Georgians Plan Whites-Only Prom Party

Associated Press ^ | 05-01-03

[Brian S]

ALBANY, Ga. May 1 — 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.'"

Juniors are in charge of planning the prom each year and last year they decided to have just one dance the first integrated prom in 31 years in the rural Georgia county 150 miles south of Atlanta.

Until then, parents and students organized separate proms for whites and blacks after school officials stopped sponsoring dances, in part because they wanted to avoid problems arising from interracial dating.

This year, a small number of white juniors decided they wanted a separate prom.

"They influenced the others," said McCrary, who plans to major in biology at Columbus State University. "They didn't vote on anything. They said, 'This is what we're going to do.'"

The school has 439 students, 232 of them black. McCrary and a white friend passed out fliers informing students of all races that they would be welcome at the May 9 prom at nearby Fort Valley State University.

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

Erin Posey, a white senior, said the entire junior class joined together in hosting last year's prom, but this year's junior class wasn't as unified.

"I think a lot of seniors were disappointed," she said. "Now we have to choose between two groups of friends."

Posey plans to attend both proms.

"I had some white friends who were not going to the other (inclusive) prom," she said. "I wanted to have time with everybody. I'll have a lot of (black) friends there, too. A lot more of the seniors are going to be at the mixed one."

After school integration, separate proms were common in the rural South, but Taylor County was among the last to cling to the practice.

Glenda Latimore, a 1972 graduate, was in the first class to have separate black and white proms. Now her 16-year-old son, Gerard, is preparing for prom night.

As the black junior class president, her son helped organize the open-to-all prom. The class also has a white president.

"I would have liked to see it together this year," said Latimore, an outfielder on the school's baseball team. "My class would have, too. It just didn't happen this year."

Glenda Latimore said relatives in Philadelphia and New Jersey laugh when they read about Taylor County's prom. She said residents here are "nice and friendly," but they still have a problem with proms.

"It seems like it's something secret," she said. "The white people are afraid to speak up against the separation.

"But I went to a black prom and I had fun," she said. "It didn't kill me, so I tell my son, 'Just go to the prom and have fun. Don't come out hating anyone.'"

[mabelkitty]

I had no idea everybody was so word sensitive.

Hick is a regional word in my area, and no disrespect was intended to you senstive types.

It doesn't mean anything nearly as nasty as you all think it does. We take it to mean "backwards".

[Chancellor Palpatine]

What I really like is how folk like yourself deems that anyone who is saddened or disgusted by the decision of these racists is somehow a leftist against freedom of association.

[demosthenes the elder]

"backwards" isn't nasty? since when?

[Khepera]

What I'm saying is that "WE" dont really know their motives now do we. We are only guessing.

[mabelkitty]

I'm concerned about the black and white class officers. Why not elect them "at large"?

This is a public school. This is setting up segregation without coming out publicly and santioning it.

Am I wrong on this?

[k2blader]

There is nothing wrong with this. If it was reversed, nobody would say a thing.

If it were reversed it would be equally wrong.

See also the sage advice in post #62.

[MineralMan]

"What I really like is how folk like yourself deems that anyone who is saddened or disgusted by the decision of these racists is somehow a leftist against freedom of association."

Good question. I don't think anyone on this thread has said that these kids can't have their "white" prom. Obviously, they can do that if they want to. A heckuva lot of people on this thread, however, have pointed out that it was a stupid idea, and a racist one. They were right.

[shatcher]

My husbands family is from Albany, GA. You could not find more fine people in the entire US, however, everytime I visit there I see how that area is a hot-bed for racial tensions. It is strange that 30 miles away it is more "normal" but in this town you feel like you go back in time.

[sharktrager]

I have a message for the people who are torn because they'll have friends at both proms:

Maybe you need to reconsider who some of your friends are.

[Chancellor Palpatine]

Amen and it's the most essential of all human rights.

Glad to see you used German in your tagline. It makes it much easier to figure your agenda.

[MineralMan]

"I'm concerned about the black and white class officers. Why not elect them "at large"?"

A very good question, it seems to me. I don't know anything about this town in Georgia, so I have no idea. It looks like it's about 50/50 black and white. Maybe there's a bunch of scarcely hidden racism there. But I don't know.

I have only been to Atlanta, and that a couple of times, so I don't have any kind of feel for what the general mood in GA is regarding racial issues.

[Chancellor Palpatine]

Grasping at straws, aren't you? Its amazing the amount of deference and "we don't knows" you ascribe to a racist action, when you'd be eager to opine, complain and give many speculations were the situation reversed.

[demosthenes the elder]

permitting self-segregation is not the same thing as endorsing it by law.
I find the party situation rather silly.
Like you, I find the class officer situation a bit more troublesome, as it does have the appearance of school (and, thus, State) sanction, which amounts to the discarded and constitutionally invalid model of "separate but equal under the law"

[amused]

Hicks? Are you using the term becuase it IS politically correct to use it. I can't believe that a bunch of "conservatives" are getting upset over this. The black students can do whatever the hell they want, but if the white students decide to go off n their own...parents are hicks, etc.

Whites only is a total load of BS even if it's their right to do so. I agree the term "hicks" is deragatory and probably uncalled for but that doesn't make the policy of the party white only somehow acceptable.

If the black students had decided to have their own prom, this wouldn't have even made the paper.

I seem to remember a story on FR recently of black students organizing a second prom because they were not high on the majority's musical choices. However, I don't believe they made the policy blacks only. I'll check to see if I can find it.

Now this town seems to be having issues dealing with each other's race which I must say is surprising for a town that seems about 50/50(based on the HS)

Though I must say reading this in 2003 is pretty saddening. Hopefully, we can make more progress to eliminate judgement based upon skin color. And that goes for ALL races.

[asformeandformyhouse]

See also the sage advice in post #62.

Thank you. You're very kind.

[Guillermo]

Who exactly did I call a "leftist against the freedom of association"?

Settle down, boy.

[dpa5923]

So your remedy would be to force people to associate with a freeper with the screen name guillermo?

It ain't pretty and in my book backwards and stupid and just plain ignorant, but it is completely within their right (the kids that is) to be stupid, backwards and just plain ignorant.

I hang out with who I want and if I don't want to hang out with you for whatever reason, I don't hang out with you.

[sharktrager]

Jane

Nobody is disputing their rights, just as most of us simply said we agree that Augusta has the right to do as it chooses.

We are saying that being unable to associate with people because of race, creed, gender or whatever is sad.

I support Hootie not because I don't want women at Agusta, but because he and the membership should have the right to be as dumb as they choose.

John

[mabelkitty]

You don't know my family, so your assumption is incorrect.

[Paul C. Jesup]

You sure this aricle isn't fake.