A Gift for my cousin Cheryl, in memory of Aunt Kizziah and so many other Black Women who raised us.
I was so captured by coming across this book. It brought out in me the memories of aunts, grandmothers, and other community women on their way to or coming from church. My mother raised us Episcopalian, but me and my siblings sometimes attended the Baptist church with relatives. The difference between the two churches was like night and day. Episcopals chant Amen, Baptists shout AMEN!
As a young boy, some of those differences stuck with me as I learned of the many ways to worship the Lord. Baptists had a soulful band and gospel choir, matrons dressed in angelic white, a sweating & shouting preacher, a responsively shouting congregation, and folks spasmodically falling out while being filled with the Holy Spirit. There was much to take in during those visits to the Baptist church. Enough to make a young Episcopalian have dreams of heaven or nightmares of hell. But there's one memory that I'd almost completely forgotten about until seeing and opening the book "Crowns: Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats."
Seeing all the Black Women in Church Hats gave such elegance and pride to the Baptist church service. Everyone, men, women, and children wore their best outfits to church. But the many eye-catching Hats being worn by almost every woman in church stamped the service with a respect and dignity I had never quite felt in a religious service. It almost made a child like me feel as if he was being welcomed into heaven. It felt like sitting in a royal hall maybe seen in a movie or on television. Like the "Land of Oz" perhaps.
Every hat had its own unique character, and yet with any conformity seemed to give its wearer honorary membership to some spiritually uplifted women's society. Everyone looked good, appearing joyous and dignified.
It really was like entering a kingdom of some sort where all subjects were aware of and expressed reverence to their King. I always wondered what tradition it was that had all these women sitting in church wearing hats. The men removed their hats when in church out of religious respect, why not the women. And why were there no standards/restrictions set for types of hats being worn.
Coming from the Episcopal church I had always associated church with conservative attire, and a place to fit in, not stick out. Some outfits worn in the Baptist church were bright and colorful, like those seen at a festival or party. Some of the women's hats would likely have drawn glares of criticism in our conservative church, looked upon as being over-the-top and perhaps gaudy (too loud) for a church service. Some hats had glitter, some feathers or a netted veil. Some brims were slouched low, partially hiding one's face, while another brim might be wider than the wearer's shoulders. And then there was the chic, elegant hat towering upward and slightly outward upon the head, like a Queen's Crown, i.e. Nefertiti Headdress.
After a few visits to the Baptist church the culture shock wore off and I began to understand how church is a celebratory expression for folks' minds, bodies and souls. The clothes worn are simply the icing on the cake. You need not go to church service wearing dark, gloomy clothing with a glum facial expression and attitude as if attending a funeral. Church is a celebration of God and the human spirit, and nobody does it quite like the Baptist Church.
Here, some fifty plus years later, after opening and perusing through pages of this book, I am filled with that early impression I had of beautiful Black Women wearing Church Hats. A huge smile creases my 62-year-old face as pictures and testimonials in the book fill me with that familiar spirit of church and black community. The many unanswered questions of a young boy finally put to rest by the wise, revealing memories these beautiful, hat-wearing church women reminisce on in this extraordinary book. Scholars might categorize this book under ethnic customs and cultural relativism. But coming from within the culture, I'd say it depicts the strength, style, and love of Black Women in Black Communities of America, who are forged by their Faith in an Almighty God!
What would any culture be without strong women to nurture and bring its children into the fold of a strong, healthy community/society.
What Are Church Hats?
For many congregations, they’re more than just an elegant accessory.
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In many Christian congregations across the country, statement-making hats are as synonymous with Sunday mornings as robed choristers and gospel readings. For writer Craig Marberry, who grew up in a Chicago Church of God in Christ congregation, the spectacular toppers were just part of the sanctuary topography. "In my church, women only wore three types of hats," he says. "Large hats, larger hats, and 'why'd you have to sit in front of me?' hats."
The pastor's grandson took the tradition for granted as a boy. However, Marberry gained a new appreciation for the fabulous millinery of his youth when he partnered with photographer Michael Cunningham to produce a tome telling the stories of church-hat-wearing Southern women. Filled with portraits, their book, Crowns: Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats, published in October 2000.
"I realized that church hats weren't merely fashion accessories," he says. "They are an expression of faith, as well as a celebration of fashion. Every woman has a different and compelling story about what church hats mean to them."
The Origins Of Wearing Hats In Church
Historically, men have taken their hats off when entering an indoor space as a sign of respect. But for men removing their caps in churches, there's also a biblical reason—a passage from one of Paul's letters to the Corinthians. In 1 Corinthians 11:7, Paul writes that men should remove their hats while worshiping "as he is the image and glory of God."1
The tradition of women wearing church hats has its roots in that same biblical scripture. In 1 Corinthians 11:5–13, the apostle declares women should cover their heads during worship to honor God. "In many religious denominations, women cover their heads for worship as a sign of respect for God and the church hierarchy," Marberry says. "But Black women alone have interpreted that edict with singular flair."
There's an important cultural element at play, too, he notes. "African Americans oftentimes think we were severed from our African culture, our heritage, because of slavery," the author says. "But there are a lot of things we do without realizing that they're connected to the motherland." Hats are one of them. "Many African societies believe that the soul is housed in the head, not in the heart, and therefore you adorn the head as a way of honoring it," he says.
Hats And The Civil Rights Movement
Wearing hats in church grew in popularity during the Harlem Renaissance and throughout the early 20th century. They became status symbols for the growing Black middle class. During the Civil Rights Movement, women leaders often marched in their church hats as a symbol of dignity.
"If you look at the photos of Civil Rights marches from the '60s, you'll see women wearing church hats: Dorothy Height, Coretta Scott King, and countless others," says Marberry. "Even Rosa Parks, the mother of the Civil Rights Movement, had on a hat the day that she refused to give up her seat to a white man."
Church hats, in other words, are a proud declaration of who you are, how you worship, and what you stand for. And the grander the hat, the better.
The Future Of Church Hats
Shortly before they finished shooting portraits and conducting interviews for their book, Marberry realized that they hadn't yet visited a Church of God in Christ, his childhood denomination, which is known for especially flamboyant hats. They visited a congregation in Greensboro, North Carolina, where he lived at the time. There, they showed the women some photographs of the other hat-wearing ladies set to appear in the book. One flipped through the photos, seemingly unimpressed. "I said, 'What's wrong? You don't like the photographs?'" Marberry recalls. "And she said, 'No, it's not that. Those are Baptist hats, honey.'"
And while these women of older generations may feel closer to God depending on the height and splendor of their hats, Marberry notes that younger church women he interviewed don't necessarily feel the same attachment to them, citing that they're uncomfortable or mess up their hair.
"Unfortunately, it's a tradition that's dying out with the current hat queens," Marberry says. "But I won't lose faith."
Crowns: Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats
