‘We deserve to be taken care of’: This modern tea party experience is dedicated to Black women

From the moment guests arrived at Malibu Farm for a tea party on a chilly Saturday afternoon, they were treated like royalty. “ should be able to do the bare minimum and the max, and still be treated like an absolute queen.” Through Tea Party 4 Black Girls, Gravillis says her “goal is to get Black women taken care of in every sense of the word.” The Mid-City native dreamed up Tea Party 4 Black Girls to create a space where Black women, including nonbinary people, could feel like their overall wellness — mental, physical, financial and social — was being prioritized and where they could comfortably discuss issues that affect their community. there’s just such a level of dependency I think so many people have on Black women.” She adds, “This space is important because I think other Black women need to know that we are all experiencing, not necessarily the same thing but a variation of a lot of the same stuff, and there’s a lot of ancestral trauma that we haven’t really had an opportunity to really spend time unpacking or just talk through with a vast group of Black women that have completely different backgrounds or different abilities to home in on their emotions.” Gravillis threw the first Tea Party 4 Black Girls event in May 2022, and has since hosted about 10 local events, including ones at Formula Fig, Tea at Shiloh, Highly Likely and Ask Tia. The dress code for Tea Party 4 Black Girls events isn’t as restrictive as the waist-snatching corsets depicted on “Bridgerton.” Rather, Gravillis encourages guests to “come as you are.” “We call it a modern take on tea parties because it’s not like everyone’s pulling up in hats and has all the fancy dresses, and like crumpets and everything,” Gravillis says. “I feel like the dialogue between everybody is very fluid,” says Jenkins, 25, who runs a jewelry brand called Archive 020, adding that she always leaves the tea parties feeling “fulfilled.” “I’ve met so many girls who have their own businesses are creative, and I’ve been able to connect with them in that way.” She adds, “Every time I’ve been to an event, I’m more and more comfortable with starting conversation with people that I don’t know, and it’s also carried into other areas of my life, so that’s been a great payoff for me.” Many of the tea party guests have been between the ages of 18 and 35, but Gravillis says she’s been exploring ways to get other age groups involved.