Moderator’s introduction

An effort by four friends at Wilcox County High School in South Georgia to hold an integrated prom has sparked a national outcry over segregated proms. But these proms are private events, remnants of the tensions surrounding integration. I talk to two districts about how they ended the "tradition" in their towns. Readers offer their views. In a guest column, an educator addresses the widely held contention that a college degree isn't necessary for all kids, recalling that we once said the same thing about a high school diploma.

Ending segregated prom

Changing traditions by Maureen Downey