Debra Dodd Fired: Former Secretary At Cumberland Presbyterian Church Says Interracial Marriage Got Her Fired

By Kay Campbell
Religion News Service

FAYETTEVILLE, Tenn. (RNS) A white church secretary is suing her former employer, arguing that she was fired for marrying a black man.

Debra Dodd, the former secretary at the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Fayetteville, Tenn., and the Rev. Tim Smith, pastor of the church, agree on one thing: Most of the members of that congregation are great people.

But from there, their stories diverge.

Dodd has filed a lawsuit for back wages and $500,000 in punitive damages against the church after she was fired for what she says is racial discrimination.

Dodd said the all-white church first embraced her during her two years as secretary -- and then suddenly shunned and subsequently fired her on May 26 after they learned she had married a black man in April.

Smith said Dodd's marriage is unrelated to her firing, but also said his lawyer has directed him not to discuss particulars.

"In this congregation, I work with some of the most loving people in the city," Smith said. "I can't comment on the lawsuit, but there is more to this story."

Dodd said the church initially "treated me like family," but that changed after three church leaders saw Dodd and her then-fiance, Michael Hampton, eating together at a Fayetteville restaurant.

"Then suddenly it went downhill. All of the sudden my clothes were not appropriate, I was not doing my job right. People stopped looking at me. They would turn their faces away from me. When my husband and a friend of his visited one week when I sang, there were comments about the 'colored boys in the back.'"

(Kay Campbell writes for The Huntsville Times in Huntsville, Ala.)

Comments

[stevewt324]

11:16 PM on 02/03/2012

Good, she should be fired. We must speak out against interracial marriages. They are destroying the already endangered white race. The white race is the founder and maintainer of civilization in the world.

[imanormalalien]

11:17 AM on 03/13/2012

you do realize the first humans were black

[Tim Atherton]

05:59 PM on 12/25/2011

Do any of these so called Christians realise that Jesus wasn't "white". They may be in for a bit of a shock when (if) they get to the Pearly Gates...

[iheartnola]

12:12 PM on 12/25/2011

Wow...reading these comments confirms my belief that Christians are the true bullies of society. So glad that I'm atheist. Didn't know the Baptist and Quakers were beefing until I read the comments below!

[SoldAmerican]

02:32 PM on 12/24/2011

BIack folks,

How about getting out of the Baptist cuIt that ensIvaed y'all and join the Quakers who actually f0ught to get rid of SIavery!

[SoldAmerican]

02:34 PM on 12/24/2011

Why not some gratitute towards (Quakers) who actually helped y'all instead of the religi=ous cuIt of the SIavemasters (southern Baptists)?

[NatTurner1]

10:18 PM on 12/24/2011

I will leave the baptist church when white people give the entire country of America back to the Native Americans.

[Humanoid3000]

11:28 PM on 12/23/2011

real christians are not racist, homophobic, sexist, greedy, and bigots. if you are a real christian then you follow jesus christ and was he one or all of these things and preach for his followers to be these things? or are some of you really the 666'ers who call yourselves christians??

[SoldAmerican]

02:35 PM on 12/24/2011

Then the world has less than 200,000 christians.

[SoldAmerican]

11:04 PM on 12/23/2011

Why is it that Blacks are not Quakers.. It was only the Quakers and few other non evangelical christians who fought against SIavery... so why do the blacks stay with the Baptist evangelical CuIt and are supporting this viIe cuIt?

[SoldAmerican]

11:03 PM on 12/23/2011

This is a religion that never helped its adherents to be moral. No wonder they have done these.

- Inquisition in Spain and Goa
- Crusades
- Ethnic cleansing of American Indians
- SIavery
- Lynchings
- The Anti Chinese league of the Americas
- Jim Crowe
- The HoIocaust. Read the antisemitic rantings of Martin Luther the founder of the Protestant movement that was the impetus for the Holocaust.
- Separate churches for blacks and whites in the bible belt.
- BIood Iibel. Read in Wikipedia about this.. OMG! What eviI!

In today's world the vast majority of so the called christians are fortunately social christians (church for weddings and funerals only). These social christians use their own moral compass and reject all the vile doctrine of this godforsaken religion called christianity.

[Barringtonmorr]

04:48 AM on 12/24/2011

I love debates of the role and impact of Christianity in the world specifically the U.S. Unfortunately people such as yourself have not considered the fact that the state of Christianity or many other social constructions is just a reflection of human nature. To place blame on any religion is to deny the role human nature plays in the break-down and regression of these institutions.

[SoldAmerican]

02:27 PM on 12/24/2011

Non of the Dharmic religions... Jains, Hinduism, Sikhism, Zorastroianism, Buddhists have such an immoraI trail of horrors such as the one listed as a track.

[Humanoid3000]

08:40 PM on 12/23/2011

why don't christian people of all skin colors invide other christians who they know. to come to their churches next sunday? since that is the day of jesus? and then tell then to come back for the new year's service, and all of the services that will be held next year. go to their houses and get them so that they don't get lost. lets see if colors of a christian is more important then the sprits of a christian.

[Humanoid3000]

08:05 PM on 12/23/2011

why are some white people racist? what did blacks do to you to make you hate blacks? what injustices and inhumanities did blacks put you and your group through to make you treat and hate them so much? what laws ordinances and treaties and society norms has produce your hate and attitudes? when did blacks terrorized you hang and burnt you from a tree? can somebody tell me and us the deal?!

