Debut of Delta Sigma Theta debutante ball
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It was a big night: Their shining moment to take the first step toward womanhood in front of the entire community. No one wanted to mess up. "We were nervous that we were going to tumble down those steps and fall in those long dresses," said Lutricia Wingate Boulware, third from left above.
On April 17, 1964, at the Grady Cole Center on North Kings Drive, 20 high school seniors participated in the first Delta Sigma Theta Sorority debutante ball in Charlotte.
"To be black in Charlotte and be presented as a debutante was very, very special," Boulware said. "You pick up the paper in those days and who did you see: white debutantes. So why not do it for us because we deserve those equal rights, too?"
