On Aug. 26, 1914, the “Second Annual Colored Ball,” pictured at right, occurred at Clinton Hall (now Clinton Academy). The ball included a concert from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. with Europe’s Orchestra of New York playing for the dancers. The event was hosted by Perry White (1875-1935) and his wife, the former Miss Mattie Key, both known as excellent dancers.
Like everywhere else in America in the early 1900s, East Hampton’s people of color navigated layers of social segregation. Many of East Hampton’s summer colony relied on African-Americans as household servants. A “colored ball” offered a chance for people of color living or visiting in the area to socialize in a setting where they were not normally included.
Little is written about the Second Annual Colored Ball, but there are extensive descriptions of similar local balls, which typically included an orchestra from New York. By 1908, Perry White is identified as the event organizer. White came to East Hampton from Virginia in connection to the Gardiner-Tyler family in 1895. He owned a house on Main Street, and worked as a waiter in the Osborne House (later the Maidstone Arms). His obituary described his “great charm and dignity‚” and many recalled his career starting at Richmond’s famous Jefferson Hotel.
Other locals involved in organizing the early colored balls were Mary Banks, Mary Tucker, Elsie Parker, John Henry Fowler, and George Banks. While there is no recorded data on the attendance for the 1914 Second Annual Colored Ball, Perry White’s 1912 colored ball boasted over 300 people in attendance, including costumes and musicians from New York City.
Oddly, despite the phrase “second annual” being applied to the 1914 ball, East Hampton’s colored ball dances during the summer season go back to 1890, according to The East Hampton Star. Despite two such events in 1913 and a series of them in 1914, only the Aug. 26 event was distinguished as the Second Annual Colored Ball.
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Andrea Meyer is the head of the East Hampton Library’s Long Island Collection.