Georgia School Continues Segregated Prom!

Teens demand their prom be integrated.

In the age of President Barack Obama, we still have individuals still living in the bubble. The conservative/white supremacist bubble is a 24/7 operation. From the likes of those people over at Loserville, to the guy who throws shit on the wall, the president's political foes are unhinged.

In most of the Southern states, some individuals still relish in the 20th Century with this notion that if we can separate the two, there's no problems.

In the state of Georgia, there is a high school in the rural Wilcox County still prone to having this segregated mentality. The Washington Post and WSAV, a NBC affiliate out of Savannah reports that Wilcox County High School in Georgia have long held segregated proms — one for blacks and one for whites. This year a group of black and white teens who have been friends for years are fighting for a fully integrated prom. But it hasn’t been easy.

Proms are memorable.

Traditionally students at Wilcox County High School have held two segregated proms, though they are not funded by or held at the school. This year, when the teens asked the Board of Education for one fully integrated prom, the board applauded the idea, but said it couldn’t stop segregated proms because the events are sponsored by parents and students.

The teenagers said that nobody but a white student would dare attend the white-only prom, and noted that last year, a biracial student showed up and was turned away — by police officers.

Prom is not the only segregated event at the school, WSAV reported. There are also segregated dances at Homecoming. This year for the first time at the school an integrated Homecoming court was named, but Quanesha Wallace, a black teen who is one of the students pushing for a fully integrated prom, said she was voted queen of the court but was not invited to the white dance.

The friends say they are running into resistance to change; posters they have put up for a fully integrated prom have been ripped down.

“We’re embarrassed,” several of the girls said at the same time in this video about the prom.

The group has been friends since the 4th grade and they say they do everything together, except prom night.

"We are all friends," said Stephanie. "That's just kind of not right that we can't go to prom together."

Stephanie and Keela are white and Mareshia and Quanesha are black. They're seniors at Wilcox County High School, a school that has never held an integrated prom during its existence.

"There's a white prom and there's an integrated prom," said Keela.


The rule is strictly enforced, any race other than Caucasian wouldn't dare to attend the white prom.

"They would probably have the police come out there and escort them off the premises," said Keela.

That was the case just last year as a biracial student was turned away by police. It's been that way for as long as anyone can remember and it doesn't stop at prom. Homecoming is also segregated. Normally, there would be a court for each race, but for the first time the school decided to elect only one homecoming court, Quanesha won. But there were still two separate dances.

"I felt like there had to be a change," said Quanesha. "For me to be a black person and the king to be a white person, I felt like why can't we come together."

Quanesha wasn't invited to the white homecoming. In fact, the pair took separate pictures for the school yearbook.

"When people around here are set in their ways, they are not to adamant to change," said Marishia.

So the girls are taking matters into their own hands.

"If we don't change it nobody else will," said Keela.

They're part of a group of students organizing a prom for everyone to attend, called the "Integrated Prom", but everyone is not fond of the idea.

"I put up posters for the "Integrated Prom" and we've had people ripping them down at the school," said Keela.

The group says they will continue to make progress even though there doesn't seem to be much motivation to change.

"We need to stick with the tradition," Quanesha said mockingly. "This is a traditional thing we don't need to change and stuff like that, but why? No one can answer my question.

"Exactly," responded Keela. "They think nothing's broken so don't fix it."

There will still be two proms this year. Neither proms are financed by or allowed to take place at Wilcox County High School. The students said that when they pushed for one prom, the school offered a resolution to permit an integrated prom that would allow all students to attend but not stop segregated proms.

The group also has a Facebook page named "Integrated Prom" to gain support and are also hosting several fund-raising events to pay for the prom.


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