"Her Crowning Glory" Exhibition Story - March 2008

Exhibit features hats of African-American women
By Jasmine Stein

Staff Reporter

Publication Date: 03/07/2008

A heavy-set woman wears her hat as an extension to her inner beauty and as a way to break down barriers.

The Black Cultural Center solicited an advertisement for Lafayette women to submit their church hats to form an exhibition as a way to demonstrate the role and strong tradition that hats play in the black community.

The exhibition of hats, entitled "Her Crowning Glory," will be on display in the Art Museum of Greater Lafayette today through April 12.

Brittany Johnson, a senior in the College of Liberal Arts, interviewed the women and wrote a short article to go along with each hat to explain what the hat means to each owner.

"The heavy-set women said that she was respected more when she would wear her hats," Johnson said. "The hats made people have a different take on her, and disregard her weight."

Johnson said she went into the project with an interest in fashion, and in the end really had the chance to learn from the women and grow.

"It really helped me understand why women started wearing these hats because it helps them present this whole other character to other people," Johnson said. "It brings elegance and can make you feel like a totally different woman."

According to Johnson, the black community is known for its eccentric style and that the exhibit is supposed to explain that there is meaning behind that.

According to a verse in the book of Corinthians in the Bible, a woman who prays with her head uncovered dishonors her head.

"Many people don't know that it used to be very inappropriate not to have your head covered in most black churches," Johnson said.

The Black Cultural Center decided to display a total of 29 hats for their exhibit, but each woman had anywhere from 30 to 50 hats in their collection and a compelling story to go with each one.

"One woman started wearing hats as a child to church for Easter and was taught that when worshipping the Lord, she should dress the part," Johnson said.

The exhibit is being paired with a musical production of "Crowns," based on the book by Craig Marberry and Michael Cunningham, also presented by the Black Cultural Center.

"We wanted to build a collaboration with community organizations," said Renee Thomas, Director of the BCC. "That is why we chose to pair with both the art museum and the civic theater."

The play and the exhibition are both centered around telling many different stories and themes that are woven around a unified idea.

"This is about more than just a cherished item. Each hat speaks to you in very different ways," Thomas said.

Due to the tendency of the church system to be segregated, many people have not had the chance to see these types of flamboyant hats, said Thomas.

"We want to introduce these types of hats to the public, and hopefully they will gain an appreciation for the role they play in the black community."