Sometimes Fairy Tales Do Come True

Act #119:  Tell your kids about this fairy tale.

Once upon a time in a small Georgian town, there was a place where young people of all different colors gathered daily, a place called Wilcox High School. 

Note:  Last month, my blog "How We May All Be Contributing to Segregation"
(http://plainjaneactivism.blogspot.com/2013/04/how-we-all-may-be-contributing-to.html) challenged us to think about the unintended choices we may be making to self-segregate - prompted by Wilcox High School's history of  holding annual segregated proms -  one for black students and one for white students. The school district hasn't financially supported a prom in 30 years, leaving students to raise money for the events themselves.

Every year, the townspeople threw grand opulent balls to commemorate an annual rite of passage to prepare them for life beyond the great walls of Wilcox.  Every year, citizens of Wilcox with brown skin danced together one weekend, while citizens of Wilcox with white skin danced together separately on a different weekend.  This had been going on since their mother's and father's, grandmother's and grandfather's time.  So many people thought that this was strange, but no one ever questioned it because they were afraid of change.  One day, four heroic young girls - two brown and two white, found the courage to stand up to the kingdom.  They took matters into their own hands and began organizing one grand inclusive ball where brown people and white people could dance together.  Their efforts gained the respect from the great wizard of Facebook, who helped them raise enough funds for this new and exciting ball  And just this weekend, more than half of Wilcox High came together and danced, for the first time ever, in an event that was sure to make history. 

 

Now that's a fairy tale happy ending I can support.  Princess ball gowns, patriarchal dating rituals, coronations and all.   And of course no good fairy tale goes without a villain to demonstrate the age-old battle between good and evil.  Despite this wonderful turn of events, a non-sanctioned all-white prom still took place...organized by a group of white parents.  Happily ever after can't come soon enough.

 

Fairy tales can come true, it can happen to you
If you're young at heart.
For it's hard, you will find, to be narrow of mind
If you're young at heart.

You can go to extremes with impossible schemes.
You can laugh when your dreams fall apart at the seams.
And life gets more exciting with each passing day.
And love is either in your heart, or on it's way.

Don't you know that it's worth every treasure on earth
To be young at heart.
For as rich as you are, it's much better by far
To be young at heart.

And if you should survive to 105,
Look at all you'll derive out of being alive!
And here is the best part, you have a head start
If you are among the very young at heart.

 

~ Frank Sinatra, Young at Heart