The Civil Rights Act of 1964 desegregated our public schools and workplaces. In 1967, with the Loving v. Virginia case, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled anti-miscegenation laws unconstitutional.

However, it was not until 2008 that Charleston High School had its first integrated prom, paid for by Academy-Award winning actor and Charleston native Morgan Freeman and documented by Emmy-award winning director Paul Saltzman in the documentary film, Prom Night in Mississippi. This film was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema Documentary at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.

Prom Night In Mississippi will be shown at the Ann Arbor District Library, Downtown branch, 343 S. Fifth Ave., on Thursday, March 18 from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m., followed by a discussion led by the film’s director, Paul Saltzman. This event is co-sponsored by the U-M Community Scholars Program.

Frances Kai-Hwa Wang is a second-generation Chinese American from California who now divides her time between Ann Arbor and the Big Island of Hawaii. She is editor of IMDiversity.com Asian American Village, lead multicultural contributor for AnnArbor.com, and a contributor for New America Media's Ethnoblog. She is a popular speaker on Asian Pacific American and multicultural issues. Check out her Web site at franceskaihwawang.com, her blog at franceskaihwawang.blogspot.com or reach her at fkwang888@gmail.com.