Tuesday, May 9, 2023

Debutante Ball Tradition Continues


By Lori J. Durante 

It was an honor to serve as Mistress of Ceremony for the 54th annual Frances J. Bright Woman's Club Debutante Cotillion on Sunday, April 30, 2023. The evening was magical and debutantes elegant. Let the tradition continue of introducing striving high school ladies to society, mentoring them and raising scholarship funds. #delraybeach #thepalmbeaches #boyntonbeach #lakeworthbeach #lantana

Tote bags were gifted to all the attendees and as the MC I conducted a fun trivia contest with winners receiving a box of locally made, hand-dipped gourmet chocolates donated by Scheurer's Chocolates. The guests also received from me a custom Mother's Day Card featuring a flower design I commissioned by Palm Beach County artist Gillian Kennedy Wright.

The historic African American Frances J. Bright Woman's Club (FJBWC) was established in Delray Beach, Florida in 1959 and its debutante program was started a few years later. The FJBWC is named in honor of Frances J. Bright, an African American educator who came to Delray Beach, Florida in year 1895 to teach at 'colored' school #4 located on historic 5th Avenue in Delray Beach which was part of the Dade County School System at that time because Palm Beach County was not incorporated as a separate county until year 1909. The leaders of this prestigious organization of the FJBWC are esteemed African American educators, professionals, and business owners.

The mission of FJBWC debutante program is to provide mentorship and help provide etiquette training and cultural experiences for African American high school girls who are invited into the program based on their academics and good character status. The debutante program also raises educational scholarship monies for the young ladies to pursue career goals. The debutante class of 2022-2023 are students at Atlantic Community High School in Delray Beach; Boynton Beach Community High School in Boynton Beach, Florida; Santaluces Community High School in Lantana, Florida and Palm Beach Central High School in Wellington, Florida.


Brief History about Debutante balls in Black American culture:
Here is excerpt from Library of Congress:
The history of debutante balls began in seventeenth-century England, where they were used to present young women formally to society. Initially, debutante balls existed for “upper-class” women, as they allowed aristocratic families to vie for better marriage prospects for their daughters.[2] However, the tradition took root in the American South after the first American debutante ball in Savannah, Georgia, in 1817. Afterwards, the practice of debutante balls, otherwise known as “cotillions” in the South, became a rite of passage for well-off young women, establishing them as cultured members of their community. However, cotillion balls were segregated and expensive, and as a result, young Black girls were excluded.[3] Debutante balls finally appeared in Black social circles during the 1930s, in large part due to the efforts of Black sororities, fraternities, and community organizations that would come to host them.[4]

Frances J. Bright Woman's Club Debutantes featured in the August Issue
of Palm Beach Illustrated Magazine
















































































Here is link for Facebook post with more photos and video clips:

The following link is blog and photos of the debutantes on the Taste History Art & Culture Study Tour:

LoriJDurante.com
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