Current Examples of Diversity

While observing the news this morning as I do every day, I happened to discover an article that predominantly portrays race. This took place in Hammond, Louisiana, where a man by the name of Keith Bardwell made a decision to deny a justice of peace ceremony due to the fact that the couple was interracial. He proclaimed that he's not a racist, but believes that interracial marriages don't last long and that the children they will have together, are the ones who are going to suffer.

It is not uncommon in today's society to see interracial marriages. According Stanford University, "8 percent of marriages in the United States are interracial" (Stanford.edu, 2009). Additionally, it has been proven that interracial marriages have the same rate of longevity as a single race marriage. "25.2 percent of the population is multiracial" (OMHD, 2009). So, why it is that people like Keith Bardwell are oblivious to the cultural change? Blumer states, "The collective image and feelings in race prejudice are forged out of a complicated social process in which the individual is himself shaped and organized" (Blumer, 2007, p. 174). Meaning, Keith's perceptions of interracial couples is a direct reflection of a stereotype of other people he associates with; and what he believes is right through his own observation. Keith Bardwell may not be prejudice against a race individually, but doesn't believe that people from two different races can form a healthy relationship. So in essence, that is an act of prejudice.

This article is a prime example of why it's so difficult to break the barrier of stereotypes in which people create. Society is not going backwards, but rather progressing at a rapid pace. The increase in interracial marriage and multiracial people will continue and the ones who are not willing to accept will be the minority, not the majority. I don't feel that this article reflects any theories discussed in Unit 1. I deem it's more relevant to Unit 2 discussion of discrimination and racial preference. Bardwell said, "I discussed the topic with blacks and whites, along with witnessing some interracial marriages. I came to the conclusion that most of black society does not readily accept offspring of such relationships, and neither does white society." This statement spoken by Keith Bardwell depicts how he believes that his theory of not marrying interracial couples is valid.

deem that Assimilation adaptation is portrayed in this article. I say this because Assimilation in our text states, "This is the process in which the members of an ethnic group become part of the broader culture and society, losing their distinctive character." This mostly is associated to one race. But I view it in terms of an interracial couple who decides to get married. You are no longer the "Caucasian man and African woman or the Caucasian woman and