Wilcox County Prom

When Georgia integrated in the 1960's Wilcox County made a decision not to hold a prom for its seniors. Since that decision kids have organized proms that were, for the most part, segregated. This year a group of seniors have decided to hold a prom that crossed racial boundaries and I think its wonderful.

The problem is that folks in the metro Atlanta area and even more from outside the state want to make a big deal about the choices of the kids in Wilcox County and turn it into a problem of the county's school system.  The kids have chosen for years to hold two proms. Since the school system does not support either one, nor the system that creates them, its fine with me. Its fine with Nathan Deal as well because he believes that government should not interfere in a private matter.

In fact, Governor Deal said, "I believe that anything that’s associated with a school should not have the distinction or discrimination made based on race or gender or any other separation..." Hooray for the Governor. One site took exception to Governor Deal and wrote, "The reason we have civil rights law is because we understand that certain private actions, such as race and gender discrimination, wound our society so deeply that they cease to be a merely private concern." (thinkprogress.org)

Well, that's not quite right, and I think that 100 Black Men of Atlanta might have a problem with that definition of Civil Rights. Rev. King fought hard for the government to rid itself of the specter of "separate but equal"  that really meant "separate but un-equal." Society has come a long way from the days of segregation, and its time to start realizing that the days of bigotry and racism, are history. There still are racists and bigots, and there always will be, but I can't believe that a county that elects its first black President can be considered racist or bigoted.

Some kids in Wilcox County have decided to hold an integrated prom for 2013. I support their decision and hope that all involved have a great time. We really need to get behind this positive change and let history be history.