Prom Night in Mississippi

There was something special about seeing this film at the Crossroads Film Festival in Jackson, Mississippi. There were some in the audience who did not know that proms were still segregated in some cities. Of course, they don't have to be segregated in Jackson because the vast majority of white students there attend private schools.

Be that as it may, this film makes it clear that racism is not an either-or proposition. There are some students who have black friends but would only date whites, a few who either by their own choice or under pressure from their parents will not attend an integrated prom, and one interracial couple who decide to become really public by going to the prom together. On one thing the students seem almost unanimous: separate proms is their parents' idea, not theirs.

Almost everyone seemed to be willing to talk to the film makers, except the small group of parents who organized their own whites-only prom. Perhaps the most powerful portion of the film is an interview with a white father who struggles with his own racist attitudes while refusing to give up on his daughter, whose boyfriend is black. I cannot think of a movie more likely to promote discussion about issues of race than Prom Night. And on top of that, it's just plain worth watching.

I remember my own high school prom back in 1975. I rented a tuxedo and put down a balance on a limousine. It was night to remember but with a month and a half to go it was not to be. I was dumped and alone with deposits that were non-refundable. Trivial by comparison as we shift to this documentary of a different nature. Distinguished veteran actor Morgan Freeman narrates this experiment in reintegration. Freeman has an idea to subsidize a high prom in his home town of Charleston, Mississippi where the black population is the vast majority. Interviews by students of both races are downright fascinating. The vitriol hatred from the white parents seems to be the cause to this on-going segregation. Narrator Freeman exclaims that, "One thing that surprised me most was that they have separate proms and separate homecoming queens -one white, one black. How stupid can that be?" This was not Freeman's first attempt at bringing the students of Charleston together. The school board after much consideration agreed to go ahead with the plan in revising it's racial policies and have the integrated prom. The documentary chronologically interviews white students, black students, black and white couples expressing their feelings and ridicule by their peers in anticipation of that special evening. I personally felt I was watching something out of the nineteenth century, post civil war south with the racial comments made. With all the modern conveniences and inventions mankind has produced racial prejudice remains to be stagnate. Were all human being here , Black, Brown, Yellow, White. Thought provoking I only wonder what's next. Gay's only proms? Transgender only proms?

This documentary clearly showed how racism is still prevalent in today's society. In a small Mississippi town, proms are still segregated despite the integrated class room. Morgan Freeman offers to pay for the prom if students choose to integrate it. When they do, all sorts of issues arise but they end up having fun at their senior prom. What parents say and do about it is astonishing and it shows that some places in America are still living in the past. Most kids were all for the integrated proms, however, some parents had strong opinions otherwise.

The documentary opened my eyes about how racism and discrimination is still a prominent sociological issue we face in everyday life. It followed the lives of these average Mississippi teenagers through the course of their senior integrated prom and shed light on how these slower pace communities and certain socioeconomic factors contribute to how people think about race. I feel like the director could have included more kids' opinions as well as additional parents' to really show the vast amount of different views and beliefs on blacks. I did like how they showed where the kids lived and showed the different sides of a white vs black. However, I enjoyed the documentary and learned a lot about discrimination.

Several months before I watched it I listened to Morgan Freeman do an interview about this film. That interview was fantastic and it sparked my interest in the film. Now that I've seen the film, I think I actually got more out of listening to the interview. Although there were some interesting moments, there wasn't enough drama throughout to make me really want to keep watching. While, I am glad the film was made for the sake of exposing the kind of racism that still exists in some areas, it's not a film I would recommend to everyone. It was well made but could have been more concise. It's probably best used as a classroom tool to generate discussion.

In 1970 Charleston, Mississippi, the white high school first allowed black students to attend but the parents kept the proms separated by race. In 1997, Morgan Freeman offered to pay for an integrated prom but was rejected. It's 2008 and hometown guy Freeman is trying again. The school is 70% black and 30% white. The school and the board accept. However, some white parents decide to keep the white prom going.

It's an eye-opening slice of the world. It's not something in the headlines but it's also something very telling. It's a lot of interviews with the kids but it's not terribly dramatic. Freeman makes the case early on but mostly keeps his hands off. This is definitely one-sided but I can't expect participation from the other side. That's kinda the point. There is one parent of a white girl dating a black boy and that's a good look at the tip of the iceberg. It's a really interesting story but the failure to get the 'other side' limits its effectiveness.