'New tradition' for Georgia students: Their first racially integrated prom
By Jamie Gumbrecht, CNN
(CNN) - As Quanesha Wallace remembers, it was around this time last year when the idea first came up at Wilcox County High School. It was nothing big, just chatter about prom, school, what comes next, what they'd change.
If things were different, someone said, we'd all go to the same prom.
For as long as anyone could remember, students in their South Georgia community went to separate proms, and homecoming dances, too. White students from Wilcox County attend one. Black students, another. They’re private events organized by parents and students, not the school district. Schools have long been desegregated, but in Wilcox County, the dances never changed.
The friends all agreed they'd go to an integrated prom, Quanesha said, and when they asked, others said, "Yeah, I'd go, too."
"We are all friends," Quanesha's friend, Stephanie Sinnot, told CNN affiliate WGXA-TV in Macon, Georgia. "That's just kind of not right that we can't go to prom together."
So now it's April, and prom is coming up, and these black and white friends, longtime pals who go to classes together and play sports together and hang out together, are going to prom together, too. For the first time, students are organizing an integrated dance, one that welcomes any of Wilcox County High's 400 students.
"This is going to be the biggest prom ever to come through Wilcox County," said Quanesha, one of the event's organizers.
The theme will be "Masquerade Ball in Paris." There will be an Eiffel Tower and Mardi Gras-style masks, dancing, flowers, catered food and a clubhouse in nearby Cordele. They're expecting gowns, ties, manicures, up-dos, sparkle. Quanesha has a date, although she hasn't decided on a dress.
"If you want to get fancy, get fancy," said Quanesha, 18. "If you don't, that's fine."
Attendees will vote on a king and queen but also cutest couple, best smile, best dressed. They'll do a recognition ceremony for a classmate who died. They'll start a new prom tradition: a unity toast.
By Thursday afternoon, about 50 tickets had sold for the integrated prom. They're aiming for 100. They're not sure they'll make it.
Not everybody is excited about the idea. Posters for the integrated prom were torn off the walls of the high school. Students who usually plan dances didn't get involved with this one. Nothing was different about this year's homecoming dances: Quanesha, the queen, is black. The king, white. She thought she might get an invite to the other prom, but they went to separate dances, and appear in separate yearbook photos, she said.
In a statement posted on the school district’s website Thursday, Wilcox County Superintendent Steve Smith stressed the segregated proms aren’t organized by the school.
When students approached him about hosting an integrated prom, Smith wrote, he and the county’s board of education “not only applauded their idea, but we also passed a resolution advocating that all activities involving our students be inclusive and nondiscriminatory.
“I fully support these ladies, and I consider it an embarrassment to our schools and community that these events have portrayed us as bigoted in any way.”
The statement was no longer on the schools' website Thursday night, but a new statement posted by Friday morning said the high school's principal "will place the 2014 Prom on its agenda for its next meeting."
Smith did not return CNN's phone calls or e-mails.
Wilcox County is not the only place with a racially segregated prom, nor is it the only one that's attracted widespread attention in recent years. In the 2009 documentary “Prom Night in Mississippi,” director Paul Saltzman followed the preparations for the first integrated prom in Charleston, Mississippi. Actor Morgan Freeman, a native of the area, offered in 1997 to cover the cost if the school board would hold an integrated prom, but the offer wasn’t accepted till 2008.
Students and parents say it's hard to spark conversation that breaks what's now seen as tradition.
"I've lived here all my life. Nobody pushed the issue. This year, these children - we didn’t have any idea it was going to go as it did," Quanesha's mother, Linda Wallace, said Thursday. "Before we knew it, it was like a wildfire."
Indeed, Wilcox County's integrated prom has gotten a lot of attention this week. Schools in the county of about 9,000 residents are on spring break, but while classes were out, the prom story appeared on the local news, and the story spread. They'd been raising money for the prom all year, and some donations helped, but they've picked up a lot in the last few days. The prom's Facebook page drew thousands of fans since it was set up Wednesday.
Most of the comments are positive. "Your efforts will open the eyes of many. I applaud your courage and hopefulness. Continue your fight for change this year and every year, not just in your school but throughout your community. It just takes one person to change the world," one person wrote.
"You are civil rights leaders of 2013!" another wrote. "I am so encouraged by what you are doing. I believe that your generation has the power to make things better. Keep going and never give up."
Still, Quanesha is a little nervous about returning to school Monday. A lot of parents and students support them, she said, but she knows some don't. Why else, after all these years, were they still holding dances that segregated white and black students?
"I’m all about sticking together, reasoning with each other," Quanesha said. "We have very strong-minded students at Wilcox County. I hope they’re there to back each other up."
The friends and organizers are trying to enjoy it. Soon, most of them will be graduating. Quanesha plans to go to college to study psychology. She said she's not going too far from home for now. She wants to make sure the prom keeps going, and she can come back to help encourage the underclassmen who will have to take it on next.
"I don't want to just leave them hanging. I know we're going to leave them a little money," Quanesha said.
"New tradition. Leave them a little something so it won't be so hard for them like it was hard for us."
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Good for these kids. They are far more tolerant and mature than their racist parents were when their parents were at their age.
Do you have a color preference? It's OK. Mine is purple. I like it better than black or brown. Do I have to see every thing or every one in the same light? NO, It is my choice and prerogative. I like salmon much better than tuna.
Unbelievable! The high school should sponsor an integrated prom.
What do gay students do on Prom night? Do they get to bring dates?
Short answer no. This is not San Francisco.
bad news..gay students are going to proms with dates in places that arent san francisco..what a weird thing to say..havnt you been paying attention to the world lately..
They did at mine. Who cares?
Why doesn't the school just throw a school sponsored prom? That's how my HS was. We paid our dues and it we toward homecoming and prom. If the parents still want to throw private parties, then they can.
they don't have a school sponsored prom because this is the school's way of avoiding the issue.....
I agree...by the school sitting back and not "sponsoring" any prom, the school is indirectly sponsoring the separate proms. I would equate it to a child saying, "I'm not the bully, I just do not do anything when someone is viciously bullied right in front of me." The school should take note of Geoffrey Fieger, he is constantly saying, "If you don't stand for something, you stand for nothing."
So, can we finally do away with 'historically' black colleges?...Just sayin'...
Where will we get all those black MENSA members then ?
There are many MENSA members who have not gone to college. Of course, you would have no way of knowing that.
History can't be erased. A college that has been historically black can't suddenly come no longer to have a black heritage, any more than a historically Christian college can come suddenly no longer to have a Christian heritage.
Then the same should be said for historically white colleges?
Of course it could be said about them. I don't know what is problematic about that.
Can we include the "Congressional black caucus" with that?
No. Congress has always been careful to exempt itself from its own legislation. None of the laws it passed during the Civil Rights era and beyond apply to Congress. They could legally have separate race-based bathrooms if they wanted to, or make all members of a certain race sit in the back of their chambers. Only politics and public appearance prevent such things – not the law of the land.
There are white and non-black students at traditionally all black colleges. Do a little research before you post!
Send your white daughters with armed guards if you let them attend this prom
oh i get it now..your a troll...i should have read more of the comments before i replied to you..my bad
AdolphH What on earth are you so afraid of? I have lived in an integrated society most of my life. You should be ashamed of yourself.
I cannot believe that this is still happening. I watched "Prom Night in Mississippi" several years ago, where the same thing happened. I live in Michigan and went to a suburban public school that was probably 95% white. When I graduated in 2001, our Homecoming King and Queen were both African American and our Snowball (homecoming for basketball) King was also African American. I am disgusted by this story. This school does not support segregated proms? They just don't host a joint prom? That is like saying, "I'm not a bully, I just don't stand up for others when they are being bullied." I applaud the kids for wanting to have a joint prom, but they are not, "civil rights leaders of 2013!" This school district, the one in Mississippi, and others who sit back and allow this to keep happening our living 50 years in the past, in a very dark, dark world. It is disgusting!
RIGHT YOU ARE! And HOORAY FOR OUR SIDE! We know how to LOVE our neighbor, while they hate and live in fear, darkness, death.
Thank you. I cannot see anything like this being tolerated in Michigan, city or suburb. I could see the news reports now, people would be fired or the resignations would be turned in very quickly. And it would not matter whether the school "sponsored" the prom or not. By failing to sponsor an integrated prom, the school is indirectly sponsoring this conduct. To quote Geoffrey Fieger from Michigan, "If you do not stand for something, you stand for nothing!"
