Mocha Girls Read: Literary License & Church Hats

Church hats and first ladies go hand in hand, but the tradition is not reserved for those married to men of the cloth. The history of church hats dates as far back as Biblical times. Covering of the head is mentioned in 1 Corinthians, But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head (1:5). Many religions require women to cover their heads, and men as well. In the African American community, however, the hat wearing tradition is also said to be attributed to rules set by slave owners and those who employed domestic workers. In Louisiana, for example, there was a law (The Tignon Law) which said that Black women had to cover their hair with a scarf or head wrap. The rule was intended for mulatto women who were not easily identifiable as slaves or servants. Ornate hairdos like braids and cornrows were also considered unacceptable. Yet, women in the Bayou found a way to make their head coverings “fancy.” And so, in the African American community, church hats became another expression of creativity and freedom, individualism and uniqueness. But don’t get it twisted. There were rules to the hat game

Through the years, church hats have gone from the status quo to a sign of prestige and status; they’ve been smaller at times, at others the larger the better; and of course, ornate and elaborate. Today, we often think of these hats as worn by the first lady of the church, the mothers of the church, or worn on special occasions like Easter and Women’s Day. In any situation, it takes a certain degree of confidence to wear a church hat. Aretha Franklin’s Inauguration Day hat took on a life of its own after the 2009 Inauguration of President Barack Obama. The image of her singing the National Anthem adorned in an oversized pill box hat with a studded bow circulated around the world. Franklin sparked a resurgence of church hats.