( 4UMF NEWS ) ‘White Graduates Only’ Party:
A letter that lists a “white graduates only” party as one of the activities planned for a class reunion has sparked outrage after it was leaked online.
For nearly 40 years, graduates from the St. Martinville, La., Senior High School Class of 1973 have been holding racially segregated class reunions.
But this year, ABC affiliate KATC reports that the graduates decided to change that tradition, making the reunion a non-segregated affair.
However, a letter announcing the change included an after party for “white graduates only.”
Michael Kreamer, who is the principal of the Louisiana school, said he found the letter distressing.
“I’m just a little disappointed that something like this comes up,” he told KATC. “I don’t think that it looks good for the school, but again as I said it has nothing to do with St. Martinville Senior High. So I hope people don’t take that the wrong way.”
According to reports, a reception is going to be held at the school at the end of September, followed by the homecoming football game. The letter notes that “all graduates are welcome to attend” those events.
After the game, however, “white graduates only” have been invited to gather at a classmate’s home. Invitees are encouraged to bring a “food dish to share.”
Liza Chance, one of the organizers of the event, told KATC that she was bewildered by this backward step.
“This is just a start it’s a beginning, it needs to go forward. I don’t understand why this went the way it did,” she said.
