# Racially segregated High School reunions - Is it a big deal or not? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 20, 2004, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racially-segregated-high-school-reunions-is-it-a-big-deal-or-not/265061 "2004-09-20T00:22:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2004, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racially-segregated-high-school-reunions-is-it-a-big-deal-or-not/265061/1 "2004-09-20T00:22:17Z")
Per this local story, should shere be an attempt to re-blend segregated graduating classes or would it be kind of pointless at this time? [Reunion excludes black alumni](http://www.delmarvanow.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040919/NEWS01/409190309/1002) > [@](#): > > PRINCESS ANNE – The decorations are elaborate. Floor-to-ceiling paintings of shiny soda fountains, period cars alongside all the old store windows downtown. A stoop juts out from a rendering of the high school facade, so alumni can sit and talk – just like the old days. > > But just like the old days, not everyone in town is invited. > > No one who graduated after 1969, when Washington High School opened its doors to black students, was asked to attend this class reunion. > > Organizers call it a “Grand Homecoming” for graduates from the 1940s, '50s and ’ 60s to gather in Somerset County and celebrate their youth. The event, last held in 1999, draws about 700 alumni. > > There’s nothing negative about it, said Mickey Wigglesworth, who has spent the last year organizing this year’s event, scheduled for Saturday. He painted the murals and has spent years gathering antique memorabilia to display in the ballroom of the Somerset County Civic Center. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2004, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racially-segregated-high-school-reunions-is-it-a-big-deal-or-not/265061/2 "2004-09-20T01:01:42Z")
I’m not seeing this as a problem. It’s not like they invited the whites who graduated in 1973 and not the blacks. They just picked a cut-off date that “coincidentally” coincided with the integration of the school. Nothing illegal about that. No discrimination either. By the way, what state is this in? I couldn’t find a mention in the article. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2004, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racially-segregated-high-school-reunions-is-it-a-big-deal-or-not/265061/3 "2004-09-20T01:32:50Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > I’m not seeing this as a problem. It’s not like they invited the whites who graduated in 1973 and not the blacks. They just picked a cut-off date that “coincidentally” coincided with the integration of the school. Nothing illegal about that. No discrimination either. > > By the way, what state is this in? I couldn’t find a mention in the article. [Princess Anne, in Somerset County Maryland](http://www.townofprincessanne.com/) ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2004, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racially-segregated-high-school-reunions-is-it-a-big-deal-or-not/265061/4 "2004-09-20T01:37:23Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > I’m not seeing this as a problem. It’s not like they invited the whites who graduated in 1973 and not the blacks. They just picked a cut-off date that “coincidentally” coincided with the integration of the school. Nothing illegal about that. No discrimination either. Of course it’s discriminatory. Why do you think they set the cutoff date at 1969? It wasn’t in honor of the Miracle Mets. The date was picked to keep the colored folks out - to celebrate those “good old days,” as the article put it. I’m sure it’s LEGAL, because you can throw a party for anyone you want. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2004, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racially-segregated-high-school-reunions-is-it-a-big-deal-or-not/265061/5 "2004-09-20T01:44:03Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Of course it’s discriminatory. Why do you think they set the cutoff date at 1969? It wasn’t in honor of the Miracle Mets. The date was picked to keep the colored folks out - to celebrate those “good old days,” as the article put it. > > I’m sure it’s LEGAL, because you can throw a party for anyone you want. I hate to admit this, but I _completely_ missed the signficance of that specific date choice being conveniently _just_ before the integrated classes began. I was just asking a generic question about the issue of blended reunions. I see your point… now. Sneaky bastards. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2004, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racially-segregated-high-school-reunions-is-it-a-big-deal-or-not/265061/6 "2004-09-20T01:49:06Z")
I don’t think it _is_ discriminatory. It is\* intended\* to have a discriminatory effect, true. But unless they invited whites and not blacks from subsequent classes, it is not in and of itself discriminatory. ---
