Segregated Proms in 2009?

I ran across this great NYT piece about segregated proms in the South.

I spent my last two years of High School in Texas (a lonngggg longgggg time ago)...in small town Texas as a matter of fact, and I don't remember things being like this. But I guess it's different from place to place. In my case, I lived in a military community. Military communities tend to be a little different when it comes to race relations.

Apparently this is a tradition that many other Southern States don't want to give up. This is a kind of self segregation...years after all the battles that took place to end it. Should students be encouraged to end this tradition?

What leads Blacks to self segregate?

I never went to prom or homecomings or any other big events... I skipped them all. Although I went to a few Middle School dances way back in the 20th Century (80's). All those events were mixed. If I had a choice, I would prefer to go to mixed social events.

Self segregation doesn't prepare you for real life IMO. Eventually you will have to leave that safe bubble. This is one of the reasons why i'm not a very enthusiastic fan of HBCU's.