Mennonites and Black People
Black people, known as Kriol in Belize, are not as often seen mixed among the Plautdietsch Mennonites except for those who have been adopted and those ladies that have married a liberal Mennonite. KG couples usually choose Hispanic and Maya babies when they adopt children. Old Colony people are less friendly toward black people and will never mix with them in social gatherings much less let them live in their colony, partly because they are ultra conservative and want to remain that way. Non-Mennonite workers among them are usually Mestizos. They are the only group of Mennonites with almost 100% of the population white-skinned. Old Order Mennonites are not as segregated and accept black people in their communities and will even allow them to join the church if they meet the requirements.
Holdeman, Beachy and Conservative Mennonites are not in the least mindful of skin color. They live with black people, work with them, eat with them, marry them, etc. just the same as they do with Hispanics, Maya, Mestizos, East Indian, German.
Plautdietsch-speaking liberal Mennonites from Spanish Lookout and Blue Creek who have left the KG and Old Colony church behind them are much more open towards black people now than they used to be, even involving them in their church services and allowing mixed marriages.
Regretfully, the KG and Old Colony have been the most racially isolated of all Mennonites in Belize. They held (and still do to a certain extent) the belief that to preserve their lineage and to keep their religion untainted, they could not allow people of dark skin to be part of them. They had a softer side towards light-skinned people such as Mestizos.
Interestingly, adopted children never become KG. The parents let them choose when they reach an age between 16 to 20. I have never yet met a Hispanic or black KG Mennonite. The pressure and superiority complex of their peers turned them away.
Holdeman, Beachy and Conservative Mennonites are not in the least mindful of skin color. They live with black people, work with them, eat with them, marry them, etc. just the same as they do with Hispanics, Maya, Mestizos, East Indian, German.
Plautdietsch-speaking liberal Mennonites from Spanish Lookout and Blue Creek who have left the KG and Old Colony church behind them are much more open towards black people now than they used to be, even involving them in their church services and allowing mixed marriages.
Regretfully, the KG and Old Colony have been the most racially isolated of all Mennonites in Belize. They held (and still do to a certain extent) the belief that to preserve their lineage and to keep their religion untainted, they could not allow people of dark skin to be part of them. They had a softer side towards light-skinned people such as Mestizos.
Interestingly, adopted children never become KG. The parents let them choose when they reach an age between 16 to 20. I have never yet met a Hispanic or black KG Mennonite. The pressure and superiority complex of their peers turned them away.
