May 2, 2003

The decision by some students at Taylor County High School in Georgia to hold one prom that included all students and another private prom 50 miles away for white students has raised questions about how these decisions are made and why.

“It’s amazing that in 2003 we are still facing this problem in the South,” says UAB associate professor of management Vickie Cox Edmondson, Ph.D. “As in business, people in leadership positions have the responsibility to put their personal opinions aside and encourage the people they are shepherding to adapt to what is happening now instead of resisting change. This is what is needed to be successful in business and in society as a whole.”

Vickie Cox Edmondson, Ph.D., is co-author of the forthcoming book, No Mistakes, which chronicles the trials of co-author Revonda Bowen, who in 1994 was a 16 year-old student at Randolph County High School in Wedowee, Alabama.

The case echoes a similar well-publicized incident in Wedowee, Alabama. The principal of the high school told students that he would cancel their prom to prevent mixed-race couples from attending. Bowen, who considers herself biracial, was dating Chris Brown from neighboring Bowdon, Georgia, who considers himself white. She wanted to bring Chris to her prom. Bowen is the child of an interracial couple, her mother considers herself black and her father considers himself white. When she told the principal she wanted to bring her white boyfriend to the prom he told her that her parents made a mistake by having her — a mixed raced child. The book chronicles Bowen’s experiences through letters she received and applies business principles to teach how to manage resistance to change.

Cox Edmondson is an associate professor of management in the UAB School of Business. She is an expert on corporate social responsibility and ethics, ethnic business enterprises, minority business management issues, entrepreneurship and strategic management practices for minorities.