[h1]This Teen's Dad Told Her She Was Dead To Him For Going To Prom With A Black Friend[/h1]
Anna Hayes is a high school senior from a small town in southern Arkansas called Lake Village. She told BuzzFeed News that racism is a big issue in her community.
"Sadly enough, people are still racist everywhere around the world, but in the South, it is much worse," she said.
Unfortunately, Anna said that bigotry extends to her own family. Her father has been openly racist as long as she can remember "for unknown reasons," she said.
Anna lived with her father for some time when she was younger after her parents divorced, but moved back in with her mother when she was a young teenager.
Since then, she and her father have not had much of a relationship, she said.
"He had always been openly racist around me when I was growing up in his household, but it never really occurred to me what it exactly meant to be racist, when you're a child you look at the world completely different," she said.
She added that her father's views are especially hurtful because her half-sister on her mom's side is biracial, so the issue is personal for them.
"He has told me that if I ever dated a black guy that I will and would be dead to him," she said. "I stood my ground for what I believe in. He has called me several horrible things before."
Last week was Anna's prom, and she asked her friend Phillip Freeman to be her date.
"He is just a close friend and he's super cute so I asked him to go to prom with me," Anna said of Phillip. "He is a great guy, he's really funny."
After the dance, both Anna and Phillip shared photos of their night on Facebook. Afterwards, Anna said she got the below messages from her father.
Anna said that she hadn't told her father about her prom because "he isn't really a part of anything that I do."
When she got the messages, she said she felt "incredibly sad" and said she didn't see this coming, despite her dad's past comments.
"This just hurt more because I can not believe how anyone can hate someone they don't even know because of their skin color," she said.
She added that her mother was shocked as well.
"My mother was horrified and felt terrible but there isn't anything she can do," she said.
BuzzFeed News has reached out to Anna's father for comment.
Anna sent the messages to Phillip, who told BuzzFeed News that as he read them, he got "more and more angry." He shared them on his Facebook page, and the photos soon went viral on multiple social media accounts.
https://www.buzzfeed.com/stephaniem...s-teen-who-was?utm_term=.wy1yJ9Qwd#.peBa2YO6P