so far we still must travel

[wrosesongs at fastmail_fm]

i saw this sad, sad, news story -- 

weeping,
zayne
________________________________________


Georgians Plan Whites-Only Prom Party 
Thu May 1, 2:21 PM ET

By ELLIOTT MINOR, Associated Press Writer ALBANY, Ga. - 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.'" 





-- 
  
  wrosesongs at fastmail_fm

-- 
http://www.fastmail.fm - A no graphics, no pop-ups email service

---------------
Unsubscribe by going to http://www.actwin.com/OtR/