**Author:** ![Priam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/77aa72/32.png) [@Priam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Priam)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2004, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racially-segregated-high-school-reunions-is-it-a-big-deal-or-not/265061/7 "2004-09-20T02:02:40Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > I don’t think it _is_ discriminatory. It is\* intended\* to have a discriminatory effect, true. But unless they invited whites and not blacks from subsequent classes, it is not in and of itself discriminatory. Umm. They chose the date specifically to exclude any black students from attending. Intent colors act. If they had chosen an earlier date for some symbolic reason (like, say, the destruction of the old school and building of a new one) then I don’t think anyone would claim discrimination. They didn’t. You can argue semantics, but I call the intent rather slimy and passive-aggressively loathsome. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2004, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racially-segregated-high-school-reunions-is-it-a-big-deal-or-not/265061/8 "2004-09-20T02:15:17Z")
No argument from me, because their intent is obvious. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2004, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racially-segregated-high-school-reunions-is-it-a-big-deal-or-not/265061/9 "2004-09-20T03:31:41Z")
1969 is also “coincidentally” the end of the 1960s. If it’s a reunion for alumni from the 40s, 50s, and 60s… I dunno. Can someone tell me something to make me stop thinking about the “have you ever been called a racist for no good reason” thread, I’d appreciate it. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2004, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racially-segregated-high-school-reunions-is-it-a-big-deal-or-not/265061/10 "2004-09-20T07:26:45Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Nothing illegal about that. No discrimination either. Discrimination means telling the difference between things and making choices on that difference. This is discrimination, and I find it hard to argue that it’s not racial discrimination. It’s probably not illegal, though, I would guess. ---
**Author:** ![Matchstick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@Matchstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Matchstick)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2004, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racially-segregated-high-school-reunions-is-it-a-big-deal-or-not/265061/11 "2004-09-20T11:21:04Z")
My favorite part: > [@](#): > > Wigglesworth says the Grand Homecoming is not about politics or race. He sees it as a gathering of students from three decades who share music and culture. The detailed decorations capture the era of sock hops and jukeboxes, he said. > > “This would have no appeal to them,” he said of the post-1969 grads. Right. Because the music and culture of 1969 is much more similar to that of 1940 than that of 1970. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2004, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racially-segregated-high-school-reunions-is-it-a-big-deal-or-not/265061/12 "2004-09-20T15:36:41Z")
I had a discussion with one of good ‘ol boys in my office this morning (and he is he is a _good_ ol’ boy) and happened to mention the story. He is invited to the reunion mentioned in the article. He just laughed and laughed when I asked him if the cut off date was abitrary or not. “C’mon what do _you_ think?” was his response after he composed himself. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2004, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racially-segregated-high-school-reunions-is-it-a-big-deal-or-not/265061/13 "2004-09-23T00:16:35Z")
Hey. We’re in the news! (not good news though) Drudge (via the AP) has picked the item up now. Never say I didn’t give you guys a head start! 😛 [All-White High School Reunion Saddens Some](http://asia.news.yahoo.com/040922/ap/d858rueo0.html) ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2004, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racially-segregated-high-school-reunions-is-it-a-big-deal-or-not/265061/14 "2004-09-23T02:57:14Z")
Looking over the article now, this seems like the really bad part: > [@](#): > > Whittington said he is less irritated by the Grand Homecomings than he is by the distribution of scholarship money raised at the event. A total of $9,500 has been awarded in 19 scholarships, but only to children of alumni who graduated before integration. If they’re going to have an all-white part _and_ use it as a fundraising event for a de facto all-white scholarship, they should stop pretending it’s simply about shared sock hop nostalgia. Surely they could have a nice party and exchange memories while raising money to help the kids of all alumni, not just those invited to the Grand Homecoming. ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2004, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racially-segregated-high-school-reunions-is-it-a-big-deal-or-not/265061/15 "2004-09-23T03:19:25Z")
