WEBVTT

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My names Warren Crock and this 
is my wife Sherri Crock

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and we've been married for 
seventeen years.

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Sherri and I both worked together, 
when we were-

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I was seventeen, she was sixteen.

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Worked at a movie theater
right off a CN lane.

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It was our Summer job.

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And, you know, that's kinda 
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 
first guy that she had ever-

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

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And that was my first job and 
then it was just,

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we all got along, 
everybody that worked there,

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we had a good time.

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


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like, a group.

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

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

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

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what I can do.

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You know, I just wanted to 
do whatever I wanted to do.

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and I liked him,
and he was nice and protective

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and he was funny and 
he reminded me kinda

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of my daddy.

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

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he asked me to marry him, 
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 
everyone and anybody that will

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

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and it's something that you really want, 
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 
gonna face.

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

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you got the social pressure.

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I mean, it's extremely, extremely 
extremely a lot more difficult

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than just a normal relationship.

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

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with putting pictures of my wife 
and my kids up.

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Because, you know, not sure
how management or upper

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management is gonna take that.

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Especially back when we were young, 
when we first had kids.

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At our jobs, you were kinda..

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I remember first putting 
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 
breaks the ice but you know,

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

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Sixteen years ago, but yeah.

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

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Nobody else, but we didn't invite
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,
just due to the fact that of the

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whole interracial deal.
(Sherri) yeah.

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We, you know, when we got 
started it was different

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than it is now.

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

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five steps ahead of me, 
that type of stuff,

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

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in the background.

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Just due to the environment 
we were in.

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And her parents were 
reluctant initially,

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

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and see who I was and 
grandkids started coming along,

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Everything pretty much played
itself out.

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

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I mean me and him were like 
best buddies

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whereas I didn't meet him 
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, 
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 
were dating we wouldn't

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

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We didn't have no public display
of affection.

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(Warren) My mother was 
really worried about us initially

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to the fact that she thought 
somebody would come in

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and slaughter us in the 
middle of the night

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and all that kind of stuff.

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She was concerned for my
safety, not knowing-

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

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and I didnt meet them until 
we were married.

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

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Not that we were afraid of 
Sherri's parents were gonna

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


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you know, I moved from 
Glenn Oaks in Baton Rouge

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where my parents have lived 
their whole life to

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Prairieville, where they were 
hosting KKK meetings and stuff,

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so, there were some concerns
initially, on my families behalf

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about our safety, 
but I mean, I was concerned.

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

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hurting us.

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And you know, the funny thing- 
it sounds really funny,

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

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I make sure the path is a 
safe path.

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

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We don't stop in the lil' mom 
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, 
and that's due to the fact

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

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about our circumstances.

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

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

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fears regarding.

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Everybody has fears, but we 
have those pertaining to our

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status.

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Even like buying a home, 
nervous about the neighbors,

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

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

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I had a closed mind, or 
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 
that I've been with now for

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twenty-two years.

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I could have been on my 
third marriage now,

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

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We saw love, we found love, 
we embraced love and

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

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

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we feel that we should necessarily 
promote.

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I mean, I just kinda think it 
is what it is.

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You find that someone, 
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 
where you need to hang

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

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but, if that happens, 
then you need to open minded

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enough to embrace it 
because with a closed mind,

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

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that's closed minded, that 
may have possibly passed

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