Black and White Kids Play Together Down South!

So, we all know how public schools are just set up in such a way that most of our white kids are far better educated than most of our black kids. This has to do with school funding, property taxes and such. This system maintains the cycle of poverty in black communities, and it has for decades. However, many years ago public schools were supposed to at the very least be making an effort to be racially integrated. It occurs to me that, even now, they are not even paying lip service to this requirement in some parts of the country.

This post on the Women's Bioethics Blog really got me upset. It discusses the implications of Charleston, Mississippi's first integrated prom. And I'm not talking about ancient history here; this first integrated prom happened in June. June 2008!

Apparently even though the school (like all Mississippi schools) officially integrated back in 1970 (close to 40 years ago for those counting!) the school was maintaining a system of racially segregated proms, both organized privately. It sounds an awful lot like the school was paying extra to maintain a status quo of racism and bigotry. So Charleston native Morgan Freeman has been offering since 1997 now to pay for the school's prom, if only they would allow all the kids to attend it. Finally, the school accepted.

I'm tempted to view the school's eventual acceptance of this offer as a step in the right direction with regard to the racial divide, but some of the white parents were opposed to this plan and wanted to continue having private proms for their precious white children. Of course I realize there will always be a few racist assholes and we apparently just have to learn to live with them, but it seems more systemic down in Mississippi, when I read stories like this. Why have they been holding segregated proms all this time? And why are they finally integrating, at the pressure (and with the money) of Morgan Freeman, only now?

I'll admit I'm from down south and most of my family continue to be loud & proud racists but I really thought we had dealt institutionalized racism a blow with forced integration. Apparently I was wrong. Maybe I am insulated from this because I now live in the north? Or because I run in circles that abhor racism and oppression in general? Or is it simply because I haven't been paying attention?

And if its the latter, how many others aren't paying attention? We all need to get out butts up and fight for what's right. History isn't important to maintain just because it's history, after all. Much of our American history is straight up embarrassing, and better left behind.