One of the topics of conversation at a social event that I attended yesterday was how White tv entertainers and White journalists couldn't understand that Aretha Franklin's hat was in the tradition of other stylish Black women's "church hats". Fwiw, with only one exception in a group of 26 Black women ranging in age from 27 to 84 years, the women loved Aretha's hat, though some said that they wouldn't wear it.

See this repost of a comment that I added to Mudcat's Black Church Services thread:

Subject: RE: Black Church Services
From: Azizi - PM
Date: 24 Jan 09 - 08:56 AM

Here's an excerpt from an online review of the photographic book:
Crowns: Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats by Michael Cunningham & Craig Marberry

[shown there with the cover photo]

"Countless black women would rather attend church naked than hatless. For these women, a church hat, flamboyant as it may be, is no mere fashion accessory; it's a cherished African American custom, one observed with boundless passion by black women of various religious denominations. A woman's hat speaks long before its wearer utters a word. It's what Deirdre Guion calls "hattitude...there's a little more strut in your carriage when you wear a nice hat. There's something special about you." If a hat says a lot about a person, it says even more about a people-the customs they observe, the symbols they prize, and the fashions they fancy.

Photographer Michael Cunningham beautifully captures the self-expressions of women of all ages-from young glamorous women to serene but stylish grandmothers. Award-winning journalist Craig Marberry provides an intimate look at the women and their lives. Together they've captured a captivating custom, this wearing of church hats, a peculiar convergence of faith and fashion that keeps the Sabbath both holy and glamorous".

-snip-

And here's a link to an online review of the photographic book:

Soul Sanctuary: Images of the African American Worship Experience
by Jason Miccolo Johnson (Author), Gordon Parks (Contributor), Cain Hope Felder (Contributor), Barbranda Lumpkins Walls (Contributor), Dr. H. Beecher Hicks (Contributor)

"SOUL SANCTUARY is a photographic celebration of the most influential institution in the black communitythe black churchand its unique worship experience. The first illustrated gift book to depict the spiritual dimension of the black church and the pride that prevails within the church-going family, SOUL SANCTUARY is a multidenominational journey into the heart of the black worship experience. Churches in small rural and urban storefronts and large inner-city and suburban mega churches are featured. As the official photographer for Washington, DCs African Methodist Episcopal Church for the past 25 years, Jason Miccolo Johnson is a passionate church insider. His unique status gives his work a rare quality of intimacy as he captures the unbridled spirit of the black church through its congregants facial expressions and body language, their uniforms and dress, and, ultimately, the dignity of their worship.

About the Author
Jason Miccolo Johnson has been the African Methodist Episcopal Church's official photographer for the past 25 years. He has covered the annual conventions of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, Church of God in Christ, and the National Baptist Convention U.S.A. He is a former production assistant at ABC Network News' Good Morning America in Washington, D.C.

Barbranda Lumpkins Walls is a veteran journalist with more than 20 years of experience in newspapers, magazines, and online media. She spent 13 years as an editor at USA Today and was managing editor at Heart & Soul, a healthy lifestyles magazine for African-American women, and then programming director for AOL Black Voices".