Two steps backward

Recently, in the midst of the healthcare debate, persistent economic woes, and wars in the Middle East, an interesting story has made its way to the forefront of popular news media. The story is from Hammond, Louisiana where justice of the peace Keith Bardwell refused to grant marriage rights to Beth Humphrey and Terence McKay because they are an interracial couple.

Hammond is a small town located in southeastern Louisiana close to the Gulf of Mexico. The racial profile of Hammond is dominated by blacks (45%) and whites (52%). Despite the roughly balanced demographics of the community, the residue of racial bias still lingers in the judiciary. The incident has sparked nationwide outrage; America has been shocked by the blatant defiance of legal precedence and racism of such a prominent public official.

Bardwell however defends his actions and claims that his decision was not based on racism. He uses the black marriages that he has performed in the past as evidence of his alleged racial objectivity.

“I am not a racist,” says Bardwell to CNN “I do ceremonies for black couples right here in my house."

He goes on to explain that his objection to interracial marriages lies in the belief that interracial marriages don’t last and that the children would fall victim to social rejection.

In addition to the incoming claims of racism, which are more difficult to qualify, Bardwell’s actions are subject to condemnation from a legal perspective as well. His actions are in clear opposition to the monumental Supreme Court decision of Loving vs. Virginia which ruled against miscegenation (restrictions on interracial marriages).

And the blame goes to…

It is evident that racism lies at the root of this situation; the question that needs to be answered now is “How long has this been going on?” The Honorable Justice gives an interesting answer to this question. According to Bardwell, he has only denied an estimated 4 couples while serving on the bench and all of these denials have been in the last 2.5 years. He has held this position for 34 years; I refuse to believe that this is a novel occurrence. Recall the demographics of Hammond, 45% and 52%, and only 4 interracial couples have requested marriage licenses from him since 1975? Is this deception or senility?

The structure of our government is based on a system of checks and balances; to ensure that one branch of government does not overstep its bounds there is another branch in place to keep it in line. The media plays an essential, but unofficial, role in this system as well. It holds the government accountable and is always on patrol to uncover any mistakes or injustices in the system.

Let’s take the current situation as an example. The story broke with the local newspaper, the Daily Star, then moved up to the New Orleans Times Picayune, and eventually arrived in national headlines prompting swift responses from Governor Jindal and the Obama administration. Kudos to the press for bringing the story to our attention and for doing its part in keeping our officials honest; however, I would’ve liked to see it happen earlier.

We know for a fact that there have been similar occurrences of miscegenation in Hammond and it is safe to assume it has taken place elsewhere as well. The media needs to be vigilant in its search for injustices in the system. If the actions of Bardwell were documented in the press at the time of his first offense, perhaps Beth and Terence would have enjoyed a typical, stress free interracial marriage.

As citizens of the United States, we also play an integral role in the system, we have a voice and we should be heard. Obviously, our most powerful civic tool lies in the ballot; however, we all have the power to influence the media. No matter how aware or observant reporters and journalists try to be, they are still unable to detect everything. That is why we see the news giants employing iReport (CNN) and uReport (Fox) programs to enlist everyday citizens to share information.

In the words of revolutionary Western philosopher John Stuart Mills; “A person may cause evil to others not only by his actions but by his inaction, and in either case he is justly accountable to them for the injury.” Instead of being passive observers of our world, we must make the decision to actively shape society by exposing injustices and utilizing our voice in the public arena.