RV Park Owner Evicts Interracial Couple

April 2016
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A Mississippi RV park owner evicted an interracial couple because of the color of their skin.

“Me and my husband, not ever in 10 years have we experienced any problem,” said Erica Flores Dunahoo, who is Hispanic and Native American and whose husband, a National Guardsman, is African-American. “Nobody’s given us dirty looks. This is our first time.”

More than a half-century after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 barred discrimination on the basis of race, Gene Baker acknowledged asking the interracial couple to leave his RV park in Tupelo.

Baker, who lives in Aberdeen, said he only did it because “the neighbors were giving me such a problem.”

The NAACP is investigating.

“Racial discrimination should be a thing of the past in Mississippi, considering our long history,” said Derrick Johnson, president of the Mississippi NAACP.

But with some state leaders expressing intolerance, “we can do no more than expect incidents like this to exist in the state of Mississippi,” he said.

Marriages between White and Black Mississippians remained illegal in the state until 1967 when the U.S. Supreme Court tossed out laws that barred interracial marriage.

In the decades since, cultural barriers have begun to fade. In 2011, The New York Times featured Mississippi as having one of the nation’s fastest growing multiracial populations — up 70 percent between 2000 and 2010.

In February, Dunahoo, 40, and her 37-year-old husband, Stanley Hoskins, who have two children, were looking to rent an RV space when she contacted Baker. “We were trying to save money to get our life on track,” she said.


On Feb. 28, she arrived at the RV park and gave Baker a $275 check for rent for the month.

“He was real nice,” she said. “He invited me to church and gave me a hug. I bragged on him to my family.”

The next day, she said, Baker telephoned her and said, “Hey, you didn’t tell me you was married to no black man.”

She said she replied that she didn’t realize it was a problem.

“Oh, it’s a big problem with the members of my church, my community and my mother-in-law,” she quoted him as saying. “They don’t allow that black and white shacking.”

“We’re not shacking. We’re married,” she replied.

“Oh, it’s the same thing,” she quoted him as replying.

She said he told her, “You don’t talk like you wouldn’t be with no black man. If you would had come across like you were with a black man, we wouldn’t have this problem right now.”

She said she replied, “My husband ain’t no thug. He’s a good man. My husband has served his country for 13 years. He’s a sergeant in the National Guard.”

Hoskins called the situation “ludicrous.”

He and Dunahoo, who retained her last name after marriage, went to talk to Baker again.

Dunahoo said she had “prayed and prayed” for Baker to change his mind.

He didn’t.

Baker returned the $275 the couple paid, and they are relocating to another RV park where the rent is higher — $325 a month.

Dunahoo said she reported the matter to the NAACP because she believes Baker should not be allowed to turn away interracial couples. “I just want it to be where everybody is treating everybody equally."

Asked if he had a problem with a mixed-race couple, Baker replied, “Oh, no.”

He said his church lets interracial couples attend.

Dunahoo said he told her they could attend their church but “we’re not allowed to be members.”

Baker explained that if neighbors have a problem, “the best thing you can do is what the neighbors want to do.”

Asked if he would rent the RV space if another interracial couple showed up, he replied, “I’m closing it down, and that solves the problem.”

 

She didn't use ebonics even though she was with a black man?!

 

Racism aside, I wouldn't want to conduct this level of business with someone who talks like that.

"You don’t talk like you wouldn’t be with no black man. You didn’t tell me you was married to no black man. They don’t allow that black and white shacking."

With English like that, I can't help but picture the most redneck, mustard stained overalls, swamp gathering, overcurved billed fishing hat wearing, uneducated, never been anywhere, yuckmouth, dip spitting, shotgun owning, "English only" shouting son of a bitch. Names like "Skeeter" and "Cletus" are very familiar with him.

I thought people had their "at work" speaking and their "after work" speaking. I guess that doesn't apply to everyone.

 

I knew a man in college who came from India. He was smart, friendly and easygoing. One night he visited one of the many country and western bars in town. He went in and tried to take in the atmosphere of the place when a man told him one word; "Out."
He left without any problems. I guess it was because he was a handsome man and being from India, he would be considered exotic to the white women in the club. And yet, these same white men would have no problem with bringing an Asian woman or a Latinas into the club or even church. There's even a nudist camp that doesn't allow black people in, because of two reasons; 1. The people who run it are white Southerners. 2. White Southerners in this camp believe that black people look bad as nudists and believe that black men would sexually assaulted the single white women who go there(single women get free membership). I don't think the women would mind seeing a black person in the camp.

If this owner of the RV park was concerned about what the neighbors would say because an interracial couple who paid for a spot, he shouldn't be in a business that deals with people.

 

Hopefully that RV park will be a future target for tornadoes.

 

Simply disgusting! And we were hearing about racism supposedly no longer exists. Biggest crock I ever heard.

 

Hahaha, I wonder if he owns any other businesses....

 

:smt042:smt042:smt042

 

And people actually believed that? I swear Black people still haven't realize that non-Blacks don't care about them....

 

Black people are well aware how others feel and perceive us for the most part, not sure where your getting that from.

 

He's probably referring to the many blacks who blindly cape up for groups who will never do the same for them; like brawling with trump supporters knowing damn well mexicans wouldn't raise a finger to stop some skin heads from jumping a BM.

 

Truth and nothing but the truth.

 

Very true. I don't like this at all.

Too many black people lie to themselves entirely too much. The evidence is in the behavior. It's like a never ending deep dark pit of denial.

 

It is a outrage since that make was in the military and still there are racists who did such ugly deeds.

 

Skeeter and Cletus! ROFLMAO!

Hey, it's Mississippi, after all. Lol

I don't think black folks care about what Trump says about Mexicans per se, as much as we know if he says that about them, what is he saying about us, just out of earshot.