Her Mother’s Hats

Her Mother's HatsMy friend, Delores, like many of my older friends, was preparing to move again. But this time she had more boxes, as her mother – a woman she deeply loved and admired- had recently passed away. Delores talked about how well the hats were made, how she wanted them to go to a school – a place where the art of making hats was taught and appreciated. I understood her dilemma. I had grown up in a small southern black community where a woman could not enter a church unless she had something on her head. These hats, however, were not “just something” you put on your head, but were crowns to give and garner praise as a woman put her best foot forward.

I, too, related to Delores mother’s hats as expressions of a community’s cultural identity, pride, dignity and strength.

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Her Mother's Hats

Her Mother's Hats

Her Mother's Hats

Her Mother's Hats

Her Mother's Hats

Her Mother's Hats

Her Mother's Hats

Her Mother's Hats

Her Mother's Hats

Her Mother's Hats

Her Mother's Hats

Her Mother's Hats

Her Mother's Hats

Her Mother's Hats

Her Mother's Hats

Her Mother's Hats

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