In a few days, I’ll travel to Omaha, Nebraska, to fellowship with the ladies from Sharon Seventh Day Adventist Church for a Hat & Glove Tea Sisterhood program. I have my hat and pearls, now I have to find the perfect set of gloves!
Tea time has a long history in this country. As a matter of fact, it was the cause of a controversy at the White House in 1929. Before I get to that, here’s a tidbit of info. Did you know that African American tea houses were big business back in the day? Dainty parlors weren’t just a place for sipping tea. The establishments were booked for luncheons to civil rights meetings. Some were as upscale as their white counterparts that banned black patrons.
In 1999, Mattel introduced an African American Barbie Tea Set. This summer, I had a reader present me with my very own candle teacup set in Cleveland. I need those gloves!!!!
Now, back to the scandal that generated a national outcry and hate mail to First Lady Lou Hoover for inviting Jessie DePriest, the wife of Oscar DePriest, the first African-American elected to Congress back in the 1920s, to the White House for tea. There were write ups in several newspapers about the audacity of a Negro being on the guest list for a function at the White House during the Jim Crow era. Thank God Mrs. Hoover did not retract her invitation based on the ignorance of some.
I’ve mentioned tea time as a back drop in my Christian romances The Guilt Trip and now in my upcoming Guilty/Jamieson legacy novel The Confession. If you would like to see pictures or learn more about African American women and their love of tea parties, make sure you check out my board on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/patsimmonsbooks/the-confession-book-8-in-the-guiltyjamieson-legacy/
So the next time you think about enjoying a cup of tea, invite a friend, slip on those gloves and chat. 