Reply
Fri 2 May, 2003 07:04 pm
Georgians Plan Whites-Only Prom Party
By ELLIOTT MINOR, Associated Press Writer - 5/2/03
ALBANY, Ga. - Gerica McCrary said she cried when she heard about the decision to hold a separate white-only prom only a year after she helped bring black and white students together in her rural high school's first integrated prom.
Many white students at Taylor County High School, in the small town of Butler, said they plan to attend next week's mixed prom, but a small number of whites said they also wanted a private party.
Juniors are charged with planning the prom each year and last year they decided to have just one dance — the first integrated prom in 31 years in the rural Georgia county about 80 miles south of Atlanta.
Until then, parents and students organized separate proms for whites and blacks after school officials stopped sponsoring dances, in part because they wanted to avoid problems arising from interracial dating.
After school integration, separate proms were common in the rural South. Taylor County was among the last to cling to the practice.
Erin Posey, a white senior, said the entire junior class joined together in hosting last year's prom, but this year's junior class wasn't as unified.
"I think a lot of seniors were disappointed," she said. "Now we have to choose between two groups of friends."
The school has 439 students, 232 of them black. McCrary, who is black, and a white friend passed out fliers informing students of all races that they would be welcome at the May 9 prom at nearby Fort Valley State University. The private prom is Friday night 50 miles away in Columbus.
"I would have liked to see it together this year," said Gerard Latimore, a black junior class president who helped organize this year's integrated prom night. "My class would have, too. It just didn't happen this year."
Gerard's mother, Glenda Latimore, a 1972 graduate, attended a segregated prom. She said relatives in Philadelphia and New Jersey laugh when they read about Taylor County's prom.
"It seems like it's something secret," she said. "The white people are afraid to speak up against the separation.
"But I went to a black prom and I had fun," she added. "It didn't kill me, so I tell my son, 'Just go to the prom and have fun. Don't come out hating anyone.'"
I went to segregated Proms 1978-80.
The year our class put it together, the white football players wanted blacks included. The white contingent agreed, with few exceptions. So, we invited the blacks, who wound up saying--Hey, thanks, but for all these years, we haven't had to worry about teachers sniffing our punch, and after discussion about the type of music.....they continued having their own private Proms.
Now, to avoid teacher/chaperones, different groups of kids host private parties as country clubs and the like. I think they are still racially divided.
I went to the school the other day, and noticed the kids still segregate in the lunchroom. I wonder if this will ever stop...
There was a really awful racial fight at the High School last week. It resulted in a lock down/weapons search/Free Expression ban.
BBB - thanks for that article. Georgia can be a bit scary when it comes to race rights (I lived there for a few years), but I didn't realize it was quite that extreme - 31 years! Even in Athens, GA which is a little liberal mecca which surrounds UGA, the frats and sororities had Southern style debutant balls and good ol rebel flag shin-digs. I watched, every year, the belles and beaus convene on a frat property near where I worked. The women were completely bedecked in frilly gowns with bonnets sometimes, gloves, etc. The idea of dress up is fun, I love to dress up. I like costumes more than the average joe. But, this stuff in GA bothered me down to my bones.
Sofia
Quote:I went to the school the other day, and noticed the kids still segregate in the lunchroom. I wonder if this will ever stop...
The fact that you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink and birds of a feather stick together is a very appropriate answer to your obvious dilemma.
You can go to any lunch room at any company and you will find natural segregation. People tend to mingle with those they have something in common with and where they feel comfortable. .
au1929 wrote:Sofia
Quote:I went to the school the other day, and noticed the kids still segregate in the lunchroom. I wonder if this will ever stop...
The fact that you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink and birds of a feather stick together is a very appropriate answer to your obvious dilemma.
You can go to any lunch room at any company and you will find natural segregation. People tend to mingle with those they have something in common with and where they feel comfortable. .
I happen to think that's peoples' natural inclination in their hiring habits sometimes also, but that's a whole 'nother discussion.
Lunchrooms are still "naturally" segregated accross the country, but it rattles me more that churches by and large are, too.
Our area has a preacher switching program once a year-- we send our preacher to a local black church, and we host a black minister. This is nice, but it's not intergrating the congregations.
Our church has tried to get black members. They come for a couple of Sundays, and then.... gone.
I know it is about comfort. And I can't figure out why, after all these years, blacks and whites aren't more comfortable together.
PS snood-- I was on a hiring team before I left my job. The black candidate was the best on paper, and in person. Everyone else started talking about the second best candidate, first. I just called them on it. They were trying to tell me her private life was an indicator to them she wouldn't be there long... Seperated from her husband, who lived in Atlanta... I thought it was unfair to take anything but her credentials into account. It was sort of a moot point, because we were hiring for two slots.
We hired my first choice, and the other girl. The black girl did quit for the reasons everybody else said she would-- Luckily for me, the other girl quit, too.
Alot of BS goes into hiring. I think color is less and less a factor. I don't think they should've considered the candidate's personal life.
