reference to Negroes caused Louisianians in the 1880s to discard the popular title "The Creole State."
Of course today we have Creole music, Creole culture, Creole cooking and even Creole coffee (with chicory). Remember Creole Belle coffee dans l'paquet bleu?
My paternal progenitor, Gabriel Fuseller de la Clare, and my maternal progenitor Frencois Marcantel, came to Louisiana circa 1748, on different boats directly from Europe so as their seventh generation progeny born in Louisiana no one will argue that I'm not a Creole. But down the some, whom I'm directly descended from, married Acadians, so I am also Cajun.
So after doing much research and studying, and lots of soul-searching it is my conclusion and belief that regardless of the pigmentation of a person's skin any Native Louisiana who has French or Spanish blood running in their veins are right when they tell you: "moi je suis un Creole." (Me, I am a Creole.)

Local historical societies and colleges have many interesting reads about the history of both cultures and the assumed meaning of the words now along with the truthfulness of what has been claimed for hundreds of years. Carl Brasseaux (sp?) has written about this very subject.

To say Creole was adopted by Louisiana Negros and mixed race person, is not quite truthful, as those Negros and mixed race persons were neither full Negro nor full Creole. There are enough skeletons in the closet down here to stuff several cemeteries and without some of that info, well, you aren't getting the whole story.

Of course, no one in the south wanted their heritage "tainted by black blood". The very wording of the first part placed in bold illustrates that. If someone black had a child with descendant of the settlers, to say that offspring is using the term in error is not correct, as the offspring of such a coupling would be Negro and Creole. On the other hand, non-Negro DNA was willingly donated to the Negro pool, so the donors, and their disbelieving descendants have to accept the repercussions. There is a bit of old time southern racism still behind that word. Like it or not, lily white to jet black, Creole managed spread itself around quite a bit.

The last sentence of the quoted post sums it up quite nicely. We all know, accept, and take pride in what we are even if outsiders want to "enlighten" us on the situation. And yes, African, French, and Spanish reside in this family tree, right next to the Native Americans and others.

[Moongirl]

Keith Bardwell Quits: Justice Of The Peace Who Refused To Give Interracial Couple Marriage License Resigns
MELINDA DESLATTE | 11/ 3/09 07:06 PM |

BATON ROUGE, La. — A Louisiana justice of the peace who refused to marry a couple because the bride was white and groom was black resigned Tuesday, after weeks of refusing to step down despite calls for his ouster from officials including the governor.

Keith Bardwell quit with a one-sentence statement to Louisiana Secretary of State Jay Dardenne and no explanation of his decision: "I do hereby resign the office of Justice of the Peace for the Eighth Ward of Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, effective November 3, 2009."

Gov. Bobby Jindal called Bardwell's resignation "long overdue."

Bardwell, who is white, refused to marry Beth Humphrey and Terence McKay.

When questioned, Bardwell acknowledged he routinely avoids marrying interracial couples because he believes children born to them end up suffering. In interviews, he said he refers the couples to other justices of the peace, who then perform the ceremony, which happened in this case.

"There is a problem with both groups accepting a child from such a marriage," Bardwell said in an October interview with The Associated Press. "I think those children suffer, and I won't help put them through it."

Humphrey has said she and McKay received their marriage license from the parish clerk of court, where they also received a list of people qualified to perform the ceremony. When she called Bardwell's office on Oct. 6 to ask about the ceremony, Humphrey said Bardwell's wife told her that the justice wouldn't sign their marriage license because they were a "mixed couple."

Bardwell didn't immediately return a call for comment Tuesday about his resignation, which followed calls for his removal from civil rights groups and several public officials, including Jindal and U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu.

"This was the right decision by Mr. Bardwell. What he did was clearly wrong and this resignation was long overdue," Jindal said in a statement released by his office.

Humphrey and McKay have filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Bardwell. The couple did not immediately return a call for comment.

Bardwell was elected in 1975 as justice of the peace in Ponchatoula, La., a town 55 miles north of New Orleans. His term was set to run through 2014, and he had said that even before the flap, he hadn't intended to run for re-election.

Read more at: Keith Bardwell Quits: Justice Of The Peace Who Refused To Give Interracial Couple Marriage License Resigns

[McJag]

About time.

[Brookie]

Good riddance, douchebag.

[BITTER]

Fuckin' A!!!!!

[heart_leigh]

He looks like an ass. Bye-bye Justice Bardwell. Don't let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya!

[Grimmlok]

but but but his BELIEFS!