Taking the Lead (page 2 of 4)

A Divided History

Ashburn, which is 65 percent black and where the median income is $18,700, is geographically split by the railroad tracks -- whites living mostly on the more affluent side, blacks mostly on the other. Economic disparity in Turner County looms large. Black households, on average, bring in 53 percent less income than white households, and 45 percent of the black population live below the poverty line, versus 11 percent of the white population.

The area has a long history of segregation. Gwendolyn Mathis, 49, associate pastor of a black church in Ashburn, still remembers being forced to sit upstairs in the balcony at the local movie theater in the 1970s, even after the schools were integrated. "When the theater burned down, it was never rebuilt because it would have to be black and white," she says. The waiting room at the medical clinic was also divided until the 1980s -- whites on one side, blacks on the other. Mathis remembers a nurse shuffling the patient cards so that whites who arrived later went in first. "If you were black," she says, "you'd better pack a lunch because it was going to take all day."

Though few Ashburn residents have graduated from college, among those who have, 14 percent are white and 2 percent black. It's no wonder the town's hopes and future are tied to the high school. One of the few activities to bring the community together was sports -- especially Turner County High's outstanding, black-dominated football and basketball teams. "White parents go to the games," says Mathis, "but otherwise, things are pretty separate." Now the kids who had gotten behind the idea for the prom were taking an even bigger step toward bridging the racial gap. "I think the young people commingle better than the adults," says Mathis. "The kids have been trying to bring this prom together for a long time. The parents are the ones who have interfered."

Michael Shelton, a white senior, is helping to decorate the gym. "A lot of kids might not come because their parents hold them back," he says. "Turner County is pretty cliquish." But, notes Josh Boney, senior class vice president, things have gotten better. "I have white friends, and we go to Tifton to hang out -- there's nothing to do here. There were times in the past when we didn't even think about talking to each other. We're still a work in progress, but we've come a long way."

Enrollment at Turner County High, which has about 500 students, is currently 55 percent black and 45 percent white. "Desegregation here was as smooth as desegregation anywhere," says Superintendent of Schools Ray Jordan, a lifelong Ashburn resident and graduate of the class of '77, as he watches students pump up balloons and try to hoist a canopy of streamers. "But this is America, and people socialize with the people they choose. For whatever reason, this school stopped having proms. Now this class has come forward, and it's so impressive and makes me feel good about the future of our community."

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