Prom puts end to segregation

Teachers and parents had refused to break the county's 40-year tradition. Photo / Thinkstock

Teenagers in a pocket of rural Georgia have held their first integrated school prom, ending decades of racial segregation that kept black and white pupils apart.

The inaugural "Love Has No Colour" event was organised by a group of four school-leavers from Wilcox County High School in Rochelle. "We live in rural south Georgia, where not too many things change," the group said. "We want to make a difference."

Teachers and parents had refused to break the county's 40-year tradition of separate proms classified as private events organised by parents. The so-called "white prom" went ahead this month. Parents who sent their children to it have previously told reporters that the ongoing separation is justified because black and white pupils enjoy different types of music.