User Panel
Posted: 9/22/2004 11:49:29 AM EDT
OK, maybe I am missing something here, but if the reunion was for classes from the 40's, 50's and 60's then why are folks from the other years all bitter?? Should I be able to attend the Class Reunions from 20 years before I attended my high school? Would you want to? WTF?
Yahoo!News Story By GRETCHEN PARKER, Associated Press Writer PRINCESS ANNE, Md. - The ballroom is decorated with floor-to-ceiling paintings of shiny soda fountains, classic cars and the old store windows downtown. A stoop juts out from a rendering of the high school facade, so graduates can sit and talk — just like in the old days. And just like in the old days, not everyone in town is invited. The reunion Saturday is only for those who graduated from Washington High School before it opened its doors to black students in the fall of 1969. Some black leaders say the all-white reunion is sad and painful evidence that 50 years after the U.S. Supreme Court (news - web sites) outlawed school segregation, some things have not changed all that much in this community on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay. "It's just as divided as it's ever been," said Leon Johnson, a black political activist who worked behind the scenes in Somerset County in 1960s. "The old folks did a good job of teaching the young ones, of teaching them the old system." Organizers call the reunion a "Grand Homecoming" for graduates from the 1940s, '50s and '60s. The event, last held in 1999, draws about 700 alumni. It is independently organized and is not affiliated with the public school system. Mickey Wigglesworth, a retired banker and 1957 graduate who has spent the past year organizing the event at the Somerset County Civic Center, said there was no intent to exclude blacks. Instead, he said, it is a gathering of students from three decades who share music and culture from the era of sock hops and jukeboxes. "This would have no appeal to them," he said of the post-1969 grads. The integrated post-1969 classes at Washington High hold their own reunions periodically, but they are smaller and are not promoted as community events. The Grand Homecoming, by contrast, gets a weekly mention on the front of the county newspaper's style section, under old photos of the boys' basketball teams and girls' softball teams. A colorful flier posted downtown asks Washington High graduates up to 1969 to "Travel back in time to those good, old years." "We're still a divided county," said Kirkland Hall, a former president of the county's NAACP chapter and a 1969 graduate of Princess Anne's black high school, Somerset High. Of the county's 25,000 residents, 41 percent are black. The Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education came down in 1954, but it was another 15 years before any schools in Somerset County integrated. The 1960s saw fierce, sometimes violent, resistance to integration in restaurants and in public facilities across the Eastern Shore. Fiery riots broke out in the town of Cambridge in 1963. In 1964, students at the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore campus in Princess Anne — then known as the all-black Maryland State College — were driven back with firehoses when they marched into town to protest segregation. Princess Anne, the site of Maryland's last lynching in 1933, did not integrate any public buildings until 1964. Not until 1968 did any white schools on the Eastern Shore open to black students. "It would be nice if the class of 1969 of both schools would have a reunion. We might have something in common," Hall said, adding after a pause: "I don't think too many people would be up to the idea." Hall's friends from Somerset High have urged him to organize an all-black reunion that could rival the Grand Homecoming in size. But Hall said: "I don't think that's the way to go." H. DeWayne Whittington, a 1948 graduate of what was then called Crisfield Colored High School, eventually became the first black superintendent of Somerset County schools, in 1988. He won a lawsuit against the county four years later when it did not renew his contract, and the system was forced to name a school for him. 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. Whittington has helped organize relatively small, multiyear reunions that raise $3,000 annually in scholarships for the children of black alumni. "It came to that point," he said, "because blacks found that out and said, `Let's try to do something for our kids.'" The separate reunions are a symptom of a lack of black political leadership in the county, Whittington said. No black politicians have pressed for a stop to the practice. Blacks held few public offices on the Eastern Shore before Hall sued the state in 1993 to keep out-of-town property owners from voting in municipal elections. It was not until 1999 that a black politician was elected to the state Legislature from the Eastern Shore. Of the racial divide, Hall said: "It's one of those things I've been fighting so long, I'm just tired." |
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These "people" are insane! |
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Hmm, thats odd.
