Georgia county still holds racially themed proms
from today's AP wire-- i've heard that this is a common practice to discourage interracial dating/ Associated Press
LYONS, Ga. - A high school in south Georgia held three different proms - one each for whites, blacks and Hispanics.
The proms for seniors and juniors were private parties, but some students attended more than one of the events, said Ralph Hardy, principal for Toombs County High School.
Students in Toombs County, about 160 miles southeast of Atlanta, have had segregated black and white proms since schools were integrated in 1971, said school board member Needum Rogers.
This year, a group of Hispanic students added their own prom, which was held Saturday - the day after the white students' event. Three weeks before that, black students held their prom.
Yuri Flores said she started pushing for a Hispanic prom after she tried to buy tickets for the white prom. A girl with the prom committee wanted to know if her date was white, black or Hispanic.
Her friend, a white student named Jennifer Hart, also was asked the same question.
"She told me that it was a white prom - not a Mexican prom, not a black prom," Hart told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "It made me feel mad. That's not right. I wanted to put my fist in her face."
Parents and students in a few counties in Georgia still organize separate proms for whites and blacks after school systems stopped sponsoring dances, in part because they wanted to avoid problems arising from interracial dating.
In Toombs County, there were no complaints from students after the three proms, Hardy said.
"All three had all three races. They were integrated," he said. "They were not exclusive. As far as I know, things went well."
Officials didn't know how many of the school's 270 seniors and juniors attended each of the proms.
Toombs County is 56 percent white, 31 percent black and 12 percent Hispanic.
Superintendent Kendall Brantley said it was up to the students to decide who they want to socialize with.
"People go out in various restaurants, and they like particular things when they get there. That's the way it is with kids. They pick and choose where they want to go and who they want to party with."
LYONS, Ga. - A high school in south Georgia held three different proms - one each for whites, blacks and Hispanics.
The proms for seniors and juniors were private parties, but some students attended more than one of the events, said Ralph Hardy, principal for Toombs County High School.
Students in Toombs County, about 160 miles southeast of Atlanta, have had segregated black and white proms since schools were integrated in 1971, said school board member Needum Rogers.
This year, a group of Hispanic students added their own prom, which was held Saturday - the day after the white students' event. Three weeks before that, black students held their prom.
Yuri Flores said she started pushing for a Hispanic prom after she tried to buy tickets for the white prom. A girl with the prom committee wanted to know if her date was white, black or Hispanic.
Her friend, a white student named Jennifer Hart, also was asked the same question.
"She told me that it was a white prom - not a Mexican prom, not a black prom," Hart told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "It made me feel mad. That's not right. I wanted to put my fist in her face."
Parents and students in a few counties in Georgia still organize separate proms for whites and blacks after school systems stopped sponsoring dances, in part because they wanted to avoid problems arising from interracial dating.
In Toombs County, there were no complaints from students after the three proms, Hardy said.
"All three had all three races. They were integrated," he said. "They were not exclusive. As far as I know, things went well."
Officials didn't know how many of the school's 270 seniors and juniors attended each of the proms.
Toombs County is 56 percent white, 31 percent black and 12 percent Hispanic.
Superintendent Kendall Brantley said it was up to the students to decide who they want to socialize with.
"People go out in various restaurants, and they like particular things when they get there. That's the way it is with kids. They pick and choose where they want to go and who they want to party with."
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