Prom Night in Mississippi

Tom's Corner:

"Prom Night In Mississippi" (2009, Paul Saltzman Dir)

This one's going to be a little different.

In 1997, Morgan Freeman, a local resident, spoke to the senior class and school board of Charleston High School about their senior prom. It seems Charleston has never had an integrated prom. Mr. Freeman offered to pay for the entire prom if it was integrated. In 1997, the offer was refused. In 2008, the offer was extended again. This time, the school board chose to take his offer to the students. The majority of students overwhelmingly embraced the offer. Some students, though mostly parents, decided to hold a whites only prom at a separate location. These segregationists (there is no other word for what they are) refused to appear on camera or talk on record to anyone involved in the production.

We see what it's like to be both black and white in the deep South. There is one interracial couple who can't really even date due to their parents. There is another young lady whose parents forbid her to have black friends. The prom is planned with little controversy, except for one racist young lady's unfounded claim that she was threatened by black students. Unsurprisingly, her mother is the true force behind the white prom.

What we really see here is a dissection of the small-town American South. Saltzman attempts to offer all points of view, but many of the segregationists flat-out refuse to appear on camera. This does not hurt the documentary in the least; in actuality, it actually keeps the documentary on a more positive track. This is vital viewing, folks.

- Tom