African American debutante cotillion: Rooted in community, meaningful to families' histories

You may have heard about a debutante cotillion before. They started back in the 1700 as part of British nobility. Young women were paraded in front of eligible suitors for potential marriage as seen in the popular show, Bridgerton. But a traditional African American debutante cotillion is different. Micah Materre reports on its significance in her family, and Black culture as a whole, as a part of WGN's Black History Month coverage.

[@MindAptivPower]

This is such an elegant tradition. My children went to cotillion and their education in manners helped them move up in business fast, but we didn't have this, as part of it. Beautiful.

[@jerzecandy]

I was a debutante in 1976 and can still curtsy at 65😂😂😂😂 I was the first and only member in my family to participate. In my city it represented a certain status. Philanthropy and etiquette how one presents oneself in public were priorities. Looking back it was about which families could afford the ball. You had. To be sponsored in order to participate. For us it was a big thing who was going to be your escort, the ball gowns. What memories

[@susanhurst3292]

Wonderful story!

[@sharonkaysnowton]

I have always loved cotillions. When my daughter was a girl, I wanted her to participate in a cotillion. Listening to a friend of mine, she did not want to- she said it was not for her. So I let it go. She is now almost 50 years old, and I still feel I should have insisted on this experience for her. Thank you for sharing this video.

[@lizabetx483]

You had to respect her sihes. What we think is important is sometimes not viewed with the same "reverence" by our children.

[@sharonkaysnowton]

@@lizabetx483 I agree with you, but, I think it is the influence of her husband. He was not raised with the same values that I raised her with. He is totally different. And when she says something that I know is totally different, I know it is from him. So, I just shut my mouth and live with it. This is life, is it not??? Thank you for your comment. I appreciate you.

[@lizabetx483]

@@sharonkaysnowton Trust me I know exactly what you are speaking about. I've had the same experience you described above.

[@jeanine9]

My cousin was a debutant in the late eighteenth in St Louis. I hate that I didn't get to do it. I lived in an all white suburb when I was is high school.

[@CarlosC-lv1gm]

In the 1700s, and the BOULE………..You really think I’m STUPID AND UNINFORMED!!!! THINK AGAIN…….

[@thinkman2467]

Exactly we know who they are.

[@SoothingSoundsAndImagesInc]

What does Boule mean? I tried looking it up but keep finding different definitions that does not give me a the best answer.

[@rickyspeople]

@@SoothingSoundsAndImagesInc Officially known as Sigma Pi Phi, the Boulé was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by Dr. Henry McKee Minton and five of his colleagues. Among the group were doctors, dentists and a pharmacist. It is the nation’s first Black Greek organization. Before being exposed to the general public by various individuals in the 1990s and 2000s, the Boulé was on par with white organizations like Skull and Bones - people knew they existed but couldn’t really prove it. Meaning “Council of Chiefs” or “Adviser to Kings” in Greek, the Boulé was for much of its existence an elite, invitation-only secret society for Black men of high regard. In 1903 sociologist WEB Du Bois responded to Jim Crow era social inequities with his essay “The Talented Tenth” Du Bois defined the term, “Talented Tenth” to argue that one out of 10 African-American men could become leaders in the United States and the world if they pursued education, published books and advocated for social change in society. Du Bois believed that African-Americans really needed to pursue a traditional education versus the industrial education that was consistently promoted at the time

[@rickyspeople]

Du Bois rose to national prominence as the leader of the Niagara Movement, a group developed and financed by Khazar interests, where many of the principal backers were agents of the US government. The Niagara Movement later morphed into the colored people organization (NAACP) a group that still calls them selves colored in 2012, but actually indicates that they are not really about we. Du Bois and his backers and supporters supporters claimed they opposed the Atlanta Compromise, an agreement crafted by Booker T. Washington which provided that Southern blacks would work and submit to white political rule, while Southern rednecks guaranteed that black Americans would receive basic educational and economic opportunities. Instead, Du Bois insisted on full civil rights and increased political representation, which he believed would be brought about by the African-American intellectual elite. This was no doubt a concoction of the Caucasian backers, whose divide and conquer exists today in an elitist organization called the boule or boulé. According to the prevailing belief or propaganda, the talented tenth represented the leadership that black Americans needed for advanced education to develop its internal leadership.

[@jones2277]

all the Materre women are very light-skinned. it's not an accident and the part of the history that people are embarrassed to acknowledge.

[@InspiredByEbonyLove]

Are you bothered by their complexions? Why does it even matter what shade of brown their skin is to YOU?

[@Fairexchange41]

Boule killa

[@thinkman2467]

Exactly, the talented 10 aka lapdogs.

[@funkpill]

🤔