All across America, high school students are gearing up for the annual tradition of the school prom. But at least one high school in Georgia is preparing for its own tradition — a SEGREGATED prom!
For years, Wilcox County High School in Rochelle, GA has held a “whites only” prom. Schools have been able to get away with such a backwards practice because the proms are privately funded, which allows it to be an “invitation only” event. Or in other words, white girls and their dates are welcome, but no other races are allowed to attend. PERIOD. Although this “tradition” was more prevalent during the 1950’s and 1960’s, the fact that the tradition still continues in 2013 is mind boggling.
Former students of Wilcox County High learned long ago to grin and bear the overtly racist concept of a segregated prom, but today’s 21st Century students have finally said “enough is enough!”
For the first time ever, a small group of students are planning to hold an alternate and integrated prom. With help from the Georgia NAACP which lobbied the Wilcox County School Board to end the practice of segregated proms, these students are organizing and fundraising like crazy to end the unnecessary racial division. However, their efforts are not being welcomed by all.
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| Gov. Nathan Deal |
Among the Wilcox High student body, posters advertising the united prom have been mysteriously disappearing. “I put up posters for the integrated prom and we’ve had people ripping them down at the school,” Keela Bloodworth, one of the student organizers of the integrated event, told a local station. When CNN traveled to Rochelle, GA and interviewed local residents about the segregated prom, many said they support the separation of the races at proms. One man said “I don’t want black boys going with white girls. I don’t believe that. That’s not how I was raised.” Even Georgia’s Republican executive, Gov. Nathan Deal, completely dismissed the concept of an integrated prom.
“This is a leftist front group for the state Democratic Party and we’re not going to lend a hand to their silly publicity stunt,” Gov. Deal said via a spokesman, apparently under the belief that the students who want prom segregation to end are somehow attached to the Democratic Party. Hmmm…
Sadly, Rochelle, GA is not the only place in America to host a segregated prom. Several other towns in Georgia, Mississippi and throughout Dixie have all existed in a long-gone era of segregation. Except for them, our past is their present!
This is insane. We've come a long way but this just shows we still have a long way to go. smh