We have a mixed race president and Georgia is full of flat earthers.
I just mixed biology and creationism together. Just like Georgia's school system. Seems like its working well...
Halleluia! God bless the brave high school students in Georgia who stand in the sunlight to face down the ugly, dark, outdated, moronic racial hatred that unbelievably still exists in the USA. Let the dinosaurs whine about their racial superiority(!), time is winning, they will die off and LOVE wins in the end! (I cheated and read the last chapter of the GOOD BOOK!) 🙂
Quanesha is not a real name, is it? That's some kind of racist joke, right? Like LaQuifa?
Just like Gwyneth Paltrow named her child after a fruit, Apple. To each their own, I guess.
Or like Nicholas Cage naming his kid after Superman...Kal-El.
Wrong. It is simple, two puzzle pieces that don't go together were not made to go together. Basic logic and biology folks.
What? Wow. Id like to think people like you dont exist, but wow. a Human is a Human. We all deserve the same level of respect.
I can see by your statement that you... are a biologist.
Hahaha!
"basic logic and biology"?! Excuse me but what planet are you from....and what century? I'm afraid it's people like you that are the puzzle pieces, my friend. And your puzzle piece is in the wrong box.
I am just so ashamed that my country is still dealing with this.
Maybe you should move to another country.
Rufus prefers the racism.
You know me, Cabin Log? Well enough to speculate about me?
You're a coward and a loser.
Oh blow it out your áss Rufus. A race-baiting, whiner such as yourself shouldn't run around calling people losers, or cowards even. Don't get all pìssy just because someone calls you out.
It seems that you fail to realize, address and/or admit that every race has its losers. You, for example. Running around wetting yourself because of "insert any of your droning here." There is inequality in this word, there are double standards. All of these petty little game we play with each other are cráp. You, however, seem to be fixated on one certain race though, running around like a rabid dog foaming at the mouth. You can spin it how ever you like, I don't particularly care what tired excuse you choose to throw out there as justification for your fixation.
So if you choose to continue cherry picking events to back your argument then go right ahead. But if you actually believe that one race is responsible for creating double standards, if one race is responsible for playing the system, if one race....you get the idea....then I really don't know what to say. Go buy a phucking clue maybe?
Don't blame it on the skin, blame it on the species. There are some pretty rotten human beings out there. White, black, blue, orange, green, it doesn't matter.
Don't be ashamed. We've made a lot of progress in the past 50 years but racism is alive and well out there. We'll keep working on it and eventually get it right. Right now, why don't we take up a collection and find Rufus somewhere else to live? Real Americans love their country and never stop trying to make it better.
Wits alive and thriving cuz "African Americans" keep pulling the race card whenever sh it doesn't go their way. Maybe if more of them would sack up and attempt to better themselves maybe we'd have less urban strife and the rest of us could get on with our lives.
Black O White these kids are dumb; after high school go to college, go broke, and get a job; welcome to HELL XD.
Just because you're a moron and don't know how to not be poor, doesn't mean everyone else is.
I wish I were a 2012 graduate of this school. No tude, no rude, or dealing with trying to identify people in prom lighting by the shape of their teeth. Ah, to dream.
Wow. The racism and negativity in these comments are astounding. Take a deep breath, people. Dream a new world into being. It is not the 20th century anymore.
They only sold 50 tickets. I think those numbers speak for themselves. Let them try it. If it works fine. If not let them have their own proms. Everyone has different cultures and sometimes people are more comfortable in groups of their own. This idea that " for the good of everyone we all have to get along" is garbage. Pick your friends and be happy. If you find that all of your friends your are most comfortable with are all black or all Indian. Who cares. Good grief people.
@RonJones
Are you trying to justify segregation?
you are a raacist and you don't even realize it. "own kind" is a term an ignoorant moroon would use that doesn't understand people are equal and yet you think "own kind" means you feel safe and comfortable around people like you. It's based on your survival instinct because you think people won't hurt you if they are like you. but all statistics say that people closest to you are the ones most likely to hurt you. you hear about stories of "others" hurting but those are the vast vast minority. you are basically just stuupid.
Ron, progress is made by people moving out of their comfort zone. Change is about taking a little risk once in a while and learning something new. Stop changing...start dying. These kids are on the right road and should be congratulated for challenging the status quo.
Think it's pretty clear what the rest of the nation thinks of your...situation...down there in Macon.
It's no wonder it's the black students who try to get out of Wilcox. Not the white ones.
Might be a good idea to see Macon before you comment. Overall the people are very nice and if they want to group with their own kind let em. The issue here is that news coverage is made to anger us and make us click on the little ad so they make money. If nobody watches they go out of business. Nothing gets people fired up more than race and s ex.
Macon will be dragged kicking and screaming to that philosophical integrated party whether the current whites there want to go or not. It's so...tiring to perpetuate endemic racism from generation to generation under the guise of associating with kinds of people you feel like associating with.
Many of us are very much saying that your preference to hang around white people is illegitimately founded. And as long as you are capable of influencing...say...highschoolers by your sentiments, I would not chalk this up to I'm ok you're ok let's segregate if we want to.
I mean I would never hang out with you but...well here I am.
You people need to realize it's 2013! What's the matter with you!
You need to realize a generation of fatherlessness and welfare dependence has left many public schools as infested war zones where gang activity, violence, guns, and drugs are the norm, not the exception. That so many public schools are day cares/babysitters, not places of learning...and your children are not in any way safe! You are right...it's 2013!
Please, I dare any of you to argue with me...and I'll give you the cold hard facts of Macon, GA...just right down the road from Wilcox County.
Come on down liberals...let the fun begin!
just as soon as you let us all know what your rant has to do with the story.
Exactly. If it's a war zone, let's applaud the students for trying to carve out some peace.
That you would not send your children to the schools in question...so you are just as "racist" as we supposedly are because we worry for our children's safety.
You are so enlightened though...you probably have no problem sending your child to a late night event where people with known gang affiliations and rap sheets longer than your ivory tower stretches will be attending.
Are pointy-headed white sheets still the uniform of the day?
Before I mow you over, take trolling 101. You give trolls everywhere a bad name.
Go for it brother...and watch as I own you with facts. That's something a liberal like you wouldn't understand. Haha.
By the way...where do your children go to school? If you want to preach so hard why don't you tell us about your personal experience?
OMG – is this still going on???
Unbelievable. 2013 = Time2drop the color thang..................................PeaceAll.
Yes, we still have the national association for the advancement of colored people, the congressional black caucus, historically "black" colleges, BSA or "black" student associations. It is still going on. Sad.
Apparently this school district has quite the racial tension history.
A quick google search shows that in 2012 alone there was:
Scandal over the firing (then re-hiring and re-firing) of the school's only black teacher.
Scandal over the forfeitting of the (all black) varsity team's tournament games due to an off-campus fight between one basketball player and another student.
Police reportedly turned away a biracial student who attempted to attend the "white" prom.
Wow. Just...wow. Well I guess if they can make it through the year with just one racially-heated scandal, that's improvement. Then again it's only the start of April.
I grew up in GA, but have not lived there for decades. My NRA supporting brother got his degree from Mercer in Macon and I knew there was a problem in that region at the time. I had no idea it was still so out of control in 2013.
The dim-witted, inbred rednecks are now the minority. Hopefully the hate-mongers will die out and people can live normal lives. All the best to the kids that are fostering this, behind you all the way!
It is sad how we train this monkeys to dress like us, talk like us
and now we take them to our proms to
have some fun with their fake hair and gross interpretation of all things
we do. It is sad but at the same time is fun is what America has become a joke
Please don't feed the trolls.
I hope you are so sad that you kill yourself. Go back to the stone age where you belong.
Oh, and Wilcox County, welcome back from the stone age.
You are so sad! You need God!
Wrong. He needs respect. God has nothing to do with it.
Too bad you never learned how to use language like us.
I beg the differ; It was us who b=rought you out of the caves and gave you civilization...check you history caveman...
Geez, and the Deep South wonders why the Midwest and North thinks they're all sheet-wearing inbreeds about half a century behind the rest of the country. Couldn't be because in too many areas (one being too many) they are? What is really sad is that in my high school Civics and US History courses I remember reading about that county's school and how they got rid of the official prom in a show of "segregation or death". So while they've been strutting about thinking they're the last bastion of the "Southern Way", at least a generation of high school students have been laughing at them. I even remember one of my fellow student making the comment that the country should be sold to Disney as a 1950s era theme park. That was the only time all 25 or so of us agreed on something.
