Lifetime deals w/issue of segregated prom--GA, Taylor High

[bliss_eternal]

Lifetime is airing a movie tonight, which I am assuming is based on the school that has made headlines in the past for having segregated proms in Georgia.

I found this link to an article about the story, the year they offered the first integrated prom, though the school's white students not wanting to buck tradition, still had their 'white only prom' off campus, which wasn't sponsored by the school.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/05/01/national/main551926.shtml


Anyone plan to watch the movie?

Excerpts from article:

ALBANY, Ga., May 1, 2003
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Taylor County High School students from left, Drew Wainwright, Lindsay Layfield, Christina Davis and Marlon Snipes greet each other during the school's first integrated prom dance on May 3, 2002. (AP)


Quote

"I cried. The black juniors said, 'Our prom is open to everyone. If you want to come, come,"'
said senior Gerica McCrary, who helped organize last year's dance.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


(AP) A year after holding their first integrated prom, some students at Taylor County High School have decided to again hold a separate, private party for whites only.

While many whites say they still plan to attend next week's integrated prom, the decision to hold the whites-only prom this Friday saddened senior Gerica McCrary, who helped organize last year's dance.

"I cried," said McCrary, who is black. "The black juniors said, 'Our prom is open to everyone. If you want to come, come."'
-----------------------------snip-----------------------------------------------------------

Thoughts?

edited to add excerpts from article and link :hi:

[WI_DEM]

1. it's a shame that this is still going on in this country

[bliss_eternal]

3. I agree--

When I initially found out about the issue, I recall that school officials tried to defend it stating it was tradition. Personally, it sounded like a way for the school to endorse bigotry--by teaching the white students they are 'better' and should have a separate party.

In my eyes, it is exclusionary and elitist.

Apparently it also served to 'stop interracial dating.' Can't have them dating and finding out they really aren't that different can we? :eyes:

[FreedomAngel82]

2. How sad

:( They're still stuck in the 50's.

[bliss_eternal]

7. I had a friend that attended college in GA during the late 80's--

she told me that on MLK jr's birthday, they had to march through the rural parts of GA. She said that many rural, GA whites were waiting for them with racist signs, wheelbarrows filled with watermelon, buckets of fried chicken, etc.
She said it was adults AND their children, that the kids would taunt them and yell racist slurs as they marched by. It blew her mind because she grew up in CA and didn't know there were places where such attitudes still existed.

I know these aren't the ideas shared by all Georgians by any means, but it saddens me that so many do still exist.

[CottonBear]

14. There are racists all over the US. Unfortunately, the ones in Georgia

have a way of getting lots of media attention. We are the largest state (land wise) east of the Mississippi River, so maybe we have more racists jsut because we are a big state.

[bliss_eternal]

17. I don't know if you have more, per say...

we've got many more than anyone would expect right here in CA. Just look at our governor. :puke:

The racists in GA are just more overt in their bigotry. In CA, it's more covert--it's not pc to call someone a racist slur to their face, so they won't. They just attempt to move out to the suburbs and get away from THOSE people. Or they sign up with the republican party. ;)

Or they don't look you in the eye, make comments like 'wow--you're really articulate', etc., etc.

I've also heard reports of some racist yahoos' in CA that have met protestors at demonstrations with confederate flags, swastikas, etc. Feeling quite confident that their rights are protected by this regime...

[FreedomAngel82]

25. Amazing

:cry: People can be so cruel.

[CottonBear]

4. "The private prom is Friday night 50 miles away in Columbus."

I'm a GA resident but I've never been to Albany. This is so sad. My question is why do the whites feel the need to hold their prom 50 freaking miles away? What happened to proms in the gym or a local hotel or civic center?

The only thing I have to say is that the whites are racists. I dated a black Carribbean man for several years and we were actually shot at by redneck racists in Tennessee. I'm not surprised by these people but I think they are acting in a shameful and un-American way.

[bliss_eternal]

8. Hi CottonBear--

that sounds horrible and frightening. I'm so glad that you and the person you were dating escaped the shooter's hatred alive. Unbelievable.

I agree that it is shameful. I don't know if this is still going on, as the article is from 2003.

People like this feel very comfortable with who is in office, and feel they can express their hatred freely with no repurcussions. Since they've been in charge, I've read of more incidences of hate crimes against interracial couples.

