Georgia School Has First Integrated Prom

[tropaka]

WTF?

http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2013/ ... _prom.html

A high school in rural south Georgia is about to be shaken up.

Both the prom and homecoming dances held there have been segregated for 30 years. Blacks are not invited to the white kids’ prom and the same holds true for homecoming.

That’s about to change at Wilcox County High School, located in Rochelle, some 255 kilometres miles south of Atlanta.

While still having two separate dances, the school decided for the first time this year to elect only one Prom King and one Prom Queen.

Quanesha Wallace, who is black, was elected queen. The king was white.

But there was still a problem: She wasn’t invited to his dance.

Fed up, senior students decided to organize an integrated prom on April 27, which is upsetting some people who think that the system was working fine, so why change?

The students behind the movement — Stephanie Sinnot, Mareshia Rucker, Keela Bloodworth and Wallace — can point to the fact that racial segregation was ruled unconstitutional in the United States since 1954.

After the school was integrated 30 years ago, the annual prom was ended.

Parents began sponsoring their own private dances to maintain the separate-but-equal status.

“We live in rural south Georgia, where not too many things change,†the students wrote on the school’s Facebook page.

“Well, as a group of adamant high school seniors, we want to make a difference in our community. For the first time in the history of our county, we plan to have an integrated prom.â€

This integrated prom is not being celebrated fully.

Students say that some people are ripping down the posters posted at the school.

Last year police were called when a biracial student tried to attend an all-white prom. Police turned him away.

Some of the students said that it is “embarrassing†having segregated proms in this day and age.

“It’s not right that we can’t go to the prom together,†Sinnot said.

[Mama Mia]

:shock: How could having officially segregated proms possibly have been legal ???

Seriously, every time I read on here I am more and more convinced that the United States should dissolve into at least two different countries.

[salex]

THis kind of shit is why a friend of mine included a list of states (nearly all southern) that she would NOT move to in her prenups.

[CPatz]

how did this go on for so long? How was this legal???? Why do I have an urge to stab my mind with forks after reading that?!!!!

[meda]

The school will not sponsor a prom, there are private "proms' put on by parents, that's how they keep them legally segregated. If the school had the balls to have a school sanctioned prom with sanctioned fundraising, and not allow defacto segregation, this would not be possible.

[RachelB]

:shock: How could having officially segregated proms possibly have been legal ???

Seriously, every time I read on here I am more and more convinced that the United States should dissolve into at least two different countries.

I am concerned that if the U.S. were to dissolve into two countries, life would be even worse for people of color, women, gender and sexual minorities, political dissenters, and people who are not Christian in one of those countries than it is now. Not everybody can move so easily.

[Milly-Molly-Mandy]

Please tell me this is an April's fool?

Three days late.

Not acceptable

[Anxious Girl]

I saw this on ONTD yesterday. We're so post-racism guiz, 'cuz we have Obama as president! /sarcasm :roll:

[PennySycamore]

I never heard of having separate proms until the last 10 or maybe 20 years. It was just unheard of here in upstate SC. Upstate SC is not south Georgia or Alabama though.

[tropaka]

In answer to Meda (?) yeah, the proms were private, BUT the voting on the King/Queen took place in the school itself.

This is really sick and I'm surprised that no parents brought this up.

[dairyfreelife]

I can't believe that it took them fifty fucking years to get over their issues and not one person called them out on it? :pink-shock: I have no words. Just :( :angry-cussingblack:

[alba]

That is just fucked up. I saw the title of this thread and thought "Is that - no, it can't be..."

I'm pleased some of the kids are agitating for change and feel a spark of hope that they elected a black woman as their prom queen. It should have been done fifty years ago, of course, but it's nice to see that there's some hope for the younger generation.

[RosyDaisy]

Seriously, every time I read on here I am more and more convinced that the United States should dissolve into at least two different countries.

We tried that once, and it didn't work.

[debrand]

I am concerned that if the U.S. were to dissolve into two countries, life would be even worse for people of color, women, gender and sexual minorities, political dissenters, and people who are not Christian in one of those countries than it is now. Not everybody can move so easily.

It would be worse, much worse. :cry:

[Nothing2CHere]

In answer to Meda (?) yeah, the proms were private, BUT the voting on the King/Queen took place in the school itself.

^^ Which still doesn't make sense, because the school's students were still voting for a Prom Kind and Prom Queen for a dance that "technically" the school wasn't even holding? From the article quoted, this was the first year that the school had voting for just one "prom" king & queen instead of a black couple and a white couple. Glad that the students finally realized how ridiculous the whole situation was.

[tanksmom]

Wow, I wish I could say that this surpises me but I'm sure it's relatively common in some of the smaller areas. What stuck out to me was the statement about the biracial student that was turned away last year. No one in the community seems to have had a problem with telling a teenager "Sorry your mom's/dad's race is... so your not welcome" And they called the police to have him removed. Because I'm sure he was just there to attack their precious children and not because he's a human being who deserves equal treatment as everyone else!

But according to Fox News there is a war against white America so I shouldn't be too shocked :angry-banghead:

[ILoveJellybeans]

I cant believe this is still happening!

[Sola]

Am I the only one who read that as Intergrated Porn? Had a WTF moment there. Unfortunately the WTF moment came back when I read the post. I thought the USA had moved on from Jim Crow.

[flyaway]

I just feel the need to say that all of rural south Georgia is not that extreme. I mean -- left my hometown for a number of reasons, including that I was much too progressive to ever fit in there. But it's nowhere near that bad.

And, for the record, our class president/prom queen/most likely to succeed (all one person) was black, in our majority white school. And I graduated 18 years ago.

That school with segregated proms is NOT representative! But still horrible.

[Black Aliss]

I am concerned that if the U.S. were to dissolve into two countries, life would be even worse for people of color, women, gender and sexual minorities, political dissenters, and people who are not Christian in one of those countries than it is now. Not everybody can move so easily.

On the other hand, we in the blue states could use the federal tax money that flows from our states to the southern red states to subsidize relocation for anyone who cared to move and we'd still be money ahead.