Race is a social construct. There are no races. genetically there are no cut and dry races. It's about time this kind of thing stopped. I mean Mississippi ratified the 13th amendment banning slavery just recently so perhaps this is behind us.
Exactly. That's why blacks make up 12% of population but are 100% of olympic sprinters, 95% of NBA and 90% of prison population.
Please list ANY black countries or cities that are successful. They are genetically closer to monkeys than to humans.
So how does it make you feel that there are countless Black people out there who are smarter than you, classier than you, kinder than you, and who benefit humanity humanity way more than you or any of your family ever could.
Scientific fact? More like bold faced liar. The black population in jail is higher than the general population, but the 90% you pulled out of your puffy white rear. I'd tell you the exact number, but there is no challenge in that.
So, just how are things in the 1830's? Time for you to be gittin' back now. That time portal won't stay open forevery. Come back sometime when you can't stay so long.
You r just plain ignorant! "Scientific my Ass"!
How dare u refer to the original man in that manner ? Before the caveman existed black empires stood longer than any European empire ... Currently black ppl are in a bad state but let's not confuse the cave mans success to their great intelligence it's more do to the fact of being sinister evil and corrupt , I will give the white man credit on one thing , he is willing to do whatever it takes to stay on top no matter how sick twisted sadistic it may be , but remember no empire last forever let's see how much longer he has to rule, it won't be close to the quote on quote monkeys
Please don't feed the trolls.
I can see by your statement that you... are a scientist.
Aw come on ScientificFact...... fess up. You just write all that crap to get a rise out of people. No one in America is really that stupid anymore. Are they?
Honest Joe, troll, whoever you may be... I have to ask. Where is the evidence of this 'black empire' you speak of. I have never heard of such a thing.
For mountainlady:
http://www.criminaljusticeusa.com/blog/2011/10-stats-you-should-know-about-our-prison-system/
Please read the last reason. While it may not be the 90% that was initially claimed, it is still a significant enough number to be able to make a statement about.
Who cares. If people on either side want to have their own proms, let 'em. Why do people keep insisting on pushing their own desires on other communities? Neither "side" is repressing the other or harming the other. There's nothing wrong with coexisting and having separate dances. No violations of the Civil Rights Act are occurring. Until that community decides they don't want it to be this way, they have all the right in the world to be like this. Get over it.
Most people who read this automatically assume it is White people purposefully segregating their children from Black children at these social events. Their minds automatically assume this because they are also racists, yet they wouldn't agree or acknowledge it. This situation in GA is an affront to their sensitive senses.
Just because it's voluntary doesn't mean there's nothing wrong with it. Do you really not see a problem where white students celebrate the ending of their school year or highschool years separately from the black students? The voluntary factors segegating these students are minuscule. They have every excuse to come together as a school unit and celebrate, and choosing not to speaks volumes to the culture in that town.
There is very much something wrong with that town's choice to trump endeering similarities with skin color and race culture.
People who don't feel inclined to come together when given the excuse to, in spite of their racial differences, should be embarassed in front of the nation.
So you think it's okay to forbid black and white students from dating one another? You do realize that is effectively what this is, yes? What about people that are a third race? Where do they go?
Or, since hillbillies like you don't care about equality and things like that, I'll put it another way: Having two dances costs twice as much, meaning both white and black parents have to pay more than they would otherwise.
The point is that they DO NOT want their own proms, not that they DO. The point is that these CHILDREN - independent of legislation and civil rights movements and their parents' "adult" opinions - have decided that segregation does not serve them. Sounds like YOU may need to be the one to "get over it."
At first I thought that an article from 1960 had somehow slipped past the CNN editors. I went high school in the late 70s/early80s in a nearly all white county in Georgia. Out of 1200 students, we probably had 50 black students. There was one prom and everyone was invited. I do not recall one racial problem in my five years of high school (yes, five, we didn't have middle school back then). Yes, the black kids hung out together in their free time, but in class they were just students like everyone else. They were welcomed at the prom, on the sports team, and in the clubs.
Geez! I wished that media would have put that om TV. If there is any good news about race relations in the South, they won't focus on it. If there is bad news like this prom , you won't hear about it. Ill level with you , when you said that, I was shocked,but happy to know this information , especially in the 1960's. Laws may have prevented a lot of Whites and Blacks from coming together,but it didn't mean that that all of those people in those days were bigoted.
Im a seventies kid and like you, I remembered going to diverse proms in every way possible. Although people have a right to their opinion,but they should listen before they leap. Too many people have generalizations about the South without actually knowing the truth about it.
It doesn't matter if the prom is being paid for by public or private funds. Separating people based on race is never okay, and I question those who consider it "tradition." Well, I'd say it's a pretty lousy one.
People defending segregated private proms are missing the point of a prom. Their arguments are thinly veiled fear of blacks (or fear of whites, but you don't see those people posting on the CNN comments section, do you???), all behind the simplistic spin of celebrating differences.
As far as "prom" goes, these kids aren't different. These kids go to school together. One school. One prom. One school is what unifies a prom's attendees.
I do hope that the school in no way helped these private groups, and they should have been the bigger party and held an official prom, regardless of how many students showed up.
Some (let's be honest-white) people in this thread should be given honorary degrees in southern apologetics.
I actually had to a double take on this...sorry but both high schools I went to allowed all of all races to attend prom as long as they could afford the tickets. I have lived in towns where it was mainly one race or another and yes there is tension, but commonly due to misunderstanding not due to racism. In fact the kids tended to get along just fine.I guess I just thought that dances like this had ended a long time ago and were not still going on to this day. But hey, I also am tired of it being ok to call a white person every name in the book, but if any of us retaliate it's called racism. It does go both ways and I have been on one side of it.
Those racist parents are just teaching their cowardness to their kids by promoting segregation. Teach your kids to look at the positive in all races and they will grow up to be useful and productive in society.
This will be the first and last integrated prom for these kids. After they see how one side acts like a bunch of animals, wont be happening again.
alright bubba, get your head out of your a$$ it's 2013 you racist dick
who said he was taking about black people? Connor and Rob you racist d*cks
why, Please tell me where Conor or Rob used the word 'black'?
Bubba – really? It's 2013, wake up and accept society is different and accepting...at least that started decades ago. Time
to step into the 21st Century.
Nice trolling, anyway on a serious note.
I who grew up in rural NH and am peruvian literally cannot imagine this being an accepted practice in our day and age. I would like to stress that I mean "cannot imagine" in a literal sense, it breaks my factual understanding of what America Is.
Simply put this is more alien to me than strange(in my perspective) cultural traditions one hear about in foreign and underdevoleped(sp?) nations.
America has so far to go on addressing racial issues, tensions and cultural prejudice it is unimaginable. There's that word again.
No, not all of America, just parts......and usually southern. They proudly stay in the 1950's.
hahahahh that was funny
What's wrong with you?
BOYCOTT Pepsi Cola – Nationwide... Because Beyonce supports Fidel Castro and Communist Cuba Slavery and Torture.
I would be worried about Communist China and not little Cuba. China continues to kill its own people and has invaded Tibet. It does everything that you don't like about Cuba but on a much larger scale. Yet Americans are allowed to freely travel to China. Free trade with Communist China is a good thing but free trade with Cuba would be just awful.
To Bubba: when you talk stupid, you disgrace your own race.
Bubba is black.
Bubba get a life and face reality this is a very good thing these kids are teaching adults like you. Color is a misnomer because when it is all said and done people are people. You are a misguided individual and should keep your comments to yourself. Because of the ignorance of people of your ilk this country cannot move forward and turn the page on it's past.
Why would anyone want to be called "Bubba"? Is it short for blubber?
I congratulate these kids, but really, why did it take so long? It is only 2013.
Next year we will hear about skyrocketing teenage pregnancies at the same school.
Again, another post that makes no sense. I am a fellow Southern fella who takes issue with your narrow-mindedness.
Yeah girls can't help they go for the bigger better package. Haha you can't even see it when you p.
Good for these girls. Lots and lots of schools simply have proms and dances for their students and it doesn't turn into a political or civil rights statement and it doesn't mean people get violent or crazy from having mingled so happily with people of other colors, cultures, or ethnicities. In fact, no one really even notices!! Too bad it's taking so long for some schools to catch up to the idea of one dance for all the students, and really, seriously shameful that any parent would encourage segration. I would not have thought it still happened so blatantly, but when you read the comments I see that racism is alive and well. Especially when some people insist that to be inclusive means taking something away from those who have always enjoyed the privilege of being the alpha group.
