Mississippi landlord to pay couple for discrimination
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A federal agency says a Mississippi landlord will have to pay a settlement to an interracial couple after he evicted them from an RV park because of their skin color.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development reached the settlement Tuesday but did not disclose the amount, The Clarion Ledger reported. In April, the agency charged Gene Baker of Belden with violating the Fair Housing Act.
The newspaper reported Baker could not immediately be reached for comment about the settlement.
Erica Hoskins is Hispanic and Native American, and her husband, Stanley, is African-American. In 2016, the couple rented at an RV park in the north Mississippi town of Belden, with Erica Hoskins giving a $275 check for one month's rent to the landlord, Gene Baker.
“He was real nice,'' she said. “He invited me to church and gave me a hug. I bragged on him to my family.''
The next day, she said Baker telephoned her and said, “Hey, you didn't tell me you was married to no black man.’”
She said she replied that she didn't realize it was a problem. She said Baker told her that his church, his community and his mother-in-law had a problem with black and white people “shacking.''
She said she told him they were married, and she said he replied, “Oh, it's the same thing.’”
HUD said Baker returned the couple's money and they moved out.
Stanley Hoskins is a National Guard member who fought in Afghanistan.
Erica Hoskins said she and her husband wanted Baker to learn that “you can't openly be racist and discriminate against people.''
The newspaper reported Baker could not immediately be reached for comment about the settlement.
GOP official resigns over post on Davids and ‘reservation’
SHAWNEE, Kan. (AP) — A local GOP official has resigned his party post in Kansas after fellow Republicans condemned his social media attack saying a Native American congressional candidate will be “sent back packing to the reservation.''
The Kansas City Star reports that Michael Kalny of suburban Kansas City resigned Wednesday as a Republican precinct committee member.
In his Facebook message, Kalny called Democratic candidate Sharice Davids a “radical socialist kick boxing lesbian Indian.'' He sent the message Monday to the president of a local Democratic women's group.
Davids is an LGBT lawyer and member of the Wisconsin-based Ho-Chunk Nation running against Republican Rep. Kevin Yoder. She also has fought mixed martial arts bouts.
Yoder's spokesman and the Kansas GOP's executive director repudiated Kalny's remarks. Kalny did not return a telephone message seeking comment.
