A decree demanding that women of African descent, slave or free, should cover their hair and heads with a knotted headdress and refrain from "excessive attention to dress".
Tignon Law was enforced with the intention to shame women of color, suppress creative expression and diminish the threat to the social status of white women during that time.
Despite laws that tried to suppress the flyness of African descendants, they protested in colorful ways.
According to historian Carolyn Long, "Instead of being considered a badge of dishonor, the tignon became a fashion statement.
The bright reds, blues, and yellows of the scarves, and the imaginative wrapping techniques employed by their wearers, are said to have enhanced the beauty of women of color."
8 comments
Delighted to find this site. Could you tell me if there is a connection between the dress of the Herero women of Namibia and the Creole women of Surinam? I believe missionaries introduced the dress code to the Herero women.
Great history. This was primarily done in New Orleans.
We have akways been a threat to the white women self esteem. They always have to try to cheat.
Thanks for the Black History information. I tell this same information to the women around my town. Especially when they see me wearing my headwraps, which I have come to embrace and feel like I’m some-what tapping into what our ancestors, mainly the black women, had to go through. Not just because they were women or let alone human beings, but mainly because they were….BLACKandSTRONG. I’m honored and proud to be a strong black woman, a black queen, and a chosen vessel of God! To God Be The Glory!!
#blackwomenSTANDup
#youAREabeautifulBLACK👑QUEEN
#ivoteforemojiswithheadwraps
Great lesson for us to absorb and share with our younger Black Queens! 💃