I guess you didn't read the part said these were private events. The school has been integrated for decades.
So uh...am I the only one who thinks Rufus really just doesn't like the blacks?
Actually the rest of the planet doesnt like blacks. He is just pointing out the obvious.
There's the real issue – you are down-right a racist.
Blacks and whites like each other OK but no one likes a pure "Ni##er".
"Quanesha"? God, these people give their kids weird names.
Beats having to figure out which of the five "Mikes" sent me that e-mail at work yesterday
Yeah, my son has classmates named Oakley, Dakota, Mykayla, Mackenzie, Benson, and Carrick. Weird names indeed, and if they're not just plain weird, they're weirdly spelled!!
Your racism is showing.
Thats actually black for Carol. The parents dont know how to spell.
This is 2013, sounds like you are still very stuck in your life. Unfortunate.
If my cultural heritage was African (Africa bring home to thousands of languages), I might think the name "Betsy" was pretty weird. Shame on your parents for giving you a name that the entire rest of the world is not enlightened enough to appreciate.
"embarrassed that ... these events have portrayed us as bigoted in any way" - No fault of his, but the posters for the integrated prom are being torn down. Racism is still alive and well in this country. Do you hear that, Supreme Court?
We at the Supreme Court have heard your cry. One Supreme Court justice will now guard each poster at the school 24/7 until the day of the prom.
Yes racism is very much alive and well. The only racist people I've ever met in my life are Blacks and Hispanics. I bet that blows your mind. Now you can reply with your apologetic obfuscation and misdirection.
Do all you guys live in the suburbs or something. Clearly you have never been to a city. Your mother should take your computer away and spare the world from your incompetence.
While there is surely racial issues in many corners of the U.S., not many communities choose to remain in the 1950's so blatantly like the good ole southern folks of Georgia (sarcasm). Most normal states live in 2013, even with all of its imperfections.
Believe it or not, it happened there too, with the UCLA. several years ago.
It's amazing how a group of school children are brave enough to stand up and fight for change in front of the world. While adults hide behind our tablets and type out uneducated rhetoric in an attempt to belittle and squash their efforts. Just support them and show these young people that you are behind them. And if you're not willing to support or at bare minimum admire their courage, at least have the same courage that they posses and show your face and names to the world while refusing to do so. Truly pathetic.
I agree. I think it's awful that these black parents didn't want their children going to the same dances and other events with white children. I always think about how far we've come in America, then I run into racist minorities every week and it makes me shake my head.
Have you considered that maybe the African American parents are not the ones who decided to keep these events separate? I'd be willing to bet that if anyone has a problem with an integrated prom, you'll find it from the white parents. Sadly, old habits/thoughts die hard. And it is Georgia.
What a load of crock. White flight is real and so are gated communities, and it's all about crime and not about your daughters dating a black man at the prom? Just how naive do you think people are?
And if you were a minority you would understand. If you're a minority and you pretend racism doesn't exist you're sabotaging your own life. It's a survival mechanism, not the race card. Certain jobs especially client facing are completely closed to you and if you try you're just wasting time. If you had a black son you would be telling him to work 3x harder, and take majors in science or engineering or math and not arts or business or marketing, because if they did they would be ruined. You have to go at least 2 or 3 times further to prove yourself.
Face it, this is still a white nation and whites have it easier. If you don't want affirmative action or handouts fine - remember, it's called white guilt because whites invented it - but to deny that minorities have it harder is to deny reality.
Why bother shaking your head? There's obviously nothing in there to shake...
Wow. If you knew anything about South Georgia you would know who holds all the cards there. Yes racism exist on both sides but their racism towards us was caused by our past and apparently (based on some of these comments) present racism towards them. It is called cause and effect. These girls are trying to stop it all. If you hate minorities being racist towards you, support them, and if you don't like racism towards minorities, support them. They weren't involved in any past transgressions towards each other and they do not want to be involved with any now. So what is wrong with that?
And finally, you ignore history. Only a few decades ago was segregation and what you would call "real" racism, lynchings, police beatings, and of course people who wouldn't tolerate hiring minorities or interracial marriage or even interracial friends.
But those 40-60 year old black people and minorities are supposed to forget half their life and forgive? I don't think so. Maybe when all the racists are dead then they can relax.
I think it's awful that someone would make such a one-sided assumption.
Hahaha. I bet all the white people screaming "racism", "it's 2013" blah blah blah wouldn't let their child walk around a black neighborhood at night.
Check out the FBI crime statistics of the last 20 years, then tell me if it's prudence or racism.
Why don't you just go ahead and enlighten me so I can straight debunk everything you throw out
http://www.cga.ct.gov/2008/rpt/2008-R-0008.htm
The fact that this is even an issue in 2013 is sad. I applaud the courage of the students and hope they have a great prom.
I so agree and am so saddened by the hatred I've read here.
Wait, we're questioning an integrated prom? In 2013?!? SMH
Yes, Bill. Racism still exist in the USA. It's very sad, but very true.
How many children do you have?
Go ahead, let "those people" attend your prom ... it's only a matter of time before
they turn your prom into a violent ghetto.
Your brain is a violent ghetto.
Hey, I know the those teen white Girls just Loving the idea..
why? are white kids that violent?
Brave girl. Racism never dies. It just changes form.
MY? My? WHEN WILL THE SOUTH EVER CHANGE?
Why is progress so painfully slow....
Welcome to the 1960s Wilcox County, Georgia! Better late than never.
@longfoot, 13directors – you guys are pathetic idiots!
@Chris, Love, and others like you – God bless you! I hope one day we can look past the outside to see that every person is valuable.
No... there are clearly some in our society (regardless of ethnicity or gender) who are simply worthless.
Sounds like you're fitting in quite well with the "worthless" bunch.
This is 2013. What a sad commentary on Georgia.
But it's OK with you if colleges have organizations for blacks only, right?
Those are private organizations. The prom is supposed to be accessible to all members of the prom. Stop being a butthurt, reactionary white conservative and join the 21st century.
Universities are private? Even if they were, would that make it OK? The colleges don't have a statement in their policies that say "This university does not discriminate based on race..."? The one I attended (Mississippi State) did, but it had plenty of "black" organizations–and still does.
Where did I say that think the high school prom should remain segregated or that I disagree with what these students did?
Steve, does an opinion that disagrees with yours make me a "butthurt, reactionary white conservative"? You don't even know whether I'm white or not.
Or are you always just a tough guy who hides behind his computer screen because he knows where he's safe?
Whites can form their own organizations, no one is stopping them. The only problem is that most of them would be used to spread hate. Whereas, black organizations are there to learn and better themselves.
They are not black ONLY. Anyone can join, whites just think they are not welcome. Unlike WHITES ONLY settings in the 60's which meant what the signs said
@AJACK Do you think The New Black Panthers "are there to learn and better themselves?"
Yes, William, those I saw most definitely WERE all black. However, my point is that, if they want to do so, they should be able to form a "Black (whatever)" organization–as long as no one says anything about an equivalent "white" (or any other race or ethnic reference) group. However, who would yell first and loudest if there were a "White (whatever)" organization exactly equivalent to the black one? (No, I'm not talking about a "hate" group.)
For example, Mississippi State has a "Black Student Alliance" that "serves black students...". There's a National Society for Black Engineers, Black Voices of MSU (no whites in their on-line photos), Black Graduate Student Association "to encourage unity amongst black grad students". Nothing equivalent that includes "whites" in the organization's name.
Why is that? Is it right?
I was in the black student union in college...and I am white. Did they tell you you couldn't join?
The discrimination is against FIRST AMERICANS, ASIANS AND LATINOS. WHITES AND BLACKS ARE BOTH DISCRIMINATING AGAINST THE THREE OTHER GRPUPS. WHICH PROM INVITED THEM???
I didn't go to my senior prom 40 years ago...but if I were the right age, I'd go to this one. Great kids!
At first I was shocked by the realization that the U.S. still has segregated proms. But after a few moments of thought, I remembered that we also have colleges that are for "blacks only", and hundreds of grants/awards/pageants that for "people of color only". I find it all appalling.
It's nice to see that there are least a couple people on here who see what's really happening. There are MANY college scholarships available for blacks and PLENTY of student organizations on college campuses that include the word "black", but if ANYONE suggested the equivalent "white" scholarship or organization, who would scream first and loudest?
