In 2005 Oprah Winfrey held a private luncheon where “legends” in art, entertainment, and civil rights were greeted and paid homage to by the “young’uns” during one phase of her “Legends Ball.”
Two women with vision, creativity, and clarity of thought talked about the Legends Ball and said to each other, “Why can’t we do something very similar in scope here at Penn?" So they put their heads and hearts together and crafted the “Queen’s Tea.” Those two women were Dr. Valerie Allen and Mrs. Afi Haywood.
In May 2006 the African-American Resource Center, at the University of Pennsylvania, hosted its first Queen’s Tea, and established what has become a tradition at the University. The Queen’s Tea is a formal gathering that traditionally brings women from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds together in a regal setting that celebrates “them.”
It is traditional for faculty, staff, students, and women from the surrounding community to don their summer dresses, gloves, and beautiful hats as they dine on a deliciously catered buffet and digest inspiring words from a local author and/or other inspirational speaker(s). Yes this is “our” time as women come together to relax in the inspiring company of each other.
