Marley Shattuck
Staff Writer
A high school in Wilcox County, Georgia, sponsored its very first racially integrated prom for students. Previously, students of Wilcox County High School had only hosted segregated “white” and “black” proms. In fact, this school as well as many others in the Deep South cancelled proms and social events in the early years of integration. Up until now, Wilcox County had never bothered to host any open proms.
A
new group of student leaders decided that it was time to make a change and
bring everyone together. They organized an integrated prom open to all Wilcox
County students regardless of race or ethnicity. Although the event received
backlash from a number of community members, overall it received a lot of
praise and support from social media as well as generous donations that helped
it flourish. It took many students and supporters to get it going, but the
students felt that it was all worth it in the end. Wilcox County student Mareshia
Rucker said, “If we’re all together and we all love each other the way we say
we do, then there are no issues. This should have happened a long time ago.” Even the faculty agreed that it was a definite
success and a great step forward for their school and hopefully an inspiration
to others. Superintendent Steve Smith said, “Everything went off without a
hitch.” Students look forward to organizing next year’s prom as a whole
Source:
CNN.com