The blacks.
Unfortunately, many of them see no problem with it, and they think it's justified.
Think before you speak, people. There are scholarships for traditionally white races all over the country. Scholarships for the Irish, the Italian, the Jewish, and so on. These scholarships have been in existence for hundreds of years (long before black scholarships and others like them were even thought of).
@tsweeney – "hundreds of years" Really? So, these scholarships existed before the country did?
rufus, you're a RACIST idiot- eventhough you try so hard to sound intelligent , you're not! i'm half white and i know racist when i see hear them, see them read them- they spend a lot of time rationalizing why they are right in their hateful little ways. the reason why black get scholarship are given to blacks because a lot of them came from a poor neighborhood and cannot afford to go to school not because they are lazy but because they've been so oppressed for so many many many years treated like animals denied from everything that"s good and taken to cruel slavery by the whites that it's taking them time to recover from all these evil crap- so they need help to get started so that they can pass it on to their kids a better life and lessen poverty and crime for our country because they are as much americans as you and i are -your ancestors and maybe some of mine owe them that much- lucky they don't revenge like they should have. if these would have been done to the whites there will be a neverending revenge and bloodshed forever and ever till everyone is dead. nothing seems to make people like you happy especially when it's about peaceful matters , it' all comes down to the color of the skin everytime,sad sad little man you are. we are all trying to move forward here man- i personally never met a bad black person yet but i can tell you this much in my family plenty of bad whities and asians fighting over money for generations, but some are good and very good
Rufus, it would appear you found the right forum to spew out your Hate.. first you don't have to use prefixed white when talking about anything because 99% of everything is owed , operated and marketed to white people and that would make since sine this is a white nation and 49% white.. also , why would you used the term "white Entertainment television, when you all ready use terms like NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, CNN, MSNBC and so forth conversly "Black entertainment television or BET does not imply Blacks only , it instead tells you the type of entertainment.. Or why would a college say this is a " Historically white college"..
Google "flash Mobs" Ok, Google School shootings and tell me how many blacks are doing that..
And Black Americans Have been perpetually Oppressed since being enslaved here and it's still going on until this day.. most whites just feel we should be happy(submit) with the whip not falling on our backs and we are forced to do labor.. and it's not white people Per say it more of the White power structure that you adopt and hold dear that not only obsesses the brown people in your country but brown people all over the world.. actually people like you are way worst then the open racist... and here the messed up part if all the Blacks got together and said we wanted to leave this land like a lot of us do , what do you think would happen, any one who believe that this nation would lets blacks just leave is foolish.. we are still captive here in the U.S. ... Btw, these young nieve children going get a lesson about inclusion
Notice that no one actually puts forth a logical argument in support of black-only scholarships, they just complain about how awful white people are.
No black American alive today has been subjected to slavery. Most black Americans alive today aren't even old enough to remember the Jim Crow days. Yet the victim card is still constantly played. So, a lot of black people are poor. There are a lot of poor white people too. These scholarships aren't for poor people, they are for black people. I'm tired of being discriminated against because of dysfunctional guilty white people with Messiah complexes. The only thing preferential treatment teaches black people is that they aren't good enough to succeed on their own.
Correction – There are historically black colleges, HBCU, but not black only colleges. HBCUs were established because colleges controlled by whites would not admit Africans Americans. Thus, instead of skipping a college degree, prominent African Americans established HBCUs for AAs to get an education. HBCUs accept applicants of all racial backgrounds. Learn American history before you make stupid comments.
@common – Very well stated! This also shows that there are quite a few folks out there who have "no clue" as to why some things are. Quick to believe the first thing someone tells them, not checking out any other sources. Research is not very hard these days. There will always be those who "choose" to remain willfully ignorant. Just my opinion.
Thank you for saying that. I attended Cheyney University and it is considered a black college but there were people of all races that attended also!! Blacks were just the majority and not the minority!!
Jennifer, you are misinformed. Historically black colleges were created to provide education for blacks during the time when mainstream colleges did not open many or any doors for people of color. They have always had an open door policy for people of any color – you don't have to be black to apply or go to one.
Exactly who would want to attend an all black school? Only Blacks. That's why those schools will always be black schools.
Segregation is a good thing. Forced integration is the opposite.
If I want to live in a all white area and send my kids to all white schools, I should be able to.
Not be forced to send my children to these integrated schools Where they will be more likely to be victims. That's not racisim that a statistical fact and that's not freedom.
The reason we have "black colleges" is because back then it was hard if not impossible for blacks to get into a college so they started their own. That's completely different than what's going on here.
It's called White Privilege, and you're a 'just exactly perfect' example of it.
You're an imbecile.
SALUTE!! To the kids.
The first posts I saw of flash mobs were a couple of white farmers on facebook. I admit to ignorance about flash mobs but not to your intent. If you mean what you said about flash mobs running into a store and stealing what they want then I still say that you are suggesting that flash mobs are comprised of one group. I am simply in disagreement with that. WRONGDOING has no color attribute! We can find flash mobs nearly anywhere on the continent and among any group of peoples.
I'm not "suggesting" it, Marilyn. Search "flash mob robbery" and take your pick. They are almost exclusively black. However, unlike what you WANT to read into my posts, I didn't say that race makes a person bad. I pointed out, ONCE AGAIN, that they are nearly all black.
If you can't accept the truth, that's YOUR problem.
that may be true if the only images are of black flash mob. are you suggesting white people are not performing flash mobs just because you are not informed of them, no pictures. so what do you say about the recent mass shooting conducted by white men. if you did not see the pictures would you believe it
Answer your own question, MsWhite. Where did I suggest that white people aren't performing flash mobs? Do a search and see if find some and then compare the percentages. Deny it all you want. I don't care.
I didn't mention anything about recent shootings. Were they systematically organized by a GROUP of people, all consisting almost entirely of the SAME RACE? How many shootings by a LONE white (or PAIR at the most) vs flash mob robberies by an ORGANIZED group of blacks have occurred?
My original post referenced flash mob robberies. Nothing else. If you want to start going into other areas such as mass shootings, start looking at prison populations as well.
Good point here. One thing we do agree on. There should be no Miss Black America or Miss Asian America. Just one Miss America open to all American contestants. I look forward to the day when we can be just one group of American people. It would be truly nice. Just as would one high school prom for one high school.
maybe also true if there were more beauty pageant winniers that were not white women
The sad thing is that eveybody is missing the point that there is still segragation going on and it is 2013!! Thats the damn point no of this other mess!!!! Grow the hell up!! All of you!!!
You have got to be kidding, next thing we will have a Black Miss USA and a NAWP. Oh one of those already exists. Equal is equal, not sometimes, get over it.
How far have we really came? So sad but also exciting to watch these young people make change. And to all the negative comments regarding HIP HOP stereotype comments.....You need help. There are good and bad in all races. Don't just target one group as being all bad asses!
more white kids are buying and listening to hip hop music...what does that tell you
More famous black men are marrying white women.
What does that tell you? (By YOUR reasoning, of course.)
And does that REALLY matter! I mean REALLY!!! So sad.....
"more white kids are buying and listening to hip hop music...what does that tell you" – That kids have no taste no matter what their color?
My sons both attended a large public HS in a blue state city and they were both athletes with black and Mexican friends from those teams.. But when large private parties were involved the race separation came in. The reason was cultural. Their experience taught them that large groups of young males no matter their color will often times get testy w each other. And when hip hop culture is involved forget about it. The hip Hop culture is about being badass pure and simple.. It does not mix w young men (or even some young women and beer)....congrats to this Georgia school though..
Good point, Futureman. Some people just don't (or can't) understand that having different cultures doesn't necessarily equate to segregation. They just want to force everyone together as one big happy group when those people don't always want to be forced together, and if they don't want to be, it's just GOT to be racist.
Don't give the school the credit, this came from the kids. The school doesn't even have a prom. sad
Hip Hop culture? Really? So all kids of color listen to hip hop and are "bad asses"?
so are the dances for the parents or the student if it is culture setting?
Happy these kids can look past the BS and move forward. It amazes me that something as positive as this story can be twisted and jumped on by so many of you into something ugly...
Meredith, I'm sure you're talking about MY posts when you mention turning this into something ugly. However, if you'll take time to really read them, you'll see that I'm advocating making things fair across the board. No more "black this" or "white that".
My beliefs are based on principles, not color. What's OK for one should be OK for the other, but that's not always the case.
Let's see if the people who are doing the complaining are really hypocrites.