I grew up in WV, the highschool, middle school & grade school was 100% WHITE. no blacks, chinese, mexicans, no ethnic person of any other country at our school. So dunno why ppl get so upset, if there was no other ppl of color that year, than so what. |
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Just more evidence that Queeryland doesn't want me, a white male, in their state.
Good riddance. Rot in your own filth. -LS |
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Goddamnit, because they have a high-school reunion that has no black people BECAUSE NO BLACK PEOPLE GRADUATED FROM THAT HIGH-SCHOOL THAT YEAR, they're racist?
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The way I read it, they are having a reunion not for just one year, but essentially for all of the years that were from when the school was all white. It does appear that they are doing it in a way to specifically exclude blacks. I support their right to do whatever they want, but it does seem like it is in not being done in a friendly way. Why not have a reunion that includes all graduates? |
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1970 was a different time apparently..... |
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What about all the post-1969 white, hispanic, asian, european, etc students? They are all excluded too.
No article. |
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To be fair, I think there are "Black-Only" high school reunions just like there are "Black-Only" proms.
GunLvr |
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High school kids segregate themselves. Always have, always will. Doesn't mean they don't get along if forced to interact, but socially, they're different groups. Just the way it is.
But you'll always find someone that's upset about something. That's also....just the way it is. |
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It's not for that year. It's for all the years prior to the cutoff year of 1969. Put in that context, yes, it could be construed as whites only. |
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....but again I ask:
What about all the post-1969 white, hispanic, asian, european, etc students? They are excluding the totality of the classes post-1969. |
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The article is somewhat conflicted. It says that the school opened it's doors to black students in '69. If in fact blacks attended the school in '69 and the official cutoff for the reunion in '68 then I'd say it's race based; what other reason would there be to have the '68 cutoff.
If on the other hand there were no black students in '69 and it's simply a "before 1970" reunion then I'd say it's just a coincidence that it's the same year as integration. I believe some districts around the country integrated earlier, and some later. |
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Really? So ONLY black kids went to the school post 1968? Post 1969? |
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"The reunion Saturday is only for those who graduated from Washington High School before it opened its doors to black students in the fall of 1969. " Yes. At that school no black people attended prior to the fall of 1969. ETA: I didn't quite read Shivan reply correctly. The school was desegregated in 1969. |
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Pretty soon all these pre- '69 bigots will be in walkers and wheel-chairs or 6 ft under. Minimum age would be around 53.
edit: upon further thought "why would anyone want to hang around with these people, especially if they obviously don't want you? Not that I believe that .gov should be in the school business as heavy as it is. Teachers themselves agree and send their kids to private school in disproportionate numbers and you can't get one congressperson to send their kid to public school in Washington D.C. www.dailynews.com/Stories/0,1413,200~24781~2399249,00.html |
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If and when my Sanford, Maine High School class has a reunion, you will find one Black, one Puerto Rican, and 2 Cambodians, the rest are all white. The Black girl, I don't even remember her except she is in my year book, we had a small class of about 350 people.
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Why don't the post-69 grads have their own reunion. Freaks!
Someone always wants to complain that someone else isn't doing enough for them. |
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Racism certainly does still exist in America, and always will.
What no one wants to talk about is, that much of this racism lives within the BLACK community, and always will. The black man will NEVER forgive the white man for enslaving him. Well, not HIM, really, but his father. Er, well, maybe not his father, but his GRANDfather. Um, make that his GREAT grandfather, in his early childhood ... MAYBE. Anyway, whitey, you still owe him forty acres and a mule. |
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read the whole post. Other than having the cutoff for integration, why would they stop at 68? I honestly don't really care either way, as I think people have a right to hang out with whoever they want. But I also don't think any municipal funds should be spent on it (if they are doing so now) regardless of whether they're a bunch of racists or not. |
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There is nothing wrong with having a 40's, 50's and 60's dance. If they want they can do a 70's, 80's and 90's dance and see who shows up.
Blacks are always looking for a way to remain "victims". (NOT ALL BLACKS) |
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When my HS class has its reunions, we let anyone come....even the Protestants.