[SoldAmerican]

10:58 AM on 12/25/2011

I am not white and I do not dislike BIack people. I dislike the fact that the Black folks support the viIe Southern Baptist evangelical that culturally cleansing Asians in Asia.

[OLMEQ]

10:27 PM on 12/20/2011

Oh what a friend we have in Jesus ........ LOL

[tmduke55221]

02:37 PM on 12/21/2011

sure lets blame Jesus, just like those who don't like Obama blame everything on him. We have humans here on the planet who have free will and say they were called to serve, but just because they were called to serve does not mean that once they have started serving the bigot ways go away. Do not blame a dead man for those who are living today. Oh and I blame both political parties for the mess we are in.

[OLMEQ]

09:43 PM on 12/21/2011

Not blaming Jesus.... Making fun of the "fake" followers of Jesus that claim they LOVE Jesus and do things such as this.....

[PainStaking]

11:02 PM on 12/22/2011

Loving Jesus does not mean that everything that anyone does is or should be considered "acceptable" even though it is the norm. Some things are common sense and people should not be unequally yolked - period and even "they" know what that means and still proceed. Loving one another means to stay out of bed with each other, particularly while half the population is still dealing with racist attitudes. Most of these people cannot even like someone of another race unless they can also sleep with them. Most of these folks also have very serious deep rooted "issues" of fear or phobias that causes them to sleep together in the first place. I have nothing against marriage, however, if a dog were to marry a cat - even though they are both animals- I think that it would ALWAYS raise not one, but both eyebrows.....and it SHOULD!

[mflorian]

08:50 PM on 12/20/2011

And this is why the feds have to keep the boot on the neck of the states on the issues of race. Let up for even a second and we'll be back to segregation in a heartbeat.

[Jasel]

07:09 PM on 12/20/2011

Christians can be hypocritical racist bigots? Quick call the newspapers!!

[PainStaking]

11:03 PM on 12/22/2011

You mean....Christians can be simply "human".

[ThePlainsman]

12:01 AM on 12/23/2011

Bigoted humans, which means they FAIL as Christians. You can't be a true Christian and a bigot.

[Marc Menard]

07:45 PM on 12/23/2011

You musty get along well with all the non-christian hypocrites at your workplace also. hypocrisy is a human foible and the church is a hospital not a show window. We can all be hypocrites from time to time. Discrimination based on race however is reprehensible.

[gubblebumm]

12:04 PM on 12/20/2011

So she finally realized she worked for a racist church?

[skyblue50]

05:52 PM on 12/21/2011

Exactly. She was a part of the problem until she realized she needed a man... Lol!

[liberalbarbwire]

08:32 PM on 12/21/2011

ohhh that was cold...............

[PainStaking]

11:04 PM on 12/22/2011

EXACTLY!!!

[SoldAmerican]

12:01 AM on 12/20/2011

Black people deserve this for supporting this viIe religion. They are glutton for punishment. This is the religion that never stood for them... for 300 years black people were f000ked by this religion and yet they keep supporting this g0dforsaken religion

[capercaper]

09:05 AM on 12/20/2011

The leadership role of black churches in the movement was a natural extension of their structure and function. They offered members an opportunity to exercise roles denied them in society. Throughout history, the black church served not only as a place of worship but also as a community "bulletin board," a credit union, a "people's court" to solve disputes, a support group, and a center of political activism. These and other functions enhanced the importance of the minister. The most prominent clergyman in the civil rights movement was Martin Luther King, Jr. Time magazine's 1964 "Man of the Year" was a man of the people. He joined as well as led protest demonstrations, and as comedian Dick Gregory put it, "he gave as many fingerprints as autographs." King's powerful oratory and persistent call for racial justice inspired sharecroppers and intellectuals alike. His tireless personal commitment to and strong leadership role in the black freedom struggle won him worldwide acclaim and the Nobel Peace Prize.

Other notable minister-activists included Ralph Abernathy, King's closest associate; Bernard Lee, veteran demonstrator and frequent travel companion of King; Fred Shuttlesworth, who defied Bull Connor and who created a safe path for a colleague through a white mob in Montgomery by commanding "Out of the way!"; and C.T. Vivian, who debated Sheriff Clark on his conduct and the Constitution.

http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/civilrights/players.htm

[SoldAmerican]

09:30 AM on 12/21/2011

MLK Jr could have been a Buddhist or a Hindu Monk and done the same thing. Actually MLK Jr followed Gandhi for his non vioIlence resistance.

[Barringtonmorr]

04:23 AM on 12/24/2011

Ha you sounded like one of my professors in my Religion 1100 class

[tmduke55221]

02:40 PM on 12/21/2011

So what would you suggest they follow? Islam still supports slavery and violence as well. So enlighten us.

[SoldAmerican]

08:36 PM on 12/21/2011

There are many Dharmic religions of Asia, Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, Zorastrianism...

[SoldAmerican]

11:51 PM on 12/19/2011

I never knew why black people are christians.. the religion that gave cover for sIavery..the immoraI faith that justified SIavery

[capercaper]

09:23 AM on 12/20/2011

Perhaps because they believe(d) in Christ.

[liberalbarbwire]

08:33 PM on 12/21/2011

thank you....

[anthonyparker80]

10:38 AM on 12/20/2011

Not a big fan of organized religion here myself, but what you are saying is the selling point of the Nation Of Islam, a racist organization itself