Off-Topic: Nearly A Half-Century AFTER The Civil Rights Act of 1964 Became The Law Of The Land...

. . .tonight, in rural Georgia, Wilcox County's Public (i.e., state, and federally-funded) High School will hold its first prom open to black students, together with white students. And the students had to organize it themselves, and pay for it, themselves. [Are there no responsible adults in Wilcox County?]


This "integrated" prom occurs two weeks after the white one. You read that right: No black student received an invitation to the official white prom. Not one.

I'll simply observe that this is entirely the fault of the parents of Wilcox County, Georgia -- many of whom have lived there since the Civil Rights Act became law. None of them wanted to rock the boat -- I gather. Shameful.

Here's a bit of the Times' story -- do go read it all:

. . . .Mareshia Rucker watched in frustration last weekend as several dozen classmates in tuxedos and gowns walked into an Art Deco theater for her high school’s “white prom.”
Like all black students at Wilcox County High School, she was not invited. The rural county in central Georgia is one of the last pockets in the country with racially segregated proms. . . .

But this weekend, after decades of separate proms for white students and black students, Wilcox County will have its first integrated prom. Organized by students, it is open to all, at a ballroom in nearby Cordele. Nearly half of the school’s 380 students have registered, with roughly equal numbers of black students and white students. . . .

I'll say no more. The thing speaks for itself (res ispa loquitur) -- but it is at least 50 years overdue.

Thankfully, some 25,000 Facebook fans have helped defray the costs -- so, yes, the nation is behind you, Miss Rucker!

Back to the main topics of this blog come Monday -- but here's to the great kids of the Class of 2013 in Wilcox County -- Well Done! The entire nation is proud of you! I'll close with a toast to you -- from my Black Irish forebearers: "Here's to our noble selves -- God knows, there're few like us. . . and few. . . like us!"