Segregated prom


A segregated prom refers to the practice in high schools in the United States, particularly in the South, of holding racial segregation in [the United States|racially segregated] proms for white and black students. Although such schools were officially integrated from the 1970s onward, the tradition of separate proms continued in certain areas. The practice has persisted in a few rural communities into the present day and has frequently attracted negative media attention as well as being depicted in several films.

History

Prior to the 1954 decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in Brown v. Board of Education, most schools in the southern United States were racially segregated. The process of integration of schools was slow, and many schools did not become integrated until the late 1960s and early 1970s. In order to avoid having to hold an integrated prom, many high schools stopped sponsoring any prom, and private segregated proms were organized as a replacement. Sometimes a concern over interracial dating was cited as the reason for not holding a single prom. Other schools cited liability concerns as the reason for not sponsoring a prom.
In addition to segregated proms, some schools have also elected black and white homecoming kings and queens, class officers, and even awarded separate black and white superlatives such as "Most Likely To Succeed." School sponsored separate events, including separate homecoming queens or superlatives, have been deemed to violate federal law by the United States Department of Justice.
In 1990, The [New York Times] reported that 10 counties in Georgia were still holding segregated proms. Though the practice has been reported to be on the decline since the 1980s, occasional press reports seem to show it persists in some rural locations. Since 1987, media sources have reported on segregated proms being held in the U.S. states of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Texas.
In two places in Georgia, the "black prom" was open to attendance by all students. Only the "white prom" was racially exclusive.
School alumni at schools which held segregated proms sometimes hold segregated class reunions as well.

Outside the Deep South

Even prior to integration in the South, there have been instances of segregated proms being held in integrated schools in the northern United States. In the late 1920s, for example, separate proms for blacks and whites are recorded as occurring at Froebel High School in Gary, Indiana.

Notable cases