Brody's Notes... Mississippi Lesbian Teen Excluded: Alternate Prom Was Held By Her Classmates Without Her

By Brody Levesque (Washington DC) Apr 5 | A clearly frustrated Kristy Bennett, legal director for the ACLU of Mississippi, told reporters in Jackson this afternoon, her organization was still gathering details about what happened Friday night to determine whether they would ask Senior U.S. District Judge Glen H. Davidson for sanctions as it became clear that although Constance McMillen did attend her school’s prom Friday night, many of her classmates partied at an alternate event in Itawamba County.

During hearing on a preliminary injunction filed by the ACLU late in March, Judge Davidson ruled that the  Itawamba County school district had violated McMillen’s First Amendment rights. However, he also ruled that it shouldn’t be forced to sponsor a prom since a group of parents had already agreed to hold an event that would be “open to all IAHS students.”

In an interview with The Advocate, McMillen said a parent-organized prom happened behind her back — she and her date were sent to a Friday night event at a country club in Fulton, Miss., that attracted only five other students. Her school principal and teachers served as chaperones, but clearly there wasn't much to keep an eye on.

"They had two proms and I was only invited to one of them," McMillen says. "The one that I went to had seven people there, and everyone went to the other one I wasn’t invited to."

Last week McMillen asked one of the students organizing the prom for details about the event, and was directed to the country club. "It hurts my feelings," McMillen says. She also noted that two students with learning difficulties were among the seven people at the country club event, 

"They had the time of their lives," McMillen says. "That's the one good thing that come out of this, [these kids] didn't have to worry about people making fun of them [at their prom]."

At the least, the ACLU's Bennett said, the details about Friday’s prom would be used in the organization’s damages suit against the district, which is still being developed.

“We are disappointed at the sparse attendance, and we’re looking further into the situation,” Bennett said. "Whatever we find will be brought to the court’s attention, whether it is in the damages trial, or whatever. There will still be a trial on the merits. The case didn’t end in the preliminary hearing.”