A Decade to Remember

A Decade to RememberFor just over ten years, the men of the Norshore Twelve Social and Civic Club sponsored the annual Debutante Cotillion Ball, patterned after a long standing tradition of Black cotillions across the country. The anticipated event took nearly a year to organize, while prospective debutantes participated in cultural field trips, etiquette lessons, fundraising activities, dress fittings, choreography lessons, and their required acceptance into a college

For just over ten years, the men of the Norshore Twelve Social and Civic Club sponsored the annual Debutante Cotillion Ball, patterned after a long-standing tradition of Black cotillions across the country. The anticipated event took nearly a year to organize, while prospective debutantes participated in cultural field trips, etiquette lessons, fundraising activities, dress fittings, choreography lessons, and their required acceptance into a college or university. The summer cotillion would, at its height, attract more than one thousand people to downtown ChicagoÕs Sherman House Grand Ballroom.
A Decade to Remember captures the inspiration that went into planning and hosting the debutante ball between 1960 and 1971, during which time a total of 160 young women took their bows. ÒThe warmest feeling was that my family participated in the entire process,Ó Sarah Ashmore Diggs, a 1969 debutante, reflected. ÒThe whole community supported us.Ó