The Hamilton Lodge Ball drew hundreds of drag performers and thousands of spectators from diverse racial and socioeconomic backgrounds.

While the Hamilton Ball was a rare scene of interracial nightlife, many of the performers were young, working class black men and women.

[1] In 1842, the Philomathean Institute, a fraternal organization of free Black men, petitioned the Independent Order of Odd Fellows to grant them a charter but were denied due to their race.

In New York City, the Committee of Fourteen investigated the balls, releasing a report in 1916 describing scenes of "male perverts" who looked like women.

"[12] Contemporaneous news accounts described Hamilton Lodge Ball as a "Scene of Splendor," with quotes such as, "The masculine women and feminine men, how are you going to tell the roosters from the hens?

[4] As the cultural reaction against LGBT visibility grew, a sex-crime panic emerged, and gay men and lesbians were seen as dangerous to society.

[14] The Harlem Lodge held its final ball on February 26, 1937,[15] described as "a grand jamboree of dancing, lovemaking, display, rivalry, drinking, and advertisement.

[17] The following year the Hamilton Lodge Ball ended, described by The New York Age with the headline "Fifteen Arrested By Police as 'Fairies' Turn 'Em On.

In an effort to make the civil rights movement more aligned with social norms, Adam Clayton Powell Sr. criticized homosexuality in his sermon, claiming it to be the cause of the prioritization of the individual over the community's wellbeing.

Despite efforts to disaggregate black queer communities from the civil rights movement, the Hamilton Lodge Ball continued to grow in popularity.

[10] Despite critique of queer communities by prominent civil rights leaders like Powell, black newspapers published praise for the Hamilton Ball.

The New York Age called it “a treat that shall never be forgotten”, and the Amsterdam News commented on the “most gorgeous of feminine attire” and the “sheer magnificence” of the clothing.