http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/23/turner.prom/index.html Wow, I didn't know there was still places like these.
The university that I went to had their separates... Miss XXX Miss Black XXX Frats and Sors Black Frats and Sors etc. Somewhat different but still silly...
It's still like that in a lot of places in the South. Especially Georgia and Alabama. You'd be shocked at the racism that still exists down there. Even when I was in NW FL, there was a lot of racism, though no segregation.
My university, Southeastern Louisiana, has this as well. It isn't that the opposite race could not try and participate but some of the groups will make it clear who they want and don't.
Wow. I had no idea that this still went on. I thought people had grown up about this, but I guess I was wrong.
Not too surprised this stuff still goes on in the south. Dunce-capped cross burners out front probably gave them the hint.
People of different races self-segregate all the time - in the South, blacks and whites segregate themselves for all sorts of reasons. I know, because I lived in South Carolina for years and saw it first-hand. Some legitimate reasons for this, others not, but people of EVERY COLOR have their own hang-ups about race, and not just white people in the South. In Massachusetts, Brazilians and Asians here segregate themselves from their liberal, limp-wristed white counterparts (much to their chagrin). Do you honestly think people 'of color' actually LIKE to hang out with the Crackers? Not really....we're too square and boring. And some of us like Country Music and don't speak Portuguese, so there.
Nice post. Thanks. People, in my experience, tend to be tribal, even today. We associate by like traits, interests, ethnicity. We have: The Turners (German) Hibernians (Irish) Holy Rosary Church, DC (Italian) NAACP (African American) And a long line of others. In the Army, whenever we had a party where places were not designated, soldiers congregated along racial lines. It was a natural thing. It was not hostile in any way but, it was a reality. We enjoyed each other but, we had to do a lot of visiting during the party because we had friends in each of these groupings. In retrospect it was a good thing. All said and done, we mixed.
And in their senior year of high school, kids from all ethnicities can come together as one to all experience together the feeling of how much prom sucks.
Damn, look at those squares around me! They couldn't handle my gangsta-ness. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Prom is really just a young man's introduction to his future, and how major events like these are all about the girls. We're just a bunch of chumps who rent a tux, hire a limo and pay for dinner. It's like a trial run for your wedding.
Growing up here I thought it was all just in history books but every time I go to the south I get a reality flash. They are still living in the 50's....at best.
FYI, their having a separate prom had nothing to do with racism...it had to do more with tradition than any sort or feeling that one race was superior to another...in fact,the blacks wanted to keep their own separate prom too.
Umm...the very fact that *all* the WHITE students and *all* the BLACK students felt they *had* to have separate social events is the very definition of a racist divide. Very, very sad in this day and age. Wonder what chance an interracial relationship would have in this sort of environment. The negative peer pressure would be awful, even if one were to somehow form in the first place.
I think a lot of people come to the South with this mentality and then, predictably, they see what they want to see. I grew up in the midwest, but have lived in the South for 11 years. There is as much racism in Ohio, California, and New York as there is in Alabama, Georgia, and Florida. I've met plenty of bigots that will never grow out of their half-mindedness, no matter how hard you try. Racism will always exist. There are racists that are white, black, and everything in between. As much as I would like to think that "we could all just get along," some people just identify with pessimism, cowardice, and hate. Just live how you want to live, surround yourself with like-minded people, and be happy! But I'm white, and therefor not allowed to complain about racism