How Did The Slave Women Dress For Church Service

Contributed by katherine egner gruber.

How did the slave women dress for church service. In west africa where many american slaves originated clothing was minimal and even that was generally stripped from newly enslaved people just prior to the middle passage. Others forbade their slaves to attend church because as an ex slave explained white folks fraid the niggers git to thinkin they was free if they had churches n things. And they therefore submit themselves to his authority daily as do i as yet another very willing bondservant of god and slave of righteousness romans 6 16 19.

Slave clothing and adornment in virginia. Female slaves sometimes expressed resentment about dresses that were plain coarse and un feminine. Some masters did not allow their slaves to go to church and ridiculed the notion of religion for slaves because they refused to believe that negroes had souls.

Girls later wore adult dresses when they began to menstruate. Slave owners manipulated clothing in a variety of ways to oppress their slaves. For their white european masters the slaves head wraps were signs of poverty and subordination.

Slaves were required to keep their own clothing clean. Yes in fact christian women who love the lord actually are still slaves today in the biblical sense willing bondservants of jesus christ and they always will be. In the photograph above the women wear head wraps while the men wear hats.

The material of the clothing was coarse and far from being comfortable and warm. Instead slaves created their own invisible church that brought together african roots and american needs. Shoes that were given to the slaves usually last only a few weeks.

Evidence suggests that dances attendance at church and other social gatherings were events for which slave women often put on their fancier dresses and primped.