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Crowns: Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats

Crowns: Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats Hardcover - 2000

by Michael Cunningham/ Craig Marberry

  • New
  • Hardcover

Cunningham and Marberry offer a celebration of the style, pride, and verve of African-American women and their hats in magnificent photos and engaging essays. 50 photos.

Description

Doubleday, 2000. Hardcover. New. 1st edition. 212 pages. 8.00x7.75x1.25 inches.
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Details

  • Title Crowns: Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats
  • Author Michael Cunningham/ Craig Marberry
  • Binding Hardcover
  • Edition First Edition
  • Condition New
  • Pages 224
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Doubleday, New York
  • Date 2000
  • Illustrated Yes
  • Features Dust Cover, Illustrated, Table of Contents
  • Bookseller's Inventory # 1-0385500866
  • ISBN 9780385500869 / 0385500866
  • Weight 2.12 lbs (0.96 kg)
  • Dimensions 8.3 x 7.94 x 1.12 in (21.08 x 20.17 x 2.84 cm)
  • Themes
    • Ethnic Orientation: African American
    • Religious Orientation: Christian
    • Sex & Gender: Feminine
  • Library of Congress subjects United States - Social life and customs, United States - Religious life and customs
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 00-043176
  • Dewey Decimal Code 391.43

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From the publisher

Michael Cunningham is a commercial photographer whose clients include Coca-Cola and Sara Lee. Two of his photographs are currently on loan to the Smithsonian's Anacostia Museum, and his works have been featured in the New York Times and Ebony. He lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Craig Marberry, a former TV reporter, holds a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University and is the owner of a video production company. He has written articles for the Washington Post and Essence magazine. Marberry is also the grandson of the late Louis Henry Ford, former Presiding Bishop of the Church of God in Christ. He lives in Greensboro, North Carolina.

From the jacket flap

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.

Categories

Media reviews

African American Women and Their Church Hats:


"Our crowns have already been bought and paid for. All we have to do is wear them."
-James Baldwin



"We just know inside that we're queens. And these are the crowns we wear."
-Felecia McMillan, journalist

"Listen, never touch my hat! Admire it from a distance. Those are the hat queen rules, honey."
-Peggy Knox, child care provider

"You can flirt with a fan in your hand. You can flirt holding a cigarette, too. But a woman can really flirt with a hat."
-Dolores Foster, real estate agent (retired)

"My husband said, 'You don't need another hat. You don't have but one head.'"
-Dorothy Wynecroff, middle school teacher (retired)

Citations

  • Library Journal, 11/01/2000, Page 100

About the author

MICHAEL CUNNINGHAM is the originator and photographer of Crowns and the photographer of Spirit of Harlem. He is the executive director of Urban Shutterbugs, a photography and mentoring program for inner-city youth. His works have been featured in museums across the country.

CRAIG MARBERRY is the writer of Crowns: Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats and Spirit of Harlem: A Portrait of America's Most Exciting Neighborhood, both collaborations with photographer Michael Cunningham. A graduate of Morehouse College and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, Marberry has written for the Washington Post and Essence magazine. His collection of oral histories in Crowns has been adapted into an award-winning play written by Regina Taylor. Marberry, a Chicago native, lives in Greensboro, North Carolina.