Julie has done some homework and discovered that not until the Civil rights movement in the 1960’s did the last of the states abolish laws outlawing interracial marriage! Folks let’s face it; this is within most of our lifetimes! Now here’s a little known fact that’s more scary to interracial couples. In a magazine article published by Rolling Stone, Tim Dickinson wrote…
When it comes to the politics of distraction, Bush’s decision to stoke fears among religious conservatives about gay sex is part of a historical pattern among Republicans. In fact, the last time the party fought a battle over ”traditional” marriage — attempting to uphold state bans on interracial marriage during the 1960s — the political landscape was eerily similar. Sixteen states had laws on the books outlawing marriage between whites and blacks, and seventy percent of Americans opposed interracial marriage. Those are almost precisely the numbers that Bush marshaled to justify his call to ban gay marriage. ”Nineteen states have held referendums to amend their state constitutions to protect the traditional definition of marriage,” the president observed. ”In every case, the amendments were approved by decisive majorities, with an average of seventy-one percent.” The president also flashed the same kind of scorn that was heaped on the Supreme Court when it struck down bans on interracial marriage in 1967: ”Unfortunately, this consensus is being undermined by activist judges and local officials who have made an aggressive attempt to redefine marriage.”
If you read my first Interracial Travel and Christianity blog you probably remember that Julie and I left New Buffalo, Michigan heading for home. Well, as it turns out, we turned the car southwest and took a drive down to St. Louis to finish out our long weekend together. One thing we share in our relationship is a love for open roadways! We both love to take long car trips! It was a beautiful ride down interstate highway 55 and the September weather made it even more magical. We arrived in St. Louis and checked into the Cheshire Lodge. The lodge is a “themed” type of setting and every room is a little different adventure. We went to our room and got unpacked. If I haven’t mentioned, Julie is afraid of heights and very claustrophobic. This is important information since St Louis is the home of and, most famous for “The Arch”! The St. Louis Arch is one of the most awe inspiring structures known to mankind. Able to withstand hurricane force winds, it stands more than 630 feet tall and overlooks the Mississippi river. The shell of the Arch is stainless steal and the Nation Park Service maintains the structure, the museum and shops below as well as the surrounding park. Now this sounds like a wonderful way to make up for the atrocities in New Buffalo, Michigan! So we were off to The Arch. Because we spent most of the day driving there was not much time left to the day. When we arrived we took a beautiful walk along the tree lined perimeter of the park. We both looked with amazement at the structure from every angle and decided to go in. Since we live in a post-9-1-1 world, security at the underground entrances was strict. It took some time but we were finally in and now under the north base of The Arch. We toured the shops and bought some souvenirs and I then talked the claustrophobic and afraid of heights wife into going a little further underground. You see to actually go to the top of The Arch, one must continue underground a bit to reach the “pod like” elevator service. As part of the museum the Park Service has a display of one of the first elevators used to take visitors to the top. These “pods” are about 5 feet deep and about the same in diameter. They seat five “average sized” adults and are not air conditioned. At the door end of the “pod” is a tiny window that’s more akin to a porthole on a ship. This was not the ideal situation for a claustrophobic! Julie began to get a little nervous. “You’re not getting me in this thing” she scolded! “But honey I’ll be with you the whole time”, I told her. And so, my very brave wife took the 4 minute long ride to the top of The Arch along with me and two other visitors. I remember that it was hot and very uncomfortable and imagined it must have been twice as dreadful for her. Once at the top, we made our way to one of the windows overlooking the city. It was wonderful! Julie began to take interest in the view and soon she realized that her safety and well being were in GOD’s hands! The Christian walk teaches us that GOD has made us all “more than a conqueror” and that day at that moment my beautiful wife allowed her Christianity and GOD to conquer her fears! I’m always amazed at GOD’s work and see it in everything! We took the shorter ride back down the opposite side of The Arch and soon found ourselves walking along the streets of St. Louis. It was getting late and we were both hungry. We decided to stop at a small restaurant a few blocks away before heading back to the hotel. As we were walking we came to an intersection where there stood, what we thought, was another tourist. He was a middle aged man, well dress but very average in stature. As the light changed from red to green, Julie began to walk across the street but I tugged her hand and stopped her! The “tourist crossed the street and we waited for the light to cross perpendicular to his direction of travel. Once again, the “situational awareness” that GOD has blessed me with paid off. While this stranger did not mean to do us harm, he was looking for a victim. He was looking for tourist, like Julie and I, to “tell of story” of his plight and how he was in need of money. We ran across him a second time after we left the restaurant. This time it was clear that he was homeless. Realizing our tragic mistake, Julie and I approached him with a gift of some cash to help his situation.Later that night, back in the hotel room we talked about it and decided that it’s a blessing to be able to look at people through the eyes of GOD and not through our own eyes! Our own eyes, a part of our body tend to lie to us! Originally, through my eyes, I saw a man trying to take my wife’s purse or trying to rob us! Through GOD’s eyes it was crystal clear, however, that this was not the case. Why is it that a person in need has the same vision as GOD? How can a homeless person look at an interracial couple without hate or malice and yet, the person who has everything cannot? Blurred vision? Perhaps. But, as stated in the article above, we focus our attention on the letter of a law more so than we focus on the attention that GOD himself gives each one of us! The love GOD has for man is unexplainable yet in the “letter of the law” we try to decide what HIS love should be. In my walk in Christianity GOD has never told me that I had to be a certain color, a certain size, etc in order that he loves me! In fact it’s just the opposite. The only thing I have to do in order for GOD to love me is to love HIM!
Be sure to visit again and read about my trip to Syracuse, New YorkKenneth E. BradleyInterracial Travels and Christianity 01/20/2008