I agree with you Rufus. The comments here have been refreshingly supportive and encouraging. I have no idea what Meredith perceives to be "ugly."
Black people will always know something about how you see things Rufus. That if you give an inch you will take a mile. So many white people don't realize the "American" culture they want us all to embrace first is nothing but some hill-billy Lynard Skynard, mayo sandwich inbred B.S. We aint fallin for it homey
You don't know anything about me, William.
Unfortunately, you're not talking to me like that in person so I could show you how wrong you are. Typical.
And I'm not your "homey".
My point EXACTLLY....
Your point exactly–unless the colors were reversed. Then you'd no doubt be preaching a different sermon.
Hypocrite.
What should happen on the local level is that the school should either 1) hold an integrated prom or 2) allow no use of school time or resources to promote or encourage any prom activity at all. Then, if the school decides to have no prom, those students who want an integrated prom should hold their own. No one can force the school to have one, and no one has the right to say who should or should not be invited to a private party.
On the national level, organized events or offering of any kind that has any mention of race or excludes any race should be banned nationally. No black scholarships at colleges, no sponsorship of any event that mentions or excludes anyone of any race. No public broadcast media that mentions or targets any race should be given an FCC license.
There, that should get the ball going and appease everyone who wants to yell "racism" at any mention of race.
Up until this point, Rufus, I thought you were just an instigator. However, I can see what you mean (I hope). I've long felt that skin color should be categorized into levels from 1 – 5 or something similar, and a person described for example as a 6-foot male with #3 skin tone, rather than white or Latino or Black. Not only would it remove the racist dimension (nobody is really black or white) but it would aid law enforcement in accurately describing perpetrators. I happen to be "white", but I'm not proud of it. I had no choice in the matter and neither does anybody else. My skin tone should not be a matter of discussion unless someone is trying to identify me for some reason (for example as wanted criminal or dead victim).
Rufus is too ignorant to fully understand that his comments are devoid of historical impact and thus; not related to reality. It would take too long to school rufus. btw - who would name their child rufus?
Chuck, you are obviously too slow to understand any of this.
BTW, what exactly is "historical impact"?
What an imbecile.
Even though there are dozens of other posts like this, I still have to say-DAMN! This has been going on all this time? I had no idea that they still had segregated dances. I could not belive my eyes when I read that-total shock. We are not living in the 1950's-get with the program. Those racist parents holding the nation back should be ashamed of themselves. Its people like them that keep racism alive. I applaud the students.
Your so right about that. Children are born innocent to rasicm. It is the parents who teach your children right from wrong!!! So it is the parents who teach their children how to be BIGOTS!!!
About time! My class was integrated back in 1970 in junior high in north FL (and yes, people in my class did the stupid riot thing in spring of 1971 in junior high). I went to an integrated junior-senior prom in 1974 (my junior year in high school) and in 1975 (my senior year) organized both years by the junior class at the one-and-only high school in our county at that time after court-ordered integration had been implemented. I am sure the school had a lot to do with our getting the venue (the National Guard Armory) and the band; after all, most minors below 18 are unemancipated and thus cannot legally form a contract. Now for some strange reason there were reunions sponsored by the class officers (all white, attended by most of the white classmates who bothered and some of the black classmates) and by black graduates (attended mostly by black classmates - I was one of two white guys who went to the black-sponsored event also). I don't recall if there had been "separate reunion events" for our 20-year reunion; I went to only one event, sponsored by the class officers, and attended by whites and blacks. (Some of my friends on the "black side" might be able to speak to that better than I can.) I misssed our 30-year reunion, so I can't speak to it. But separate proms? That is way strange, and I'm glad the high school kids decided to bring it together for one prom; good for them!
Which prom do mixed-race couples attend?
I know at some point some white, in love teenager heard from her dad: "I don't want to see your *colored* boyfriend in our prom so you better get that idea out of your head"
The black one. Another article stated that biracial and mixed couples are turned away from the white prom but accepted at the black one.
People don't want to hear the REAL story. They want the racial side so that they can spew about being ignorant and redneck.
An outrage! They're redefining "prom." That's the way it's always been. It's a threat to traditional proms.
I remember reading that same argument somewhere. Oh yes, in the history books! What some people used to say about desegregation.
@Dal983 Your humor is not lost on me. Repeal DO"P"A!
Ignorant white Southerners have been holding America back for 150 years.
it would be ignorant for me to say I didn't know this was going on. But COME ON it's 2013 and we still have segregation in our own country??? We should be ashamed of ourselves! I can't believe segregation is even tolerated by the whites or the blacks? I should not even have to even say "white" or "black" anymore. WE ARE ALL THE SAME!!!
I couldn't agree more,as a nation we should be ashamed that we still even put a label on people "black" "white" whatever,some of my finest doctors have been of all different races, they work hard, are compassionate, one of my doctors who happens to be black,has become such a good friend outside the office that he was my moms "date" to a play at a well known place where we live, I was proud to have him with us...When ever I have had to have surgery with him he is always kind and compassionate, he even came to my wedding and numbed my foot because I can not walk without pain, at no charge and stayed through the wedding....I have had "Indian" doctors, and all the rest,I love them all and refuse to look at them any different, shame on you america
Everybody is crying "foul" on these private parties, but I wonder how many white students were invited to the private parties organized by the blacks.
Probably none.
Correction: Instead of "foul" I should have said "racism".
Thats irrelevant you cannot justify ignorance with ignorance! Bottom line is these little communities are keeping EVERYONE in them IGNORANT. It is beautiful that these kids are making the changes that the adults and community officials should have made long ago.
So, wondering the "what if" is ignorant?
Just like lots of other people on here, you can't handle the truth. Does anyone think that maybe the majority of the kids, regardless of race, didn't have an issue with it?
Does anyone really care what the majority of the kids wanted, or do you only care about how YOU think?
No one is born racist. So if the majority of the students had no problem with a segregated prom is because their parents taught them to be that way. Its racism no matter how you look at it. What reason do they have for having proms separated by the color of your skin?
hmmmmnnnnnnn thats an idea! I just may do that. Smiles
That is absolutely right, these amazing bright young souls should not have to fight now for what has already been determined! This is PURE ignorance and it is Sad they all need to be prayed for, they are all babies in their spirits to not be able to see past a color are you kidding me? Half the world is mixed with something. HISTORY LESSON to be considered caucasion back in the day meant to be transparent and from the caucas mountain area. Literally a mole or any pigmentation and you were considered Molatto. As far as I am concerned we are all mixed with something and rightfully so ya know we are the same species.
And people say the south ain't the same, that we're "post-racial". Disgusting that they are just trying this out now, and that it's coming from the students! Where are their parents, the teachers, the administration, the city and state officials and ACLU!
The south is still is an embarrassment to the US and to the world over.
While I think that it is sad that this is only just happening, I don't see what the teachers or administers of a school have to do with private parties that are organized outside of school. I guess the school could have begun hosting its own prom for all students, but that would not have necessarily stopped students from having their own parties that are segregated. Again the ACLU really can't stop people from engaging in private activities that are segregated. For example Sunday is still the most segregated day in the US. the ACLU however can't go after churches for discriminatory behavior since they are private organizations.
You seem to have missed the part of the article where it said these are private parties. No officials are involved because they have no right to be involved. That said, segregated proms are a fine example of southern ignorance.
And did anyone notice that the principle recanted his statement on the school's website and didn't answer CNN"s calls. Now who has him shook?
It's almost if the "principal" you refer to has abandoned his "principles".
Did you stay in high school long enough to graduate?
This hurts my heart! God created MAN matter of factly HUMAN, who dictates RACE. There is only ONE race the human race! Here on this planet anyway. Think about this for a minute what if one day the world is the melting pot for the galaxy kinda like NY is now? If you cannot stand next to someone now who doesnt look like you yet has the SAME makeup, how could you stand next to an Alien with a completely different makeup. TIME to step out of your EGO people and understand we are all ONE every living creature is part of the great energy source we call GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! so all of you God fearing biggots get to work on cleaning yourself up so that when your time comes you will be judged on the things you changed not the disgusting things you say and do day to day. Its so sad because all of this is a learned behavior but just because your taught something doesnt mean you need to follow it. There is a big world out there step outside of your comfort zone. Love one another as you love yourself and God!
You should start your own blog.
This will become a good thing, but it will take a little time.
It will open up white participants to join in flash mobs that rush into a store and steal whatever they want.
A few cards short of a full deck aren't you.
