'Crowns, Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats' featured program at Wharton Co. Library
Barry Halvorson

More than a simple fashion statement, the hats worn by Black women to church were a declaration of having arrived.

"It always made me feel classy and sophisticated," Mozelle Stephens said. "But you have to wear them with a certain attitude."

The hats will be featured in a Black History Program at the Wharton County Library on Friday, Feb. 15. The program will begin at 10 a.m. and is based in part on the book "Crowns, Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats."

The program was organized by Stephens at the request of the library and will be narrated by Henerietta Lathon. Various women will be modeling a variety of different church hats to complete the program.

In the book, it states the tradition is strongest in the Church of God in Christ of which Stephens is a member. She said it was particularly important to have the right hat - and the attitude that went with it - when she was visiting other congregations or attending church conferences in cities like Chicago and Detroit.

"And you are going to have your best hat on, Baby," she said. "You could count on that."

In researching for her narration, Lathon said the tradition of women wearing hats goes back to an interpretation of the Bible passage 1 Cor. 11:5 - "And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, it is just as though her head were shaved."

"That is what led to the tradition," she said.

"One of the women in 'Crowns" is quoted as saying she'd rather go to church naked than not have her hat. A lot of people have always considered the hats as being a mere fashion statement, but it started out as a symbol of independence and freedom. Women would work for six days a week and then lay out their Sunday clothes on Saturday night. But they would wait until Sunday morning to select the hat they were going to wear."

That late choice, Stephens said, was to make sure the hat matched the attitude.

"A lot of it wasn't what you were wearing, but how you wear it," she said. "You have to have an attitude with it."

There were also certain unwritten rules. Those included no one else could wear your particular hat, no one should touch someone else's hat. And you didn't want a twin (hat). Ladies coming into church and saw a twin would turn around and leave."

Although for the best hats, that was unlikely to happen. And in Wharton, the shop to buy at was the Hollywood Shop, a dress store now closed.

"They had the best hats," Stephens said. "But with most of the designer hats, there was just the one."

Some women became so attached to their hats they even insisted on being buried in them. Lathon said that one of the ladies quoted in "Crowns" said they even thought there might be a special place in heaven for the hat-wearing women.

In addition to the scripture verse, Lathon said the tradition dated back to the days of slavery.

"Those ladies only had a bandana to wear around their heads," she said. "So they would dress them up with flowers and other special touches to make them personal and unique. The hats we wear now are in part a continuation of that tradition."

The hats were also a part of the fabric of the family, Stephens said. Wearing the hats and dressing special for church was something she said was handed down from grandmother to mother to daughter.

Stephens said she's from a generation that always wore hats and gloves to church while Lathon said she's drifted away from the practice and has given away most of her hats. But she added that the book has generated new interest in making a statement.

"I really had thought that people had come to care less about it," she said.

"But I was surprised when my son Luther (14) asked me if I was still reading that book and was disappointed when I told him the program was at 10 in the morning on Friday. He was disappointed because he wouldn't get a chance to attend and that impressed me."

Stephens said that while wearing a hat every week might be inconvenient for modern women, she said she would be pleased if they at least did it once this month in recognition of Black History Month and their own past.

"I would be pleased to see my daughter Lisa (Weaver) wear a hat one Sunday," she said.

Going back to the church connection, the book states the most impressive display of hats can be found at the Church of God in Christ Convocation in Memphis, Tenn. During the convocation, there will be upwards of 50,000 women attending.

"And you can be sure each has at least one hat," Lathon said. "Every color, every style will be on display. But you have to remember that the hats are not for self glorification, but for the glorification of God."