Prom Night In Mississippi

Director: Paul Saltzman
Producers: Paul Saltzman, Patracia Aquino
Release Date: November 13, 2009
Length: 1 hour, 30 minutes

It is almost impossible to imagine that in the year of 2008, in the United States there would still be segregated proms. Believe it. It is widely known that racism is still occurring in the states. Some places like the town of Charleston, Mississippi just haven’t accepted that things are changing. This town has a population of roughly 2000 people. 70% of these people are black and 30% are white. The history of this town has unfortunately led to generations of blacks hating whites and whites hating blacks. Most of the teenagers attending Charleston High School are in fact not racist, and lots of them are friends with each other. The parents and older people of this town, however, have not accepted modern times and are worried what would happen if they let an integrated prom take place. This is where the legendary celebrity comes in to save the day. Academy Award winner Morgan Freeman was born and raised in the town of Charleston, Mississippi and thinks “it’s complete idiocy that this is still happening”. In 1997, he made an offer to Charleston High School to fully pay for an integrated prom. He was refused. More than 10 years later in 2008, Freeman offered again. This time he was accepted. It is extremely entertaining to see how when Morgan Freeman walks into a room, everyone goes silent and listens to everything he has to say. In a particular scene, when Freeman is conversing with the school board, the audience can pick up on the fact that the head of the school board is freaked out of his mind and is too intimidated to say anything. It certainly makes you wonder if this town could have ever established an integrated prom without the help of someone as famous as Morgan Freeman. Canadian director, Paul Saltzman captures the entire process of planning and preparing for this segregated prom. He does an incredible job of getting different perspectives on what’s going on, especially from the kids who have been taught by their parents to be racist, but know it’s not right. This eye-opening documentary shows us that something as simple as a prom can end up revolutionizing the beliefs and views of a town. If there are other towns like Charleston that still have racial problems, hopefully they can heal these problems without the help of a celebrity. Prom Night in Mississippi is an incredible, moving film that quite clearly shows that racism is no longer a good enough reason to prevent future generations of different races from getting along.