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My names Warren Crock and this [br]is my wife Sherri Crock

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and we've been married for [br]seventeen years.

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Sherri and I both worked together, [br]when we were-

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I was seventeen, she was sixteen.

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Worked at a movie theater[br]right off a CN lane.

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It was our Summer job.

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And, you know, that's kinda [br]how it all started.

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[both chuckle]

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I thought he was funny.

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That's why I like him.

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And cute.

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[laughs]

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Don't forget that part.

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[both laugh]

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(Warren) I was pretty much the [br]first guy that she had ever-

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I was a shy kinda kid, you know, [br]I didn't venture out too much.

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And that was my first job and [br]then it was just,

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we all got along, [br]everybody that worked there,

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we had a good time.

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And that's how we dated [br]a lot too, everyone would go in [br]

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like, a group.

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We would all go out, and so [br]it didn't look like we were together.

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'Cause there was other, you know, [br]couples, and... so but yeah

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I was kinda that way, [br]you don't really tell me

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what I can do.

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You know, I just wanted to [br]do whatever I wanted to do.

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and I liked him,[br]and he was nice and protective

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and he was funny and [br]he reminded me kinda

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of my daddy.

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It was just, it worked it's way out[br]and you know,

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he asked me to marry him, [br]and we did, and we did all of it

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in a kinda... undercover.

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It was just, worked out like that.

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(Warren) I've always told [br]everyone and anybody that will

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listen if you're gonna get in an[br]interracial relationship,

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and it's something that you really want, [br]you gotta work twice as hard

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as the average relationship.

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Because of the things that you're [br]gonna face.

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I mean, you run the risk of [br]losing your family, your friends,

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you got the social pressure.

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I mean, it's extremely, extremely [br]extremely a lot more difficult

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than just a normal relationship.

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I've had offices before [br]where I wasn't really even comfortable

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with putting pictures of my wife [br]and my kids up.

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Because, you know, not sure[br]how management or upper

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management is gonna take that.

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Especially back when we were young, [br]when we first had kids.

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At our jobs, you were kinda..

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I remember first putting [br]a picture out- like, you know,

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that's your baby.

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[laughs]

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Yeah she was caramel. So-

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So I'm like yes, and it kinda [br]breaks the ice but you know,

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you're kinda nervous to put [br]it out like that.

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Sixteen years ago, but yeah.

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(Sherri) When we got married, both of [br]our mothers were there.

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Nobody else, but we didn't invite[br]anybody else I don't think.

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I don't know if they would have came anyway.

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[both chuckle]

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We had a small inner circle initially,[br]just due to the fact that of the

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whole interracial deal.[br](Sherri) yeah.

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We, you know, when we got [br]started it was different

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than it is now.

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Sherri and I would go to the mall [br]to work, she would walk

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five steps ahead of me, [br]that type of stuff,

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So, we just had to keep[br]a- we kept our relationship

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in the background.

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Just due to the environment [br]we were in.

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And her parents were [br]reluctant initially,

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you know, once we got married, [br]and they got to meet me

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and see who I was and [br]grandkids started coming along,

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Everything pretty much played[br]itself out.

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Her daddy died in '06 [br]and at the time of his death,

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I mean me and him were like [br]best buddies

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whereas I didn't meet him [br]till we were married.

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-Right.

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So, we went from that point to--

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That's the first time they met, [br]we were already married.

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[both laugh]

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Yeah, so.

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But it's true, when [br]were dating we wouldn't

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hold hands, we wouldn't- [br]we walked apart from each other.

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We didn't have no public display[br]of affection.

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(Warren) My mother was [br]really worried about us initially

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to the fact that she thought [br]somebody would come in

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and slaughter us in the [br]middle of the night

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and all that kind of stuff.

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She was concerned for my[br]safety, not knowing-

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like I said, she didn't meet Sherri's [br]parents until way down the road

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and I didnt meet them until [br]we were married.

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So, we really didn't know what [br]we were up against.

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Not that we were afraid of [br]Sherri's parents were gonna

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hurt us, but we just [br]didn't know, I mean, [br]

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you know, I moved from [br]Glenn Oaks in Baton Rouge

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where my parents have lived [br]their whole life to

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Prairieville, where they were [br]hosting KKK meetings and stuff,

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so, there were some concerns[br]initially, on my families behalf

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about our safety, [br]but I mean, I was concerned.

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I used to have nightmares about [br]someone coming into the house,

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hurting us.

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And you know, the funny thing- [br]it sounds really funny,

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but when I put my family [br]in a car, we travel somewhere,

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I make sure the path is a [br]safe path.

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We don't go off to backroads, [br]we don't do any of that kinda stuff.

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We don't stop in the lil' mom [br]and pop gas station off the road

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or anything like that.

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We stay on the main highway, [br]and that's due to the fact

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that you don't know how people [br]feel around the country,

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about our circumstances.

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(Warren) I mean, we do not [br]venture off track.

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So I mean, we say everything's okay[br]but we still have those deep rooted

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fears regarding.

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Everybody has fears, but we [br]have those pertaining to our

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status.

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Even like buying a home, [br]nervous about the neighbors,

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what they would think, [br]are they're gonna be ugly.

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(Warren) My thing about it all [br]has always been that if

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I had a closed mind, or [br]if Sherri would have had a closed mind,

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this wouldn't exist.

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I wouldn't have met someone [br]that I've been with now for

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twenty-two years.

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I could have been on my [br]third marriage now,

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or my fourth marriage, [br]but, you know, we were open.

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We saw love, we found love, [br]we embraced love and

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you know, twenty-two years later, [br]we've got each other,

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we've got our family, [br]and it's not something that

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we feel that we should necessarily [br]promote.

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I mean, I just kinda think it [br]is what it is.

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You find that someone, [br]no matter what race they are.

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That's who you love.

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It's that simple.

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I don't think it's a thing [br]where you need to hang

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a banner and say "Yay, interracial love"[br]and all that kinda stuff

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but, if that happens, [br]then you need to open minded

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enough to embrace it [br]because with a closed mind,

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I mean, there's people walking [br]around every single day

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that's closed minded, that [br]may have possibly passed

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up on that love of their life, [br]for whatever reason.