[Kamikaze] Prom Night | Jackson Free Press | Jackson, MS

[Kamikaze] Prom Night

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Brad Franklin

Wounds are funny things. Even the smallest ones oftentimes take months to heal. Ironically, sometimes in order to for them to heal, they have to be reopened, exposed to air and light for everyone to see. That ugliness makes some who view it uncomfortable. But ultimately it's necessary for closure.

Yep, race in your face. Again. In this new round of race discussions, I've found the antibody to be none other than our young people. But just as they have begun to make efforts to let these old racial wounds breathe and subsequently heal, I've found that some parents in Mississippi wish to just keep the bandage over the sore and forget it's there.

I had the pleasure of meeting some of those said young people a few days ago in Grenada. Morgan Freeman (yes, that Morgan Freeman), Thabi Moyo and a film crew shooting a ground-breaking documentary called "Prom Night'' asked me to be a part of their film and perform for Charleston High School's prom at Holmes Community College. Nothing out of the ordinary, right? Thing is, this wasn't just any prom. In the year 2008, this was Charleston High's first integrated prom—the first time that black and white students danced and partied together in this traditional right of passage. Sad.

But what's even sadder is the opposition that the crew says they have gotten from a few parents. One parent, in particular, has gone as far as calling the Mississippi Department of Education with claims of harassment by the film crew. That same parent pushed to have the all-white prom continue as planned three weeks ago. The crew was asked by Batesville police to leave when they came to get footage.

Bottom line? The idea of separate proms in this day and age is ridiculous. In fact, as a proud Mississippian, it's embarrassing. My hat goes off to Freeman for putting his money where his mouth is by funding the prom in an effort to improve race relations. Thanks to Moyo and the film crew for exposing that wound to light. And kudos to those kids for having more courage and conviction than some of their parents did. They have chosen to help truly heal that wound. And if we truly hope to change things, we have to stop parents—white and black—from passing on the poison of hate and separation to our kids. This is yet another instance where the adults should take a cue from us "whippersnappers." I was honored to be a part of it.

And that's the truth ... sho-nuff.

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