Segregation in the U.S.? Now?

It's the time of year when hope, and summer, springs eternal. To quote the song, Summertime, and the living is easy...

The school year is winding down: younger students look forward to end-of-year parties, both at home and during class-time, while high school students deal with finals and, possibly, proms.

Entire classes of prom-goers will gather in their finest to dance the night away. But in one small Georgia town, the high school had not one, but two proms. On the surface, one might think, two proms? How cool is that? Except that it isn't--not by a long shot.

On May 21, the New York Times reported that the class of 2009 at Montgomery County High School did, indeed, have two senior proms: On Friday, May 1, the white students had their prom; the following night, the black students had theirs.

Excuse me? Segregated proms? Does anyone else find this somehow disturbing? This is the twenty-first century, not the 1950s!

According to the article, while many rural Southern towns have traditionally had segregated proms, many communities have successfully pushed for change to this practice. Last year, Morgan Freeman offered to pay for an intergrated prom at Charleston High School in his home state of Mississippi, the students embraced the idea. (Hooray, Morgan! Yay, students!) However, several white parents were unhappy about an integrated prom and opted to have a privately-held competing prom.

Excuse me, but aren't parents supposed to teach? What, exactly, is this teaching?

According to the article, "interracial friendships are common at Montgomery County High School (New York Times, May 21, 2009, byline: Sara Corbett)."

It seems strange that in 2009, we still have segregated anything. And while retro might seem cool in many areas, this isn't one of them.

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To read the New York Times article, go to: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/magazine/24prom-t.html.