Prom Night in Mississippi

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.