[CottonBear]

12. It was terrifying.

I found out my mom is a racist when she un-invited him to Thanksgiving dinner and wanted ME to deliver the bad news. :( I didn't go home for Thanksgiving and I didn't speak to mom for 3 months. We eventually broke up. Our differences were cultural and religious rather than racial. He is from a prominent family (doctors, politicians, radical activity's and businessmen) in his country. We would have had a prosperous life there. However, I wasn't sure about moving to a such a small island, the topsy-turvy politics and the somewhat chauvinistic attitude of Caribbean men. As it turns out, the island was devastated by a hurricane last year. :( His parents home was partially destroyed. It was very sad. I think about him often. We had some good times.

[bliss_eternal]

16. I'm sorry to hear that--

part of his family's home was devastated as well as the island. :hug: :(

I know from my own marriage (interracial) it isn't easy when dealing with other's ideas and ignorance. We lost a lot of time in our relationship to dealing with the bigotry of extended family members. Things are much easier when one decides to detach from all of it, even if it means putting distance between you and the family of origin. I sure wish we had done so much sooner. All of the other differences can be overcome with mutual love, willingness and understanding.

Thankfully, though we have since and it is SO much better without their negativity. :hi: I didn't marry those Kooks, I married my husband. LOL!

[CottonBear]

18. I'm so happy you've had a great marriage!

You must have a wonderful husband. SO sorry to hear about your bad experiences with your family members. Life is about making your self happy not your relatives! Good luck!
:hug: :hi:

[bliss_eternal]

22. Thank you--

you're a sweetheart! It was unfortunate what we had to deal with such ignorance, but ultimately it's their loss.

I'm just so sorry *you* weren't able to continue with your relationship. :grouphug: Sounds like you cared for him a great deal.

[FreedomAngel82]

26. I agree

I'm glad things worked out too. I think I'm lucky to have parents who aren't racial. They love going down to the inner city with our church group and working with the younger kids. They always have some new story to tell or something with the little kids. One little kid even loves to hang around my dad and gave him a little drawing once. It's so sad to hear people even today still hate. *sigh* :cry:

[MadMaddie]

5. This is no surprise to me..

Racism in this country is getting worse and more overt....the Republicans act as if racism doesn't exist...Folks this is only the beginning...we are sliding back and it's not pretty.

[bliss_eternal]

10. Of course it doesn't exist--

in their eyes. If blacks, mexicans, asians, biracials, multi-racials, etc. were as good as republicans, as good as whites, they wouldn't be poor, uneducated, criminals, etc. :eyes:

Welcome to DU, MadMaddie! :hi: Happy to have you here!

[MadMaddie]

13. Thanks for the Welcome bliss_eternal!!

These are really scary times!!

[yorkiemommie1]

11. as soon as * was selected

i told people that we would all be riding in the back of the bus.

[bliss_eternal]

19. Isn't it sad

that you weren't far from wrong?

I honestly don't know how capable this country is of change-given that as many people voted for this bigot. Also the fact of it's racist roots. I frequently fantasize about Canada, because at least they have stood for equality in many ways more than the usa has...

[yorkiemommie1]

23. all of us except the select few

will have to keep in our places. i can't believe this country slid back so fast.

:hi:

[SmokingJacket]

6. Since the school isn't sponsoring, I don't know what can be done.

The thing that bugs me most is that you know it's the **parents** who are coughing up the money and organizing everything, not the kids. And even if the kids wanted it segregated, the parents shouldn't go along with it.

It's a bad lesson.

[bliss_eternal]

9. You're right--

you know it's the parents fostering their sense of *tradition.* It's also their way of sending a message to the kids that they shouldn't mix with other races, not socially, not romantically, not at all.

What will happen if these kids should decide to leave Georgia at some point and to pursue lives in more diverse communities? How will they function?

It's a hideous lesson, I totally agree.

[Nightjock]

15. Things have changed there-finally!

Gerica McCrary made headlines in 2002 by getting Taylor County High School in her hometown of Butler, Georgia, to integrate the prom after 31 years of segregation. We caught up with McCrary, now in college, to talk about her groundbreaking activism and the Lifetime movie made about it.


snip>

Lifetime: Have you started a tradition at your high school?
McCrary: The year after my prom, the community went back to segregated proms. But the year after that, the school system got involved and took initiative, and the proms are all integrated now.

