High School Senior In Alabama Shares Prom Night With His Mom

Jet, May 29, 2000

Lem Jefferson, a senior at Decatur High School in Decatur, AL, knew his prom night would be special. Then he made it even more unforgettable.

He asked his mom to be his date.

"I said, 'Boy, you know you can't take your mama to the prom,'" said Annie Jefferson, 49.

But Lem was persistent. His mother had missed her own prom because she had dropped out of school to work in cotton fields at Belle Mina. And as a single mother, she often worked two jobs to support her son and daughter Myrtha.

"I'm not doing it because it's sweet," Lem said. "I want to show her what it's like."

He helped her shop for a prom dress and shoes. His sister and her daughter helped with her makeup, and a friend fixed her hair. Then on the big night, with cameras flashing and pop music playing in the background, Annie Jefferson clutched her son's arm as the announcer introduced them--the moment she missed three decades ago.

"I never imagined that I could have such a wonderful time," she said afterward. "Everybody treated me like everybody else. Every child complimented me on my dress. It was nicer than I ever dreamed."

Classmates were nice to Lem, too. The 5-foot-11, 275-pound senior, who played defensive tackle in football, said nobody teased him.

While Lem's mother joined him during the lead out, his girlfriend accompanied him for the after-prom parties, when mom opted to go home.

"I'm so proud of him," she said. "He's never given me any trouble, except when he tells me to hurry up with the cooking."