> [@Sattua](#): > > 1969 is also “coincidentally” the end of the 1960s. If it’s a reunion for alumni from the 40s, 50s, and 60s… That ain’t no coincidence, and in part because it isn’t true. The _actual_ last year of the 60s was 1970. [Cecil spake.](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_376.html) ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2004, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racially-segregated-high-school-reunions-is-it-a-big-deal-or-not/265061/16 "2004-09-23T03:24:31Z")
Sickening discrimination. They ought to be ashamed. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2004, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racially-segregated-high-school-reunions-is-it-a-big-deal-or-not/265061/17 "2004-09-23T03:50:14Z")
At the end of the Grand Homecoming, do they name the Grand Wizard? ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2004, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racially-segregated-high-school-reunions-is-it-a-big-deal-or-not/265061/18 "2004-09-23T04:21:46Z")
> [@pravnik](#): > > At the end of the Grand Homecoming, do they name the Grand Wizard? LOL! ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2004, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racially-segregated-high-school-reunions-is-it-a-big-deal-or-not/265061/19 "2004-09-23T04:41:37Z")
An anecdote from personal experience, to illustrate a point. My ex-wife was a Hispanic American from a small town in South Texas. Now, her graduating class was almost equally divided between whites and Hispanics. From what my ex told me, there was never any hostility between the two groups. Nobody ever used ethnic slurs, everybody got along, and on the rare occasions that a white guy would date a Hispanic girl (or vice versa), nobody much cared. But… there was very little intermingling. Nobody TOLD white kids to stick with white kids and Hispanic kids to stay with their own kind, but self-segregation was the norm. When there was a class trip, nobody TOLD the white kids to go to one bus and the Hispanic kids to go to the other… but there always ended up being a white bus and a brown bus. Nobody told the kids to sit only with their own kind in the cafeteria, but they always did. Nobody told white kids to invite only other white kids to their parties, and nobody told Hispanic kids “Don’t invite any gringos,” but in the end, parties were all-white or all-brown. Was this a shame? In some ways, I suppose it was. But to the kids, it was a matter of both comfort and practicality. The white kids all liked country music, the Hispanics all liked heavy metal. So, on the “white” bus, the kids all played kicker music on their boomboxes, while the Hispanic kids played Judas Priest and Iron Maiden on the “brown” bus. The white kids all liked barbecue and chicken fried steak, while the Hispanic kids liked tacos, enchiladas and fajitas. By having parties separately, both groups got to eat the foods they liked. And the Hispanic kids could break into Spanish (or, more accurately, Tex-Mex) without anyone feeling left out). Why all this background? So my observations regarding the reunion will make more sense. Almost everyone on my ex’s reunion planning committee was white. That was reflected in the food served and the music played. The band played nothing but country! And when they were requested by Hispanic alumni (and by ME!!!) to play some rock and roll, they responded by playing (no joke!) “Blueberry Hill”! Suffice it to say that, while everyone was invited to the reunion, only half the attendees had any fun. So, perhaps you think some compromise was in order? Perhaps they could have hired a DJ who could play 50% white music and 50% brown music? But what would that accomplish, except to guarantee that half the crowd would be bored to tears half the time? I can’t read the minds of the reunion planners cited in the OP. It’s entirely possible they’re just ignorant bigots who hate blacks and don’t want to associate with them. But sadly, it’s just as possible that they simply want to have a party with their kind of music, their kind of food, and their kind of fun activities. SUPPOSE that’s all there is too it. Are the reunion planners still evil? Do we have an obligation to socialize with people we have nothing in common with? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2004, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racially-segregated-high-school-reunions-is-it-a-big-deal-or-not/265061/20 "2004-09-23T04:53:59Z")
I think we’re not giving the fine alumni of Princess Anne enough credit. After all, setting the date at 1969 was a compromise. They originally wanted to set the calendar back to 1865. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racially-segregated-high-school-reunions-is-it-a-big-deal-or-not/265061.md?page=2)