Segregation in the United States? In 2009?!?!

Only a short week ago, if I was asked if it was legal in the United States of America if there as still legal segregation in America I would have replied no; then I read this article in the New York Times (so you know it is legitimate) In the month of May, students all over the United States start to prepare for their proms. While most schools have one prom per year, some have too. On May 1st, 2009 a school in Montgomery County in Georgia had their annual white only prom.  Yes, you did not misread that statement,  they had a white only prom (pictured above). The following night they had their black prom (which white students are allowed to attend).  While some may not believe it, there is still racism as well as racial inequality in America. One may wonder how it is possible to have a segregated prom, the answer is that the prom is not school funded, it is privately funded and that is how it has been going on for so long. I was reminded of this article when we were given our final exam question, whether we believe there is progress in America or not. I'm fairly certain most Americans would be very surprised to hear that there are segregated proms in 2009! Segregated proms have been a tradition in the Montgomery county schools in Georgia since schools were desegregated in 1971. 

"'It’s awkward,” acknowledges JonPaul Edge, a senior who is white. “I have as many black friends as I do white friends. We do everything else together. We hang out. We play sports together. We go to class together. I don’t think anybody at our school is racist.' Trying to explain the continued existence of segregated proms, Edge falls back on the same reasoning offered by a number of white students and their parents. 'It’s how it’s always been,' he says. 'It’s just a tradition.'" That was a quote I found interesting from the article. It is ridiculous that these white students can call the African American students their friends, yet they do not care that their prom is segregated. While the white students do not seem to think there is a problem with this, the black students do. You can hear students and parents from both sides talk about the problem by clicking here. One of the black students, Kera Nobles, feels extremely hurt that she cannot share her senior prom with her best friend, who is white, and that her friend does not seem to care. This article relates to our myths and mythologies unit because there is a myth in America that because Barack Obama is president, racism is dead in America. That is clearly a myth, racism is not dead. However, how can these people have a segregated prom if Barack Obama is president. The myth makes sense because you would think that if we can elect a black president we can have desegregated proms.