DescriptionIn 1997, Academy Award-winning actor Morgan Freeman made an historic offer to the high school in his hometown of Charleston, Mississippi: He would foot the bill for the school's senior prom�on condition that both black and white students be allowed to attend. Even though the students shared classes and every other aspect of school life, the town of Charleston had a tradition of holding two proms�one white, one black. Freeman's offer was ignored. In 2008, he made it again. This time, the school accepted and history was made, but not without significant opposition. PROM NIGHT IN MISSISSIPPI tells the story of the fallout from Freeman's offer, as senior students of Charleston High rally in preparation for the school's first-ever integrated prom. But the film is also an eye-opening reminder that racism is alive and well in America�54 years after the U.S. Supreme Court ordered an end to segregated schools. Perhaps not surprisingly, resistance to integrating the prom comes less from the students themselves than from their parents. In fact, it is the students who give the film its hopeful tone. They clearly articulate their own feelings in the face of the incredible fear that was instilled by their parents.
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