bi racial family in baton rouge (Shreveport, Monroe: house, universities, subdivision)

[marcel]

we are prfessional bi racial family from the "north" thinking of relocating to BR.
please give me honest feedback on acceptance, etc. thanks.

[HAPPY PELICAN]

Honestly, Baton Rouge is a pretty big city, for Louisiana standards...and has grown significantly since the Hurricanes. It is a "melting pot" with a broad culturally diverse population with two large universities, LSU and Southern (predominately black). You may get an occassional stare, but I doubt anyone will ever harrass you. This is not the "old south."

[omicronkappa278]

Honestly, I live about 55 Miles west in lafayette... and that shtick about racism is something of the past... We see it here and there and there is no real issue. We get along OK here in LA... I used to live in Connecticut and I tell you what, there was some racial trension there... They have no southern hospitality, so people do not get along as well.

Baton Rouge was 230,000 Before Katrina... and probably around 300,00 afterwards. So, it can be crouded, but there is plently of room. Be careful when it comes to sports, LSU Fans are the MOST rabid fans in the Country and LSU=LIFE here. If you where a Michigan Shirt of something, someone will start yelling, :"TIGER BAIT" to you for no reason.

[WendyW.]

I live in a small little hick town in SW LA. I see biracial families ALL the time. Not a big deal here.

[DesireeLuna]

I'm from a small town in northern Louisiana. I'm white and married a Mexican. I get told everytime we leave the house how beautiful our children are. Then again, I didn't think of ourselves as a bi-racial family until strangers at grocery stores mentioned it to me how pretty my "mixed" children are. I find that nobody considers my kids white. They are either considered hispanic or "mixed". But I've not yet met with any racism in Louisiana. Texas is definitely a whole other story. Texans , especially south texas, are very openly hateful towards us. They are mostly of hispanic descent themselves though they deny it.

[neverdoit]

Honestly...

Speaking as a black woman in a relationship with a white man I urge you DONT do it! Im unsure if these posters who posted how accepted it is are IR daters themselves or are only speaking from their own opinions (being accepting) but in general Baton Rouge is intolerant of IR couples. There may not be blatant racism where it interferes with certain aspects, but whoever claims they dont look twice clearly was NOT an interracial dater.

The thing about BR is that people remember faces. And word travels fast. Gossip starts and soon people are staring at you and you have to question how safe your food is from a restuarant.

To stereotype, but give you an overview of what IVE seen,
Black men are VERY unhappy and jealous when they see a WM/BW together. White women are jealous and plotting, Black women are angry at the female and White men are rude and callous, often taking low blows at my love.
They are all disgusted and have no problem saying things like 'white trash' within earshot. (Both whites and blacks)
They openly show their disapproval.


One of the scariest thing that my love and I have experienced is this cook who narrowed his eyes at me and stared in disgust. He did a lot worse and his behavior was entirely inappropriate. But that is just a taste of the hate. No people dont go burning crosses or doing any crazy blatant things like that but they WILL be sure to send the message across that they dont want you racemixing here.

The lady involved with the mexican love, I am soooo happy to hear that she has not been harassed.


I urge you to visit for one week, openly with your love and go many places. Judge for yourself. But hopefully, you can find some better place. I only hope that it isnt too late. We are in the process of moving now. ONLY 2 weeks to go!

Good luck.

[cdharris77]

What part are you planning on moving to? I live in Monroe, LA and it still hasn't been accepted completely here. The bigger cities are more welcoming than the small hick towns. Good Luck to you.

[BRMan]

Originally Posted by marcel

we are prfessional bi racial family from the "north" thinking of relocating to BR.
please give me honest feedback on acceptance, etc. thanks.

Depends on where you live. North of Florida Blnd it's more of an issue. In the southeast part of town (around the Garden District/LSU) there are more liberals/professionals living there, and I don't think it'd be as big of a deal.

Within the last few years, I've seen more "mixed" couples at the mall, which was unheard of years ago.

[Nan C]

We live in an upscale suburban subdivision outside of Baton Rouge. Our neighbors are an interracial couple and just the nicest people you could ever meet. You may get "second glances," but you'll not be harassed.

[staceyalvin]

If you are thinking of moving to LA think about it before you do it cause there is no place in the US like Louisiana. I am white and my husband is black and we have made no friends since we have been here and people don't seem to accept us here. It comes from both sides, people just don't mingle here. We are from California and it is much different. We get alot of stares, a lot of comments, and evil looks as well. We dealt with that in CA but not to this extreme. I would say be careful where you move and who you live around. We live in Shreveport and it is not accepted here and I am not sure of Baton Rouge but it might not be as bad as here but what ever you decide I wish you luck and hope you think about it long and hard. If you want to know more you can email us... staceybutcher@bellsouth.net Good Luck