Can't handle the truth or someone else's opinion? Or maybe you just prefer to insult as long as you're hidden behind the safety and anonymity of your computer.
Rufus, you sound racist. Maybe you should start your own racist blog.
Rufus, I wish you were wise enough to truly comprehend that wrongdoing is not attributable to skin color. You have been mis-educated to think otherwise. We are all born, we live and we will all die. Some people are good- some not so. Thinking that one color of people has all the good gifts attributed to mankind is simply misinformation and very sad to see in an American alive today. Skin color is not a character trait. Too bad the American immigrants didn't see that before they stole land from the red natives already here or corralled them into reservations, or the slavers before they stole black people from other continents and worked them to death here in the land of the free, or the warmongers who stripped yellow people from their lives, livelihoods and homes because of their colors. Shame on you for trying to blame races for actions – you are continuing the injustices of our forebears.
Let me say that my comment should read some for all the people involved. It really is sometimes hard not to group but i am trying. I do not mean to suggest that all immigrants stole.. etc. Let me add that group think is very powerful – otherwise I can't imagine that good Christian people could gladly witness or participate in a lynching and yet many who thought themselves good Christians did just that.
Marilyn, did I say anything about skin color being responsible for wrongdoing? I pointed out the facts of flash mobs–that they are pretty much totally comprised of blacks. Just because you can't admit it doesn't make my point moot, nor does that make me unwise. It just means that you can't handle the truth.
My guess is that you read that into my post because YOU secretly believe it. Guilty as charged.
Do a quit search of "flash mob robberies" and open your eyes rather than trying to remain ignorant on the subject, Marilyn.
Why are you responding to every post that has something positive to say about these youth and their dedication to making a difference? You are one ignorant fool.
You sound like you are racist. Maybe you should start your own racist blog.
You know, in a certain way I get it. I live right down the road in Macon. The public schools here are a war zone (Northeast, Southwest, Central, etc.). It's like that in most southern cities. A lot of times, myself included, white families send their children to private school (in essence, just another form of segregation).
Hate to say this but a lot of times in comes down to a safety issue...not racism that you guys immediately start charging. Talk about turning a mountain into a mole hill!
You northern folks just wouldn't get it. You live in your high minded ivory towers up there where everyone is safe...like Chicago. Oh wait. I meant, like Detroit...oh crap. I guess maybe you do get it after all (if you can take your heads out of the sand).
So what you are saying is that black people are criminals and white people are not, so you rather only permit your children to associate with other white children in order to keep them away from the criminals. It is not because of the color of their skin but because they are criminals;I therefore it is not racism?! You are right, we Northerns don't get it.
Carlos, people do have a right to their opinions, beliefs, and actions–and they don't need your approval, regardless of what you think or what you read into what they say.
Thats correct Carlos and we never will not just us Northerners just those of us that have a BRAIN and a little sense. I know statistically there is more INBREEDING in the south maybe thats what it is that is causing a shortage in their brains!
Haha. Typical liberal. So quick to jump at everything they see...logic be darned.
Let me number the ways I am about to own you...
1) In every which way you want to go about this, the public schools of Macon are riddled with crime. Please, look these stats up for yourself. Everyone within a 200 hundred mile radius knows this. And yes...these schools are predominantly African-American. Facts are facts pal.
2) The parents who give a damn and want their children to be safe, regardless of skin color, send their children to private school. However, statistics show (in this area at least), they are predominantly white (please look at the school rosters of the various private schools in the area to confirm...okay thanks).
3) My child attends school with children of all races...though predominantly white. I pay to ensure their safety...as do the other white, black, asian, etc. parents who send their children to private schools.
You see racism only because you want to. You draw asinine conclusions out of my statements because you want to. Again...logic be darned.
Now that I'm done owning you, want to talk sports?
Keep telling yourself you're not a racist Adam. The only other people you are likely to convince are your redneck neighbors.
Is it racist if it's true?
If he thinks his kids are in danger or deserve to be in a private school, that's his business, not yours.
Racist because I don't send my child to crime ridden schools? Racist because I love my children? Racist because facts prove the unsafe areas to send my children? Racist because I pay good, hard earned money to send my children (along with other parents-white, black, asian, etc.) to an environment where they want be sitting next to a kid with a gun?
Yea...I'm real racist.
I can understand that the school can't stop parents and kids from organizing their own private parties. But I wonder if the school allowed the organizers of the segregated proms to put up posters and use school time and resources to organize the proms. If so, they are responsible for perpetuating this disgrace. At the very least, they should have encouraged an integrated prom by allowing school time, resources, buildings, etc to be used for an integrated prom. They shouldn't have just washed their hands of the whole thing allowed segregation to continue amongst their students.
Yes, you wonder. Unlike most other people on here, however, you aren't jumping to conclusions about what happened.
Kudos to you.
How clever! Delegated Segregation. The school district and school board are prevented by federal law from conducting any segregated activities, so the pass the task off to parent's groups and claim that they have no responsibility. In all the schools I have known, the school principal, a faculty "class sponsor", and the school board all must approve prom arrangements. Let's see: it's only for students; the sell tickets at school; they fund-raise at school; they advertise the event at the school - but the separate black/white prom's are not really a school event. uh huh
Yes. Shame on that school district.
True. It is shameful and worrying. It is 2013! But black parents perpetuated this practice too. Both race groups did. I wonder which prom Asian and Latin American students attended. Regardless, both groups did the same, most likely on school grounds, and neither parents nor the school staff cared.
Just out of curiosity, which prom do asians and latinos go to? Can they go to both or are they excluded from both?
And what if you're mixed? And who determines whether someone is white enough or black enough to be at a particular prom?
I wondered the same thing. Probably your peer group. I doubt they are all truly friends. It doesn't fit. If the school was truly integrated things like this wouldn't happen because friends would like to share with their peers of any race. Interracial couples would want to go together. It is obvious interpersonal relationships in that school are, at least psychologically and by soft-policy, segregated.
Those problems just don't happen in the other 49 states (usually).
The last vestiges of the Zombie Confederacy are dying off.
Of course, the Miss Black America pageant will go on as usual and won't learn any lessons from these high school kids.
In that case, "Black" just designates an ethnic group. There wouldn't be anything wrong with a "Miss Polish-American" pageant.
I'd be OK with it. What I'm not OK with is that, if someone even MENTIONED the formation of a Miss White America pageant, the blacks would protest to beat hell and would threaten boycotts against any sponsor, even the sponsors who pump money into the Miss Black America pageant.
Why is that?
In answer to your more recent post: "White" never designates just an ethnic group, in our society, as "black" very often does. So a "Miss White America" would seem to amount to an "alliance" of ethnic groups, against the non-whites. It would seem downright scary, to some non-whites. The only point of that kind of "alliance" would seem to be a racist one.
On the contrary, "white" very often designates an ethnic group. How often do you hear blacks accusing the "whites" of holding them back? Which group are they talking about?
You're using double standards to justify your argument.
No, what you say there is false. In that context, "white" refers to the whole (so-called) *race*. It is NOT referring just to an ethnic group, for there is no single ethnic group that is ALONE distinctively designated as "white." Instead there are many ethnic groups that are white. As a contingent fact about our society, there is indeed just one "black" ethnic group, functionally speaking, in the United States. This is a very basic fact about our society. It seems that you have missed my point, if you think I am imposing a double standard. That is NOT the case. I am simply recognizing the fact that in our society, "white" refers just to a "race" (for there are MANY white ethnic groups, not just a single one), while, fucntionally speaking, "black" usually refers to the African-American ethnic group, rather than to a race (although in certain contexts, it can refer to a so-called "race"). In the context of the examples that are commonly given, such as a black beauty pagenant, or a black entertainment television network, "black" is referring to an ethnic group, not a race. The appropriate analog for "Miss Black America," thus, would NOT be "Miss White America," but rather, for example, "Miss Polish-American." The appropriate analog for "Black Entertainment Television" would, thus, NOT be "White Entertainment Tel;evision," but rather, for example "Italian-American Entertainment Television." It is amazing to me that some people still don't realize that usually "black" means a mere ethnic group, like "German-American, instead of meaning a race, while "white," in our society, always means a race, and never means a mere single ethnic group (because there are many white ethnic groups in our culture).
The loving bright children had to do what the fearful ignorant and backward parents wouldn't do. Congratulations to them!
