Imani Perry

And the fabric trader mentioned that the planter said that he had to bring back blue cloth, otherwise the women, the black women who were enslaved, wouldn't want it. And so, you know, there's something extraordinary about these women who were enslaved insisting upon a particular color for adornment. And that has lots of roots.

And the fabric trader mentioned that the planter said that he had to bring back blue cloth, otherwise the women, the black women who were enslaved, wouldn't want it. And so, you know, there's something extraordinary about these women who were enslaved insisting upon a particular color for adornment. And that has lots of roots.

I think, you know, in some ways blue is a color that has captivated the whole world, which is why indigo was so popular. But also there were, you know, spiritual and social meanings to the color blue in various parts of West and Central Africa. And that were probably sort of part of the root of that aesthetic desire.

I think, you know, in some ways blue is a color that has captivated the whole world, which is why indigo was so popular. But also there were, you know, spiritual and social meanings to the color blue in various parts of West and Central Africa. And that were probably sort of part of the root of that aesthetic desire.

I think, you know, in some ways blue is a color that has captivated the whole world, which is why indigo was so popular. But also there were, you know, spiritual and social meanings to the color blue in various parts of West and Central Africa. And that were probably sort of part of the root of that aesthetic desire.

And so then when I see the repetition of the blue and particularly the repetition among black women of the South, I think of it as a color that certainly had a kind of grace and elegance. It's not too, you know, frou-frou. It's pretty, but it has a seriousness to it. And it's a color that's associated with power, culturally speaking. And so I don't think it's coincidence because there are these...

And so then when I see the repetition of the blue and particularly the repetition among black women of the South, I think of it as a color that certainly had a kind of grace and elegance. It's not too, you know, frou-frou. It's pretty, but it has a seriousness to it. And it's a color that's associated with power, culturally speaking. And so I don't think it's coincidence because there are these...

And so then when I see the repetition of the blue and particularly the repetition among black women of the South, I think of it as a color that certainly had a kind of grace and elegance. It's not too, you know, frou-frou. It's pretty, but it has a seriousness to it. And it's a color that's associated with power, culturally speaking. And so I don't think it's coincidence because there are these...

unbelievably important moments where it appears and I don't think there's a kind of I don't assume that for those women they said well I'm going to wear blue because of this but I think we're often drawn to colors and styles and forms of adornment as a way of communicating a message to the world and asserting something about ourselves and so I you know I think those blues were powerful blues they were and they were also

unbelievably important moments where it appears and I don't think there's a kind of I don't assume that for those women they said well I'm going to wear blue because of this but I think we're often drawn to colors and styles and forms of adornment as a way of communicating a message to the world and asserting something about ourselves and so I you know I think those blues were powerful blues they were and they were also

unbelievably important moments where it appears and I don't think there's a kind of I don't assume that for those women they said well I'm going to wear blue because of this but I think we're often drawn to colors and styles and forms of adornment as a way of communicating a message to the world and asserting something about ourselves and so I you know I think those blues were powerful blues they were and they were also

you know, elegant blues and beautiful blues.

you know, elegant blues and beautiful blues.

you know, elegant blues and beautiful blues.

Yeah. So, you know, so I chart a course of that by initially thinking about the term the boys in blue, which we now think about as terms of policing. But in the context of the Civil War, we're Union soldiers. And there was the sense of promise when the boys in blue arrived and this sense of extraordinary power.

Yeah. So, you know, so I chart a course of that by initially thinking about the term the boys in blue, which we now think about as terms of policing. But in the context of the Civil War, we're Union soldiers. And there was the sense of promise when the boys in blue arrived and this sense of extraordinary power.

Yeah. So, you know, so I chart a course of that by initially thinking about the term the boys in blue, which we now think about as terms of policing. But in the context of the Civil War, we're Union soldiers. And there was the sense of promise when the boys in blue arrived and this sense of extraordinary power.

Not just courage, but liberation when black soldiers were able to don Union Blue and free themselves and free their people because they were so essential to the Union war effort to save the nation. So that blue was a kind of powerful sense of the boys in blue and a positive sense of the boys in blue.

Not just courage, but liberation when black soldiers were able to don Union Blue and free themselves and free their people because they were so essential to the Union war effort to save the nation. So that blue was a kind of powerful sense of the boys in blue and a positive sense of the boys in blue.

Not just courage, but liberation when black soldiers were able to don Union Blue and free themselves and free their people because they were so essential to the Union war effort to save the nation. So that blue was a kind of powerful sense of the boys in blue and a positive sense of the boys in blue.