Georgia students fight segregated proms

Georgia students fight segregated proms:



Georgia students fight segregated proms

Posted by Valerie Strauss on April 5, 2013 at 11:09 am

Students from Wilcox County High School who are fighting to have an integrated prom. (Screengrab from a video by WSAV)

This seems hard to believe in 2013, but students at 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.

Channel WSAV 3 reports that a group of girls in Rochelle, Ga., who have been buddies since fourth grade and do just about everything together are leading the effort. One of the girls, Stephanie Sinnot, was quoted as saying:

We are all friends. That’s just kind of not right that we can’t go to prom together.

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