Full interview:

http://www.lifetimetv.com/movies/originals/foronenight_realstory.html

[CottonBear]

20. Good news! n/t

[bliss_eternal]

21. Wow--one person CAN make a difference!

That's fantastic!

Thanks for the link and excerpt Nightjock--this is great news! :hi:

[Obamarama]

24. It's Georgia...what do you expect?

Go ahead and flame me if you want. This shit would NEVER fly north of the Mason Dixon line. It's appalling that this sort of shit is allowed to flourish in 2006.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

27. bullshit...

what the hell would you (or anyone) do about it? There are no racists in the great north of the US??? Bullshit...

I am not saying it is right, but if a bunch of kids want to get together and throw a whites only party it would fly anywhere...there is nothing that can be done to stop it. North...or south

Bugger off...

sP

[CottonBear]

28. Georgia: Jimmy Carter, John Lewis, Cynthia McKinney, Max Cleland, MLK

Sam Nunn, Ralph Abernathy, Shirley Franklin, Andrew Young...

Georgians = Democracy = Freedom = Civil Rights = Human rights

edit to add our black Democratic Atty Gen Thurbert Baker and our black Democratic Commisioner of Labor (and my home town hero) Michael Thurmond.

[QC]

29. "This shit would NEVER fly north of the Mason Dixon line."

Segregation seems to fly just fine in your home state:

According to the U.S. Census, Michigan is the most segregated state in the nation. Five of the 25 most racially segregated metropolitan regions in America — Detroit, Saginaw, Flint, Benton Harbor, and Muskegon — are in Michigan. The next closest state is New York, with four. Two more Michigan metropolitan regions — Grand Rapids and Jackson — almost made the top 25.

Census figures also show that Michigan has the most segregated public school systems in the nation. For example, 613,000 students attend public schools in 83 school districts in Wayne, Macomb, and Oakland counties, according to an analysis by the National School Boards Association. Roughly 180,000 of those students are black and 82 percent of black students are enrolled in just three districts — Detroit, Highland Park, and Inkster. Some 90 percent of white students — 540,000 kids — are enrolled in Detroit-region schools where 10 percent or less of the students are black....

...Almost all of the state’s black residents — 96 percent of 1.4 million people — live in just 11 metropolitan regions in Michigan. That means that roughly 70 of the state’s 83 counties are overwhelmingly white, many with minority populations of less than 3 percent. Not even Mississippi in the depths of the Jim Crow era was as segregated as Michigan is today.

http://www.mlui.org/reportarticle.asp?fileid=16480

[Obamarama]

30. Nice stats, but it doesn't really apply to this issue.....

We're talking about a school system actually allowing a segregated prom to take place. You can throw all the statistics at me you want, but if a school system here tried to hold segregated proms, THE SHIT WOULD HIT THE FAN. Why is it not challenged in GA? Why is it allowed to stand in GA? Riddle me that one, Batman.

[QC]

32. The school system is not holding a segregated prom.

Did you read the article in the link? A group of students is doing it. It's dumb and bigoted and all that, but outside the school's control and perfectly legal.

[txindy]

33. You do realize the article is from three years ago, right?

The school system has since gotten involved and holds integrated proms rather than letting the students hold their own, private proms. There's a link further upthread showing that:
http://www.lifetimetv.com/movies/originals/foronenight_realstory.html

[Katherine Brengle]

31. Honestly, what they are doing is not illegal--gross maybe, but

not illegal. It's a private party. If the school were sponsoring it, as in the past, then it would be a different matter.

It's still f*ed up, don't get me wrong...

I live in Massachusetts, by far one of the most liberal states in the country, and our neighborhoods and towns are just as bad as anywhere else--the high school I attended (on Cape Cod) was maybe *maybe* 10% black/hispanic and the rest of the students were white. It's a fairly well-to-do area (although we weren't very well off) and I think the "segregation" of modern America is more has more to do with radically inequal income distribution rather than overt racism (in most areas).

When I was in high school (late '90s), there was ONE black student in my classes (Honors program) all four years.

I didn't even know any others at my school, and I certainly wasn't racist.

There is a lot more to overcome here than overt racism--the problem is the effects of hundreds of years of slavery and segregation and discrimination.