Racial Injustice is Not Gone

Kentucky Church Bans Interracial Couples

Although many might believe that after the Civil Rights Movement ended, racial discrimination ended as well. I'm afraid that is not the case. Racism continues to play a large role in many communities. In Kentucky a small Appalachian church banned interracial couples from attending. Stella Harville and her black fiance Ticha Chikuni were the interracial couple banned from the church. After one service in which Harville and Chikuni sang and played the piano to a hymn, the pastor approached them and said that Chikuni could not sing anymore. When asked why, the pastor stated that members of the church threatened to leave if Chikuni ever sang again. Chikuni's future mother-in-law asked the pastor who threatened to leave the church. The pastor responded "Me, for one." When a leader of a communities such as a pastor refuses to accept someone, it sends a negative message to the communities and influences the communities to not accept that person as well. Not only did this incident effect Chikuni and Harville but it affected every interracial couple throughout the country. One major purpose of the Civil Rights Movement was to gain acceptance. How can one say the fight for equal rights is over when there is still discrimination taking place within the country. Not only does this show African Americans that the fight for equality is still going on, but it also depicts a negative message for whites who are willing to accept people of different races and religious beliefs.