A prom breaks a color barrier

A school in Ashburn, Ga., holds its first prom where blacks and whites mingle to music from country to hip-hop.

from the April 23, 2007 edition

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ASHBURN, Ga. - They went to kindergarten together, sharing crayons and sleeping carpets, chocolate milk and peanut butter sandwiches. They navigated the treacherous waters of adolescence, laughing their way through disastrous first dates and drivers ed. They gossiped about teachers, cried over broken hearts, and struggled with algebra.

For as long as Turner County High School's seniors can remember, they've always been together – black and white, rich and poor. And now less than a month from graduation, they wanted to be together one more time, experiencing one of high school's most sacred traditions: the prom.

In the process, their simple wish would shatter another time-honored tradition in Ashburn, Ga., and change history.

Although segregation ended in this farming community years ago, some say the old ways never truly died. And every spring, while schools around the country planned junior/senior proms, Turner County's parents and students planned two unofficial private proms – one for the white students, and one for the black.

Within the school's hallways, the parties weren't discussed. No posters were hung, no fliers distributed, no tickets sold. But everyone knew. It was so common that it was considered normal here in rural Georgia.

Because the parties are private, no one tracks the number of towns still holding separate proms, but most people here say fewer places seem to be continuing the practice. Still, Ashburn – population 4,400, home of the annual Fire Ant Festival, and the "world's largest peanut" monument – has clung stubbornly to tradition. Saturday night, that custom ended when 150 students gathered in Turner County Civic Center for the first school-sponsored, all-inclusive prom.

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