I'm white and when I come in US
I learn from black people and Latino people what racism it is
I was not ready for that
because where I was born
we don't have that kind of racial differences
the people in America are yelling for racial equality
so stop to build your racial neighborhood
and learn to live together as a people
yes I'm white but I'm not a racist just because I'm white
Ummm welcome to the. 21st century? That's just crazy!!!
"I don't want to just leave them hanging. I know we're going to leave them a little money," Quanesha said.
If a white person had mentioned "hanging" in any context, there would be hell to pay.
don't try and spin this around dude. What's happening in this Small Georgia community undoubtedly continues to happen in many more small communities throughout the south. Racism is still rampant. Racism isn't just defined by words people use. it's how one race treats another .. the mere implication that the White community wouldn't allow an integrated prom is RACISM. It doesn't matter if the kids today don't like it or are just afraid to do something about it. I grew up in the deep south and it is littered with White trash racists that continue to believe they are better than black people. (IM WHITE).. it's sickening and I'm so glad I don't have to live in a cesspool like the deep south anymore.
Who's spinning? You don't think what I said is true?
She doesn't mean, by the word "hanging," what you seem to believe she means by that word. To most people, this is clear, by way of the context of the utterance.
My point exactly, Marsilius. It's taken in one context when a black person uses it and a totally different context when a white person uses it.
No, that is just a mistake on your part, Rufus. Most people recognize that the relevant context here is determined by factors that are entirely apart from race. If a white person had used the word "hanging" in exactly the same way that this young black woman used it, there would have been absolutely no problem. This is so obvious that it is really silly for us to have to debate the matter.
rufus, that because you think like a racist person...you have no concept or knowledge of slang words and phases ...high five "don't leave me hanging" You do not associate with many people from the 21st century, especially teenagers or young adults
Unbelievable that the school did nothing to stop this all these years. Shame on all those parents for years and years who continued this vile tradition of separation. And big kudos to this years kids who seem brighter than all the above. If the school behaved as any other school around the country and organized its own prom (one prom) this tradition could have ended much sooner.
Did you miss the part that said they were private events? What do you think the school should do about it?
You must live there. It doesn't matter if they are Private events. Dubbing the PROM as a private event is their way of a loophole to keep the black students out of the prom. The black students have their own Private event by default because of the spewing racism in this town.
Of course, drewatx, find some way to blame it all on the whites.
That's typical.
It is the white parents primarily that are perpetuating this type of thing in the towns where it occurs.
dre is right...some pple like you Rufus will spend words to make it appear like you know what you are talking about but deep down its your thinking thats keeping the American pple in this ball of racism...also you cant compare a high school prom to THE MISS BLK AMERICA PAGEANT....
also many sponsor events as a PRIVATE affair so they can be selective about who attends...whats wrong with teenagers having a joint prom...they attend school together but can socialize together...Then they will just grow into adults who think like rufus...i have much more to say but im not trying to convice rufus to think like me...just stating my opinion...good day
TJ, what's so different–except the color of the participants?
@ TJ~~ talk of a "joint prom" made me LOL. Having grown up in CA, mostly, that "joint prom" made me think that our teachers would have thought that the prom theme was "reefer madness".
No, I didn't miss the part that they are private proms. I also didn't miss that the school district has not been throwing prom like almost all school districts across the country. The school district apparently did not try to curb or end this practice. This type of thing would not happen in other parts of the country. The school is not powerless against this. They could have thrown integrated proms and promoted them. That would have had an impact on schools. They said they didn't have enough money for proms. If they are in a school that is that segregated socially they should have made throwing prom more of a priority. Shame on the school and the parents of that town. The white parents are a throwback and an embarrassment.
When you say "those parents" I bet you imagine white parents. And when you say "those girls" I bet you imagine black girls. But that's only because you're a racist.
Actually, it is pretty clear that Gardengirl is capable of abstraction. She means, by "those parents," WHICHEVER the parents have been who have perpetuated the separation of proms. (As a contingent matter, they might, in fact, turn out mostly to have been white.)
Its about time. Unfortunately there has been no cure for stupid! I am glad these students have seen the light and refuse to let segregation go on!
I believe the school has made a legal error by providing photos of the proms in the yearbook, thus contradicting their cowardly claim that these proms are not school functions. Another interesting point is that on the district website there is a place for comments but guess what......the comments have been disabled.......
I recently heard a retired Command Sergeant Major say, "The world is full of intelligent people, however many of them have no common sense." This analogy would apply to those in this part of Georgia, as well as the rest of the U.S. The sad part is that educator's are either to afraid, or unwilling to speak the truth that would benefit all students. As long as parents, grandparents, great-grandparents continue to instill this type of thinking in their offspring, it will continue to remain within society.
I was a white student in Mississippi high schools during segregation. I didn't know the name of any African-American student in town.
After graduating in 1956, the brightest students in my HS class became active in civil rights. I went to college in the integrated North.
Today, it is absolutely absurd to have segregated proms in public schools.
Racism dies hard. You continue to hear from republicans that we need no more protections of rights for citizens of color, everyone is equal, then you read this stuff. Hope the Supreme Court judges read it.
I'm shocked to discover that it was still going on. Sad.
This is a wonderful uplifting story. Even the haters cannot wreck it. Just ignore the morons. These kids are the best. Makes me a little more optimistic about mankind.
I feel sorry for places like this. Its pathetic.
Perhaps Greg, GA really isn't part of the union-a pathetic plight for a "free country" the bigots are adults here (there.)
Not everyone wants integration... a lot of folks feel more comfortable being with their own kind
Their own kind? You mean humans?
No, in his case that would be Neanderthals.
Ming, with his own "kind" means the "bigots"
Yeah, when I'm stuffing my fat face, I only want to be around other overeaters.
Then those folks should leave planet earth and colonize another planet where all they have is each other.
For those folks as you say that feel more comfortable with their own kind- do they have animals because that is an animal comment. We are all HUMAN, not 1 of us has the right to determine someone is better than another. We were ALL created EQUAL!
Self Segregation is the problem thats why there is such messes in inner cities
This is staged so that comedy central and comedians have more comedy material. Back in the early 2000's an integrated prom was staged for comedy material at a different school.
Sadly it swings both ways. There was incident just a month ago in Cobb County Ga where a few white Girls went to go play with a group of black girls who had been good friends. The very same balck girls told the White Girls they were not allowed to play because they are White. Sadly these are 5th graders so the proper education on segragation swings both ways in Ga.
Yeah, but your example was hardly tolerated and enforced by the state. Nice try.
What? You know the segregation is not forced there right? These people choose to be segregated. Nice try...
stop making up BS
OMG... get a life Darin.... your story is like "give me a 1000 likes' and you will get an apple computer... You are out of your head with racism... makes me sick to think that there are people that still attempt to create the great divide.
If they want segregated proms than I see why not, as long as it's privately funded
God old US of A ! Supposedly the largest democaracy in the world ? And fraicght with such blatant racism even among the young ? and we are fighting to tear down wall in other countries ? What about tearing down some of the great divides in these states.....
Moron. If I choose to marry a white women, does that make me racist? What about a Latino? Nobody was forcing them to have separate proms. It was not a rule or a law. Now they have decide to have an integrated Prom. COOL.
I just dont see the racism everybody keeps talking about.
Most schools through out America are still segregated, and yes the proms are as well. Living in the SF Bay Area it's rare to see a black kid attend school in wealthy or middle class neighborhood. At least in the south they are honest on what is going on.
I don't want any black kids in my neighborhood, we enjoy the low crime rate!
I live in the Bay Area. I hope you're just trolling.
so there is no crime where you live because there are no black kids....now keep in mind, if crime occurs where you live, B&E, murders, rapes, carjacking, etc, its committed by white kids!!!!!!
If you love the pre Civil War mindset of da South, why don't you move there? From the looks of it, most of the residents of San Fran would be happy to see you go.
Spoken like a truly bigoted traitor... Freedom in America is for EVERYONE not just the 1% who only succeed due to contacts not merit...
Sad thing to me is there was another school in GA the same way 7yrs ago in Appling County. They had one integrated in 2002 and back to seg in 2006. I live in GA and its different for me coming from Virginia Beach VA, I couldn't imagine 2 diff proms. Being in Europe at the moment reminds me just how not with it on some social topics in our country.
Whenever I cross the stateline into Georgia I am always quickly reminded by the dialect and education of the people that I need to set my watch back about 200 years.
Can't help but notice how underweight those youngsters are!
Lol
The shows how far Georgia still has to go. And expecting more changes is like expecting Georgia to vote Democrats.