Helping design costumes for a play while a student at John S. Davidson Fine Arts Magnet School piqued Noel Corbin’s interest in fashion.
It’s led her on a journey that has included working in Hollywood as well as at the Smithsonian, where she was able to combine her love of fashion with her interest in culture and history.
Now as Corbin pursues her doctorate in fashion history and culture at the University of Georgia, she’s taking those skills she’s developed to curate a unique exhibition at the Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History, focusing on the Rosa T. Beard Debutante Club, which marked its 60th anniversary in 2023. A reception will be at 3 p.m. Sunday, March 17.
“We’re going back to what the word ‘debutante’ means,” said Corbin. “Historically and culturally, it was to prepare women for marriage.”
However, the original club formed by Mrs. Beard, who was a teacher at what was then known as A.R. Johnson Junior High School, was designed to prepare young women to live in a desegregated society.
The exhibition has special meaning for Corbin as well as Toni Dean, the museum’s program director, both of whom were club members. The dresses and accessories bring back memories for both of them.
While there are many other aspects of the club, including leadership training and community service, a highlight for its members is the annual cotillion which was first held two years after the club formed.
Read more: Rosa T. Beard Debutante Club celebrates 60 years
Central to the exhibition will be items related to the cotillion.
“We have scrapbooks from the 1970s, original newspaper articles, tiaras, gowns, shoes, jewelry,” Corbin said.
This exhibition is the first one at the museum to use multimedia to give a full effect, according to Dean.
“We will have touch screens and tablets,” she said.
Videos of past cotillions as well as oral histories will tell the bigger picture.
Corbin said they will be continuing to collect items related to the club because she and museum director Corey Rogers hope to have another larger one connected to the 60th anniversary of the cotillion in 2025.
The exhibition will be on display through April 28.
In addition to the exhibition, Rogers said plans are to place two historical markers at A.R. Johnson Health Sciences and Engineering School where Mrs. Beard taught and formed the Rocket Club for boys in 1958 and debutante club.
The museum is looking for donors to help with the exhibition and the markers. For more information, call (706) 724-3576.
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News and Inspiring: Women of Augusta, has covered Augusta’s news for 35 years. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here.
