Segregated Proms in the 21st Century?
Posted by left_blank on 02-09-2006Yesterday Anastasia posted about the Color Mute Generation and wondered if interracial dating was still controversial in pockets of the U.S. This very topic was actually broached on a new Lifetime movie this week. "For One Night," (if you missed it, it's airing several times in March) is based on the true story of a small town in Georgia that had segregrated proms until a few years ago.
The movie portrays modern day racism in small town America and tensions between African-American and white teens about dating across color lines. Ultimately the school bands together to hold their first integrated prom. A great victory–but sadly the school went back to separate proms the following year.
Lifetime's website has a nice Q&A with the real-life teen who was behind the push for one prom at her school. "Just One Night" also has a companion website called Prom Tales where teens can share their own prom stories. One of the coolest things is that the website has a section that gives teens links to resources if they want to make a difference, including an essay contest around the topic of tolerance with a $500 prize.
It's nice to check out some of these made-for-TV movies about teens. Coming up on March 13th Lifetime will air "Augusta, Gone" (based on the book of the same name) which looks to be an intense look at a teen's downward spiral into drugs and self-destruction a la that great teen flick "Thirteen."
February 9th, 2006 at 2:08 pm
I think this post misses a (and not "the") point. The one prom versus segregated proms is a worthy cause, and in this day and age there is no place for segregated proms.
But… segregated or not, what i would be interested in is to know how many "mixed couples" actually go to a prom… or on dates in general. I am not American (I just live here… in Atlanta that is). And I think this country is one of the most racially divided countries I know (and I lived in Holland, UK, Japan and Germany before landing here…).
The work places I have been exposed to are very nicely diverse (and so they should be). But how many non-caucasian friends does the average caucasian have? How many caucasian or African American friends does the average Hispanic have. And so on. From observation (and without any stats whatsoever) I think the number will hover around "0″. We all live nicely in our own bubbles, with our own media and entertainment to boot. Just interesting as an observation. And one where I would be happy to be proven wrong, or gain a better understanding…
April 21st, 2009 at 2:44 am
Take it from someone who actually went to that school, Me. I attended M.C.H.S graduated in the year of 2004. Not only did we have separate proms but two separate homecoming queens until i think 2005 or 2006. But It was devestating to me because all of my friends weren’t just of one race, I had friends of every race and ethnicity and I couldn’t attend this milestone of my life with them. Its not only with the school but the county and surrounding counties as well. I remember I went to this bar with a bunch of my friends and was told to leave because “I didn’t belong there”. This in the year of 2008, I seriously thought I’d walked back in time, to the days of Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks. I was like Really… But it goes to show that we still have a long way to go.
But what can you expect the education is not all that great either, in order to pass you either have to know some of the big people in town, or be in the “in crowd”. Now don’t get me wrong there are some good teachers there but the problem lies within the administration, Board of Education, and in the hands of the parents who allow this type of treatment and behaviors. I think that something needs to be done.