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When I was a freshman in high school, I was the only black male in class of 675 students. By the time I graduated, we numbered 7 total (males/females). The fact that I belonged to the right clique meant that I had plenty of friends, attended plenty of parties, and experienced no significant racial incidents in 4 years. I can remember being denied entry at one party, not because of my race, but because I didn't belong to that particular clique (drama pukes). Big deal. My buddies didn't get in either.
I don't believe that there was intent to exclude blacks from the reunion, although some objective people have reached that conclusion. The question I'd ask is this: If there was intent, why the Hell would one raise a stink about a party where they weren't wanted? Throw your own! |
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I'm must be missing the whole point...
B.E.T. is OK Black Music Awards is OK United Negro College Fund is OK. Black Panther Party was OK 80% or so of Violent offenders currnetly serving time in Fed. Prison... ah, Wrong Thread Seriously; we have a whole new class of "Professionally Offended" people. But then again I only went to 1 reunion and it SUCKED, same A-holes as in HS... |
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I think that's what has me baffled. "I'm not wanted there, so I am going to sit over here and sulk. Then when I get REALLY angry I am going to accuse you of stuff to put you on the defensive." That's how I see it going down. |
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It's OK for them to do it. It's their idea of "equal treatment" -- "them" meant as those who actually want those things or programs, not as everyone with that skintone. |
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I guess the batteries on my sarcasm detector are running low... |
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[howard stern mode on] kill kill kill da white man kill kill kill, death to the white devils.[/howard stern mode off]
EDITED TO ADD: This post is not advocating the killing of any particular group of people. It is a reference to a comedy film. (this statement was stolen from ar50troll) |
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Some people just look for reasons to complain about something; this is what makes them happy.
As for the cut off date being the class of 1969, that would make 2004 their 35th reunion. This is just how reunions are held - either by 5 or 10 year denominations. In my area, reunions are held for the 1940's together because there are not that many people from those years that attend or are even alive. I see nothing wrong with have a reunion for graduates up until 1969. I live near Prince Edward county where the didn't even have public schools for years because they did not want to segregate. They still have reunions for those years prior - all white and all black - now without a problem. I have never heard of anyone complaining about it. That is just the way it is now because that was the way it was at that time. |
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The event is privately organized and funded, there hasn't been any indications that "hate speech" will be going on there, this is not the workings of some Aryan group... so why SHOULD the government have any right to stop it? This is America... the land where you might not like what your neighbor does but as long as he isn't breaking laws... he CAN do it!
Politically correct or not, I think these individuals should be able to do whatever they want as long as they stay within the constraints of the law. Hell, for all I care they could be having a "Geriatric Dildoing Competition" as long as they don't violate any laws. Besides, as has been mentioned before, those were years in which schooling was segregated. GRH - God's Right Hand : "Hold No Quarter. Feel No Remorse." |
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Why doesn't the black high school have a reunion too?
Problem solved. |
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We only had 1 black in my class of '64 and she only went to school with us for that 1 year. She never really made a connection with the other kids. I didn't see her at the reunions. Some of the students I had known since the 3rd grade.
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All the colored people were going to school somewhere. Why don't the whites protest about not getting to go to their reunions? Because they don't want to, that's why.
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LOL |
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In this great country of ours we still have the right of free assembly. Nobody can tell these folks who to invite to their party, what year the cutoff for being invited it, what music to listen to, etc. and they do not owe anyone an explanation.
They can collect money for any cause they want and give it all the white kids, green kids, black kids, or only kids that are 72/28 french/zulu blend and they do not owe anyone an explanation for it. Is this a great country or what? I think it is. Let's just leave it that way. |
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Personaly I think they are stretching for a cause that's not there and who gives a shit!
They got what they wanted which was some publicity. As a result, attendence will be down since many will not want to be classified as a racist by attending. Having lived in part of that era, if this is all they have to bitch about, we've come a long way baby! Tj |
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Once again I am being opressed by the MAN!
He got his foot on my neck and is keeping me down. |
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I remember when I was in college getting offers to come and teach in PE Cty. From what I've read here and in the article, I think the general tone of the area and the political climate on both sides would have sent me eventually to the rubber room.... If people don't want to associate with each other, we shouldn't have to force them at gunpoint to do it. I have black people in my family and we all just roll our eyes and shake our heads at things like this. |
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