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Georgia school holds 1st integrated prom


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By Elliott Minor

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May 4, 2002 | COLUMBUS, Ga. (AP) -- Taylor County High School ended a decades-old tradition Friday night when young couples -- black and white -- arrived in gowns and tuxedos for the school's first integrated prom.

"I think it's perfect," said junior Candice Grimsley, who is white. "We go to school with these people every day. Why shouldn't we have (the prom) together?"

Many Southern schools have kept social activities segregated years after court-ordered integration 31 years ago. Though some schools still crown dual homecoming queens or have separate social clubs, Taylor County High School was one of the last to hold separate proms.

Students at the school, located in a county of 8,800 midway between Columbus and Macon in central Georgia, voted overwhelmingly to hold an integrated prom this year.