Quote:Public schools in the rural South ignored federal orders to desegregate for decades. Taylor County did not allow blacks and whites to sit in the same classrooms until 16 years after the 1954 Supreme Court ruling in Brown vs. the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, which declared segregated schools unconstitutional
I find this kinda sad. Not that this damn nation has such a great track record on 'integration' (we called it 'assimilation' and even that still gets bad press in some quarters).
And what are the 'dangers' of 'inter-racial' dating?
I have never been to the USA, but the "teen party problem" exists in the country I live in as well. The largest ethnic communities in Israel are Russian and Moroccan. They are not hostile toward each other, but a common entertainment party is virtually impossible, since the only consensual musical piece for these groups of population will be the National Anthem, and it is not so relevant on the informal party. It is not about racism, just about different tastes of different ethnic groups...
I guess, the same thing refers to the U.S. proms, there is a problem of cultural codes and musical preferences, but not a genuine racial hatred.
If people are really worried about music style and cultural differences, then there should be two diffent style proms, one that caters to African American's and one that caters Caucaisions. Both parties should be open to anyone who wants to attend.
But to have a seperate party based entirely on skin color is appalling and reminds me that some places still have a long way before they realize that we all stuck together on this little planet called Earth.
And just for the record, I think there are many different kinds of Caucasions that like many different types of lifestyles and tastes. You have punk rockers, goths, mainstream rock, pop, ska, country, etc. Because of this, I don't think that these Caucasions are uniting under the flag of culture, but rather under the flag of skin color. And if they are uniting under the flag of culture, the party should at least be open to everyone who wants to attend, instead of it being a private function.
xifar wrote:Because of this, I don't think that these Caucasions are uniting under the flag of culture, but rather under the flag of skin color.
I do not see any reason to group under the skin color flag. Besides this, I guess, there are no "Whites Only" or "Blacks Only" shields installed at the entrance.
i have a view on that see in albany where i live there black clubs if a white person go there we will get hurt i think that black folks think us white folk ow them something but i dont i ow them a god damn thing yes i did go to the prom that night and we had a damn goood time
I can see by your writing you are getting an excellent education in Albany.
ROTFLMAO, au!
heyya is plainly out of his league here. I would hope that in a few years he will have matured to the point where he will recognize the wild-eyed spirit of his youthful opinions for what it really is...plain, mean-spirited bigotry.
Speaking as someone who was raised in the South, I am surprised at such comments coming from a Yankee...(assuming his "Albany" is the capital of New York?) I suppose racism is not limited to the South after all. What a shame. So many people have fought, suffered and died to end such inhumanities.
Eva
The Albany that Heyya is referring to is I believe in Georgia. I doubt that a segregated prom would be tolerated in the State capital of N.Y.
Sofia wrote:Our area has a preacher switching program once a year-- we send our preacher to a local black church, and we host a black minister. This is nice, but it's not intergrating the congregations.
In my church - luckily - we have a good mixture (nationaility & racially) but still predominately black. From discussions I've had in the past with others that share the same faith as me I've discovered that a lot of white people who share my faith feel that when they go to 'black' churches we're not being 'reverant' enough. We're singing loud, we're dancing, speaking in tongues, - anything but the 'low key eyes uplifted during the entire service' church. Sadly, this is not always the case because their's much reverance that goes on, it's simply not the entirety of the service.
Sofia wrote:Our church has tried to get black members. They come for a couple of Sundays, and then.... gone.
Vice versa. Whenever I've gone to a church that's mostly 'white' I find the praise & worship part of the service downright dull (sorry). I can only sing so many slow moving 'a lay loo ya' tunes. I prefer my praise to be praise & dance like David did and my worship to be worship - which does not always mean a slowly sang song.
Sofia wrote:I know it is about comfort. And I can't figure out why, after all these years, blacks and whites aren't more comfortable together.
I can't say... as far as church goes - it should always be about the reason behind going, as opposed to the conditions you're in when you get there...but unfortunately it's not.
Ah.
Its our boring, droning music...
Well, at least thats a good reason. :wink:
quote="xifar"]If people are really worried about music style and cultural differences, then there should be two diffent style proms, one that caters to African American's and one that caters Caucaisions. Both parties should be open to anyone who wants to attend.
But to have a seperate party based entirely on skin color is appalling and reminds me that some places still have a long way before they realize that we all stuck together on this little planet called Earth.
And just for the record, I think there are many different kinds of Caucasions that like many different types of lifestyles and tastes. You have punk rockers, goths, mainstream rock, pop, ska, country, etc. Because of this, I don't think that these Caucasions are uniting under the flag of culture, but rather under the flag of skin color. And if they are uniting under the flag of culture, the party should at least be open to everyone who wants to attend, instead of it being a private function.[/quote]
Yes YES YES
to segegate by common interests is one thing - like ballroom dancing/disco/line dancing/whatever
-but this is blatant racism on the grounds of the colour of skin - meaningless, pointless predjudice
Stumble It!
Tweet This
Bookmark on Delicious
Share on Facebook
Share on MySpace