‘First of all, we don’t do gay weddings or mixed race, because of our Christian race… I mean our Christian beliefs’ – Un’Christian’ly owners of Mississippi wedding venue apologize after reneging on hosting an interracial wedding because they said it was against racial purity and their religious ‘beliefs’
‘No Gays. No Coloreds’
“As a child growing up in Mississippi our racial boundaries that were unstated were that of staying with your own race.” – Venue owner
Event venue in Mississippi would not host mixed race wedding because of their race and’christian beliefs’
Christian owners of Mississippi wedding venue apologized after reneging on rental to an interracial couple because they said it was against their religious ‘beliefs’
Boone’s Camp Event Hall refused to rent a wedding space to the black groom-to-be and his white fiance
LaKambria Welch, sister of the groom, paid the venue a visit and posted a video on Facebook of her conversation with a woman believed to be the owner
The white woman explained that they reserve the right to refuse service to gay and interracial couples
The venue has now apologized to the couple and posted an apology online, although the couple have decided to marry elsewhere
‘I have come to the conclusion my decision which was based on what I had thought was correct to be supported by the Bible was incorrect,’ owner wrote
Event venue refused hosting mixed race wedding because of ‘christian beliefs’: Owners of Boone’s Camp Event Hall in Booneville, Mississippi apologized after reneging on renting to a couple when they found out the groom and bride-to be were an interracial couple
In a now-viral video posted on Twitter over the weekend, the sister of the groom-to-be confronts an unidentified employee at Boone’s Camp Event Hall in Booneville, as first reported by the website Deep South Voice.
Mississippi State University student LaKambria Welch on Saturday posted video of her conversation with one of the owners of Boone’s Camp Event Hall in Booneville, Mississippi, after Welch said the business had changed its mind about hosting a wedding for her brother – who, like Welch, is black.
The now viral video that Welch recorded and uploaded to Facebook on Saturday shows an unidentified older white woman explaining that Boone’s owner reserves the right to refuse service to gay and interracial couples.
LaKambria Welch on Saturday posted video of her conversation with the owner of Boone’s after the business changed its mind about hosting a wedding for her brother, who is black, and his white bride-to-be
Question: ‘So that’s your Christian belief, right?’ Response: ‘Yes’. – The face of a racist: The video shows an unidentified older white woman explaining that Boone’s reserves the right to refuse service to gay and interracial couples because of their ‘Christian beliefs’
Welch, 24, said she suspected the hall’s operators had discovered the couple was interracial through Facebook – and she went to confront them in person.
‘First of all, we don’t do gay weddings or mixed race, because of our Christian race… I mean our Christian beliefs,’ the woman says on camera.
‘OK, we’re Christians as well,’ Welch replies. ‘So… what in the Bible tells you that -‘
‘Well, I don’t want to argue my faith,’ the woman interjects. ‘We just don’t participate. We just choose not to.’
Welch asks her: ‘So that’s your Christian belief, right?’ The woman responds, ‘Yes.’
An apology has since been posted on The Boone’s Camp Event Hall Facebook page, apparently by the woman in the video.
The post said, in part, ‘as a child growing up in Mississippi our racial boundaries that were unstated were that of staying with your own race.’
Unchristianly beliefs: So… your religion is white supremacy then, eh? Also, if you can’t demonstrate/explain where your faith mandates your actions, your faith is a throne of lies, wrote commentator Samantha Sam Bridgewater-Phillips
LaKambria Welch told NBC that she was upset by the whole episode but ‘knew deep down what the owner meant by her “beliefs”
The post continued: ‘My husband asked me to show him in the Bible where it was located as to the content concerning biracial relationships. I studied for a minute and began to think about the history of my learning this and where it came from.’
The author of the Facebook post wrote that she spent Saturday and most of Sunday ‘searching,’ and after a meeting with her pastor, ‘I have come to the conclusion my decision which was based on what I had thought was correct to be supported by the Bible was incorrect.’
Welch told NBC News on Tuesday that she, her brother and his fiancée accept the owner’s apology and that the couple is no longer planning to get married at the venue.
‘I’ve stated that I am a Christian as well,’ Welch said. ‘So, growing up, my grandmother would always tell me to forgive, even without an apology. I’ve always lived by that with everything.’
Welch told NBC that she was upset by the whole episode but ‘knew deep down what the owner meant by her “beliefs.”‘
An interior shot of Boone’s Camp Event Hall, now better known for tit’s policy of ‘No Gays. No Coloreds’
This isn’t the first time Boone’s has allegedly discriminated against prospective customers based on their race or sexual orientation.
Katelynn Springsteen said the venue also refused to service her lesbian friend and her bride-to-be in September of 2018.
‘I was trying to find my best friend, who is lesbian, a wedding venue. I was immediately shot down when I was asked if they were okay with a gay wedding,’ Springsteen said.
A screenshot provided to Deep Voice South shows Boone’s sending Springsteen a list of prices for its wedding services, but changing its stance after Springsteen asked about servicing a gay wedding.
‘Are you okay with it being a gay marriage ceremony?’ Springsteen said.
‘Thanks for checking with us Katelynn, but due to our Christian faith, we would not be able to accommodate you,’ the respondents replied.
State records indicate Boone’s is managed by David and Donna Russell, who both live in Booneville.
In 2016, Mississippi passed a ‘religious freedom’ law allowing merchants and government employees to cite religious beliefs in denying services to same-sex couples.
The City of Booneville released a statement Monday in response to the woman in Welch’s video.
‘The City of Booneville, Mayor, and Board of Aldermen do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, gender, age, national origin, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status,’ officials said in a statement posted to Facebook on Monday. ‘Furthermore, the City of Booneville, Mayor, and Board of Aldermen do not condone or approve these types of discriminatory policies.’
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