Comments | photon0912: 1957 maybe, but I wouldn't expect 2007

photon0912

1957 maybe, but I wouldn't expect 2007

Apr 23, 2007 17:50

While I know this kind of thinking still exists in our country, I was shocked to see an article noting a high school's first integrated prom was last Saturday.

Students of Turner County High School started what they hope will become a new tradition: Black and white students attended the prom together for the first time on Saturday.

Comments 8

amoken April 24 2007, 01:58:53 UTC

Holy cheese!

mtbg April 24 2007, 02:04:38 UTC

"The white people have theirs, and the black people have theirs. It's nothing racial at all."

Somebody loses at definitions.

bonboard April 24 2007, 14:30:59 UTC

Uhh, there's still segregation in the south, voluntary and otherwise. There're still far too many people who can say "My mommy and daddy -- they don't agree with being with the colored people"

It would not surprise me to find out that there are still more high schools whose proms are effectively still segregated.

photon0912 April 24 2007, 15:16:45 UTC

Effectively segregated would not surprise me but I was surprised at how official this still was. I mean, if it were just the case that everyone could go but people don't or if they all went but stayed on separate sides of the room, then that would be one thing. But having a "white queen" and a "black queen" leads me to believe that's not an option.

Still, even the fact that this thinking exists scares me. I feel like someone needs to beat some people over the head with a multicolored interracial sanity stick. However, many people probably feel this way because they've never known anything different. Hopefully, this generation of high school kids who at least attempted to have a single prom will be more agreeable to change.

mbrubeck April 24 2007, 16:11:53 UTC

1957? Loving v. Virginia wasn't decided until nineteen sixty-seven, and Alabama still had laws on the books against interracial marriage until 2000. The end of official segregation is incredibly recent, and in many cases still in progress.

photon0912 April 24 2007, 16:25:35 UTC

Yeah, I know that's true, but I still find it so hard to believe. I guess I'm fortunate that it's so foreign to me.

b7979 April 24 2007, 17:47:06 UTC

I'm left wondering if there are any kids in this town/school who are neither black nor white. Which prom do the hispanic and asian (and all other non-white and non-black) kids go to? Or are they left out entirely? Certainly I disagree with the notion of separate events/homecoming queens/etc., but I'm still a little curious how they deal with things that don't fit in their little categories.

photon0912 April 24 2007, 18:39:40 UTC

There aren't any, apparently. 44% were categorized as white and 55% black (and 1% I don't know). In 2004, there was 1% hispanic but apparently those kids aren't there anymore. I wonder what those kids did. Maybe had their own party and elected their own queen? Do they have different kings? I don't know. It's amazing that things can be so black and white, literally.

Not entirely related:
The not-quite-100% in terms of race reminds me of a job interview in LA a couple of years ago. The school officials told me that the school was made up of 49% hispanic, 49% black, and 2% foster kids. Obviously, this statement is absurd for many reasons, but every time I hear a racial demographic breakdown that doesn't add up to 100%, I chuckle to myself and think, "they must be foster kids."