Interracial Couple moving to Madison, Miss (Jackson: houses, professionals, centers)

[g1ennfa1th]

WOW!!!!! my husband is from Canton, MS (Madison County) and we are in an interracial relationship with children and when we visit it is very awkward. People stare like you have 5 heads. Neighborhoods and schools are prodominently of one race. For my childrens comfort level I would never move here to raise my children.

[poptones]

I experienced the same thing while living in Los Angeles. My GF was black and when we would go to the malls over in Burbank and Glendale it was not uncommon to hear titters and whispers. I would imagine Madison to be quite a lot like the valley... for better or worse. Don't mean the entire state is like that.

[Claude Wilson]

Originally Posted by poptones

I experienced the same thing while living in Los Angeles. My GF was black and when we would go to the malls over in Burbank and Glendale it was not uncommon to hear titters and whispers. I would imagine Madison to be quite a lot like the valley... for better or worse. Don't mean the entire state is like that.

lol!

I Love you and Jacksonian and Aunt Bee, Poptones.

Claudia
(a black chick who posts as "Claude Wilson")

[Claude Wilson]

Originally Posted by joemom

Hello,
I am in an inter-racial relationship currently living in Virginia with a teenage son. For business reasons my better half maybe relocating to Madison, Mississippi. My question is how will we be treated and looked at? How will my son get along with the other kids? My son is a very happy and friendly child. I am thinking of putting him in Catholic school in Madison. Has Madison moved on from the Mississippi history?

It's going to be very challenging.

But livable.

As with family, MOST people will claim to accept you,
and then along the way, over time, you find out that few
actually do or want to be bothered. It's more of a "toleration."

That's anywhere you go in America, including where I just
came from--California.

But you won't be treated mean or anything. Just different.

Ultimately...it's LIFE. And this is the life you chose, so
it's just MORE of the experience you're already experiencing.

Good and bad.

And indifferent.

If your family wants to be fine, you will, by laying out
your own boundaries and locating the right people to
befriend.

If you're looking to be "special" or gawked at, then you'll
attract negativity.

I am Black (and back in California, I had a lot of IR
relationships). Out here, it's a LOT different though.

[poptones]

Dang, finally meet a nice colorful chick who's into me and she's 3000 miles away...

[south-to-west]

I don't live in Mississippi, but I've visisted quite a few times and have a number of friends there. I've even visited there a couple of times with my white girlfriend (I'm black) Yeah, you may get some stares and whispers, but nothing major. The most hilarious thing is that out of all the fussing and controversy, Mississippi has a decent number of interracial couples. I mean a state with such as high black population and where blacks and whites live side by side in rural areas, it's bound to happen.

You want further evidence? There are a number of folks who call themselves white that don't necessarily resemble fair complected Northern Europeans and they don't have Indian ancestory. You will also find in many towns that members of the white community and members of the black community are knowingly related--albeit it's acknowledged in awkward silence. LOL! When you peel back the curtain and look beyond the surface, you will see that the geneology and history of Southern communities is truly dynamic and fascinating.

[jrsydevl74]

The Northwest Rankin/Ridgeland area is also very good, and tends to lack the nose-in-the-air perception that marks Madison. As far as good private schools in that area, there is Jackson Academy (JA), Jackson Prep (JP), and Madison-Ridgeland Academy (MRA). Also, Northwest Rankin High School is strong academically and athletically-- currently the MHSAA Class 5A state soccer champion, if memory serves.

As far as your reception as an IR couple...you may find more covert resentment among black people in Central Mississippi. My wife (MWF) and I (MBM) are in Oktibbeha County (about 100 miles northeast of the Jackson area) and tend to notice more of the stink-eye from the black side than the white side...and this is a major-college area!

In any case, the experience is what you make it, and if you've been able to let the haters roll off you this long, metro Jackson won't be a shock-- the traffic around I-55 (especially Exits 98-104, where the big shopping areas are), maybe But welcome to Mississippi anyway!

[bornjacksonian]

Live your life, mind your business and be yourself. Trust me Madison will not bother you and they do not care about your interracial relationship. I'm not coming at you hard at all just being straight forward about not worrying about what others think.

[dal2aus]

My husband (White man) and I (Black woman) just moved to Madison County from Texas. I had some concerns about how we would be received in "deep South, Mississippi", but truthfully it's no different than anywhere else. Like a previous poster mentioned, the only ones who've given off a negative vibe have been other Black people in Jackson proper, especially other Black women. As for Whites here in Madison County, it seems to be more live & let live.

After a few months here, we've made a few friends through work & the neighborhood, both Black & White. You can please some people all of the time, and please all of the people some of the time, but you can't please all the people all of the time. We just surround ourselves with people who seem decent & with whom we can click. The rest can go to ____.

I love Madison County. It's beautiful, friendly, clean, convenient to get around, and close to the Res. It reminds me of parts of Austin, where we came from.

BTW, it's funny that this thread got revived after almost 2 years. But, it's good to keep this discussion going because there are so many people who are hesitant to move to Mississippi because of myths about the racial climate. If the state is ever going to reach its full potential, we've got to dispel the myth and get the word out that Mississippi has joined the 21st century.

[CarsTrucksBuses]

In my opinion Madison could be one of the best places to live for an interracial couple, it's a very open place and based on what I've observed.

And like everyone else is saying, Mississippi is still being looked at in the wrong way, I currently live in Clinton, MS and go to school in Oxford at Ole Miss, but when I was in high school at Clinton the demographics was about 55% white 45% black, maybe even closer to 50/50, I have a lot of black friends and I also think the Mississippi image is still distorted.