“You are beautiful like a flower, more valuable than a diamond, you are powerful like a fire, you can heal the world with your mind, and there’s nothing in the world that you cannot do when you believe in yourself. You are beautiful, brilliant, powerful and resilient woman of the hill.” This is an excerpt from India Arie, read by Ashley Nettles to open the Tea Party and Hatitude Extravaganza.
Open to all Prairie View women, Wednesday, March 19, in the Willie A. Tempton, Sr. Memorial Student Center Ballroom, the event was in recognition of Women’s History month.
The tea party was organized and sponsored by the women’s council, which includes female students, faculty, and staff. Joanna Burbridge, one of the members, was excited to put on such an elegant event.
The purpose of the tea was to “relax, relate, and release.” The focal point of the event was to show women how powerful they are, and to encourage them to believe in themselves.
“I think this will benefit the young ladies by giving them a chance to converse with older women who can give them valuable advice,” said Burbridge.
During the tea, the ladies learned the qualities of a lady, which are to be generous and kind. They were taught proper tea drinking etiquette tips, such as how to stir correctly, and to remove the spoon from the cup after stirring.
There was an icebreaker, which included mingling and refreshments, while discussing hats and lacy gloves.
Discussions were spurred by quotes from inspirational women. Each table had a mixture of “seasoned” women. After a quote was read, each table was given eight minutes to discuss the topic. The quotes were intended to be thought provoking and cause deep and meaningful conversation among each table of ladies.
Finally, the perspective of wearing hats was explained by Dr. Gwen Carter and Dr. Necia Harkless. They stated that wearing a hat is like wearing a “crown” and it helps give a wonderful spirit. The young women were taught that over time, wearing a hat became a part of African-American culture.
“Growing up, you were not fully dressed unless you had a hat on, when you got your hat on, you just strut your stuff,” said Carter.