After a NY Times article exposes still-segregated proms in Montgomery Country, Georgia, a town wrestles with racism that goes far beyond its school dance. Documentary, photo exhibition, book, and film credits.
Now on HBO GO and HBO NOW
SOUTHERN RITES visits Montgomery County, Ga., one year after the town merged its racially segregated proms, and during a historic election campaign that may lead to its first African-American sheriff. Acclaimed photographer Gillian Laub, whose photos first brought the area unwanted notoriety, documents the repercussions when a white town resident is charged with the murder of a young black man. The case divides locals along well-worn racial lines, and the ensuing plea bargain and sentencing uncover complex