Rare original program from the Home Economics department of a historically Black Louisiana university, showcasing student design and garment construction through a dramatic presentation.
Very good plus.
Price: $350.00
"Sophronia, the modern society girl, is still the same sweet person in her new clothes that she was at their old bazaars in the litle old church in the dale."
Southern University (now Southern University and Agricultural & Mechanical College, with a main campus in Baton Rouge) first began to offer home economics coursework to high school students in the late 19th century, later expanding to a full four-year college program in 1932. Under the supervision of instructor Irene Myers, SU's students staged a Fashion Parade as the set piece of "Sophronia's Wedding," a satirical and self-referential play featuring home ec students, played by themselves, out to show the judgmental gossips of the "Tattle Town Uplift Society" that fashionable clothes speak no ill of a young woman's character. Student models and cast members included Albertine Brannum Hayes, who later received a Doctor of Education degree from the University of Oklahoma and returned to Southern University as a visiting professor; Jewell Tatum Thompson, a national arts director of The Links, Inc., and a charter member of the Baton Rouge Sigma Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta, the second historically Black sorority; Tommie Lee Pradd, second elected president of the Alpha Tau chapter of Delta Sigma Theta; and several dozen similarly accomplished peers.
Read more: "Dr. Albertine Brannum Hayes," legacy.com; "About the Alpha Tau Chapter," southerndivas.org.
First edition. (Scotlandville, LA): (Southern University), (1937). The home economics department of Southern University presents its annual fashion show featuring "Sophronia's wedding." 8.5'' x 5.5''. Original [4] page mimeographed program with front cover illustration. Light edgewear and toning, adhesive residue to back panel.
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