‘I never, ever look at anybody’s skin color’
Marcella and Kenneth Clark have been married 26 years.
“It’s kind of funny how my wife and I met. I was working at an apartment complex as the maintenance guy. She worked for an answering service, and she answered the phones for our apartments. So I would hear her voice a lot when I called the answering service because somebody had a stopped-up toilet or an air conditioner that wasn’t working. After a while, we got on a first-name basis and would talk from time to time.
“One day I asked her if we could meet, just go out for a cup of coffee or something. I knew she was white. But at the time, she didn’t know I was black. She couldn’t really tell by my voice. In one of our phone conversations I said, ‘I’m going to tell you something, and I hope it doesn’t affect our relationship.’ She said, ‘What’s that?’ I said, ‘I’m black.’ She said, ‘No, you’re not.’ I said, ‘Yes, I am. When we meet, you’ll see.’ So when we met she said, ‘You weren’t lying.’ We started dating, and we got along real well.
“While we were dating, I told her that I was kind of scared to meet her parents. She said that her mom was real nice. But when we’d go by there I’d say, ‘I’m not going in if your dad’s there.’ At the time, her dad probably didn’t really care for a mixed marriage or any kind of relationship. She kind of hinted at that.
“So one day she and her mom tricked me. They said, ‘Come on inside.’ I said, ‘Is your dad here?’ She said, ‘No, he’s not here.’ So I walked inside and saw all these guns on the wall, along with deer heads and other animals. I thought, I’m glad he’s not here. But lo and behold, I walk around the corner and there he was. So I met him, and he turned out to be just as nice as can be.
“Those two have passed. But they always supported us and said, ‘You know what? Color doesn’t matter with us because you’re taking care of our daughter. You provide for her, you take care of her, and that’s all that matters.’ Then I said, ‘That’s the way my mama and daddy raised me.’ I never, ever look at anybody’s skin color.
“Some people tell me, ‘You’re too white. You don’t act black.’ I say, ‘No, I act like a human.’”
— Kenneth Clark
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