Tea time: Sold-out AFRO News event has become a must for Black Marylanders

Carla Henry Hopkins knows each spring that it’s time for AFRO tea.

The gathering, hosted by one of the oldest Black-owned newspapers in the country, is a place where African American women “of every imaginable industry” gather, network, “let their hair down” and celebrate one another.

It has grown to be one of the most popular events of the season for African American women and one of the hardest to acquire tickets in town.

It’s a marvelous sight to see “power brokers” engage with one another — both for professional and personal purposes, said Hopkins, an administrator at Bowie State University who has brought her daughter to the event for the past three years.

“What I have found lately is that it’s also a good place for legacy building,” she added.

AFRO tea is also a great place to meet the city’s elite.

In less than a decade, it has grown from a 200-person event at Sharon Baptist Church, where people brought their own China and nibbled on finger sandwiches assorted teas, to one with more than 1,100 guests. The likes of Baltimore City Schools CEO Sonja Santelises, First Lady Dawn Moore, and numerous high-ranking local politicians are sure to attend each year.

And it’s not just women. Rep. Kweisi Mfume and Rep. Johnny Olszewski Jr. have been spotted in the crowd. So has Mayor Brandon Scott.

Attendees don colorful, elaborate hats rivaling anything showcased at the Kentucky Derby or Sunday service, paired with fashion week-ready outfits. The tea party is also a stop for political climbers.

It is a “proven model for consolidating Black political power," said Jé St Sume, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

St Sume believes that politicos mingling with potential voters is advantageous because both sides get something out of it. The politicians get potential votes, and voters get face time with these politicians.

“Events like these help build the relationships necessary to later leverage as avenues for fundraising, recruiting talent, and general electioneering,” St Sume said. “If successful, events like this one will shape national politics going forward, but only time will tell.”

Diane Hocker, senior media sales consultant for the AFRO newspapers, said she dreamed up the event in 2017.

“It’s probably one of the only few events that you get an opportunity not just to read about these people in the paper or see photos, you have an opportunity to go up to them and say hello and take a picture that you may have been trying to reach on the phone for the last couple of months and now you have them in the room,” said Hocker.

The appeal? For elected officials it’s access to all of those civic-minded Black women who represent 16% of voting age people in the state. For the attendees, it’s not heavy on drawn-out speeches and typical painstaking production elements. There’s a tasteful fashion show, the actual tea, and good old-fashion mingling. The rest is what you make it.

It was the 2022 tea where former Mayor Catherine Pugh made one of her first public appearances after being released from a 19-month federal prison sentence over a children’s book scheme. Pugh said she chose to attend the tea because it’s a comforting place where she’s surrounded by supportive women from every walk of life.

The AFRO is the foundation of the African American community as it relates to news, and now the tea has become a “signature event” that brings so many women and “a sprinkle of men” to come together for a “‘Bridgerton’-style” experience and dress up, said Pugh, who will attend this year.

“I’ve always been one who loves to dress up,” she said. She is partial to the “spectacular” hats and styles of dresses and clothes. “I just think that it’s a wonderful event to showcase fashion and it’s a wonderful event to salute women.”

The worst, those in the know say, is when other events happen on the same day as AFRO tea.

Robyn Murphy, CEO of Create Baltimore and one of the honorees at this year’s C-suite-themed tea, was relieved it wasn’t on the same day as first lady Moore’s Economic Empowerment Brunch, which honored billionaire Sheila Johnson and others the weekend before.

She didn’t want a repeat of the previous year, where she attended two events on the same day and felt underdressed coming from one “less showy” event to the tea.

Attendees know the assignment when picking out their ensembles. Many opt for old-school classics. It’s not unusual to see heirloom pearls, pantyhose and long white gloves. Here, it’s cool to wear your grandma’s attire.

Last year, Murphy wore a cream pantsuit by Alice + Olivia and matched it with a Good American jacket. (That’s hardly slumming.)

“This is the room where everyone wants to be invited. To see and be seen,” Murphy said.

The tea is an example of the gatherings of the Black elite that more people became exposed to after President Barack Obama was elected, and more of these events were held around his candidacy, said Zoey Washington, a Baltimore-based fashion and style editor, who has worked for People Style Watch, In Style, Elle, Vogue and Essence magazines.

“What that really highlighted to me was there was such a disconnect between general society and the understanding of Black excellence, Black elitism, and the functions and the systems that are in place in order to promote Black excellence and the celebration of Black excellence,” Washington said.

For Washington, AFRO tea is also a connection to the older generation and traditions in the Black community.

Washington grew up attending debutante balls, visiting Martha’s Vineyard and going to the Ebony Fashion Fair show, all “participatory history” events that shape Black culture and politics.

“It’s really important in these spaces to create this sense of visibility and this sense of understanding of who’s coming through the ranks,” she explained.

It’s that nurturing insular mentality that is likely why Pugh chose the tea to resurface years ago, Washington surmised.

“It’s like a sense of welcoming without people having to openly start talking about that thing you went through,” she said. “It becomes a safe space for a lot of Black professionals in a way that some of the other events probably don’t.”

The tea fits with the AFRO newspaper’s history of talking about Black history and Black excellence and putting Black people in a very positive light, Washington said.

“It usually is about really uplifting people,” she said.