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Prom Night
Apr. 3rd, 2009 03:13 pmToday, we saw Prom Night in Mississippi (also promnightinmississippi.com). This documentary tells about a small town high school in Mississippi that has held separate black and white proms. Morgan Freeman (who was born in that area) offered to pay for the prom if the prom were integrated.
There were two things that I found incredibly amazing about all this. First off, there are still places where racism is so rampant even in the year 2008 that white parents didn't want their children going to a prom where black kids would be present, even though all these kids are in the same classes every day at school.
What I found even more amazing, though, was how well spoken the kids were. I don't believe the film showed any footage of the people who actually opposed the prom (including the small number of white students who wouldn't go to the integrated prom), so I can't tell you how smart or eloquent they were. But all the kids they showed on the film (who were all supporters of the integrated prom) were very well spoken and often insightful. I know that I would not have been as well spoken or composed in front of a camera when I was that age!
Yes, there were times when I wish that the movie had subtitles (I don't understand deep southern drawl very well), but even the kids who were obviously not the "college-bound overachievers" were well spoken and obviously had thought about things.
When I feel despair over the progress of gay rights in this country, sometimes seeing how racism is still a major issue makes me despair even more. But then I see how the majority of the kids are overcoming the prejudices of their parents, and I start to believe that we just need to wait for a generation or two to die off and things will get much better.
[I forgot to mention that one kid in the school appears in the movie only blurred out -- he was afraid that his parents would disown him for not being racist. Just about every gay kid in America knows how he feels.]
There were two things that I found incredibly amazing about all this. First off, there are still places where racism is so rampant even in the year 2008 that white parents didn't want their children going to a prom where black kids would be present, even though all these kids are in the same classes every day at school.
What I found even more amazing, though, was how well spoken the kids were. I don't believe the film showed any footage of the people who actually opposed the prom (including the small number of white students who wouldn't go to the integrated prom), so I can't tell you how smart or eloquent they were. But all the kids they showed on the film (who were all supporters of the integrated prom) were very well spoken and often insightful. I know that I would not have been as well spoken or composed in front of a camera when I was that age!
Yes, there were times when I wish that the movie had subtitles (I don't understand deep southern drawl very well), but even the kids who were obviously not the "college-bound overachievers" were well spoken and obviously had thought about things.
When I feel despair over the progress of gay rights in this country, sometimes seeing how racism is still a major issue makes me despair even more. But then I see how the majority of the kids are overcoming the prejudices of their parents, and I start to believe that we just need to wait for a generation or two to die off and things will get much better.
[I forgot to mention that one kid in the school appears in the movie only blurred out -- he was afraid that his parents would disown him for not being racist. Just about every gay kid in America knows how he feels.]