Students at Wilcox County High School in Georgia are raising money for an interracial prom because, well, they still have racially segregated proms.
I don’t even ... What?
The school canceled prom when the school became integrated, according to Yahoo! News. Students and parents then chose to sponsor their own proms and they kept it segregated, which is not against the law. A group of students now are trying to change that.
The students are actually getting opposition from people who have been tearing down their posters for the interracial prom.
“We’re embarrassed, it’s embarrassing,” exclaimed Stephanie Sinnot, Mareshia Rucker, Quanesha Wallace and Keela Bloodworth, according to WGXA TV. Those girls are all friends, but cannot attend each other’s prom according to their skin color.
It is embarrassing. I’m embarrassed. I’m frustrated. I’m outraged. When I first saw this story, I couldn’t believe it — I thought it was a joke. How, in 2013, with a president who is of a mixed race background, can this still be happening? Maybe it’s because I attend Ohio University, a fairly liberal and accepting campus, that I feel equality should just be a given.
No, this shouldn’t happen anywhere. But it does.
A documentary titled Prom Night in Mississippi is based on the issue of racism in Charleston, Miss., and how normal life activities, such as a prom, are still segregated. One girl in the opening trailer for the documentary said she cannot get a job in some parts of her town because she has black friends.
“They have two proms: one white, one black. How stupid can that be?” said Morgan Freedman, who appears in the film offering to pay for the interracial prom for Charleston students.
It can’t be any more stupid. It’s racism. It’s wrong. Racism equals wrong. How can anyone see that equation coming out differently? How can people who know that it’s wrong stand by and do or say nothing?
“We realize that we’re making history, because this has never happened before,” said Mareshia Rucker, according to Yahoo! News.
In 2013, a group of young students shouldn’t have to be making history like this. They should be worrying about their grades so they can get into universities. They should make history through finding a cure for cancer or coming up with the latest technological advancement. Making history by having integrated proms should have been made at Wilcox more than 30 years ago.
Jessica Ensley is a sophomore studying journalism at Ohio University and a columnist for The Post. Email her at je726810@ohiou.edu.
