Wearing Kente Cloth Stoles During Graduation Ceremonies

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post provides information and examples of the African American custom of graduates wearing a kente cloth stole over their robes during graduation ceremonies.

Click these links for three other posts in this series about contemporary customs of wearing kente cloth:
http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/02/african-day-worship-services-in-african.html

http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/02/kente-cloth-worn-by-american-gospel.html

and
http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/02/kente-dances-parties-worldwide.html

The content of this post is presented for folkloric, historical, cultural, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are featured in these videos and to the publishers of these videos on YouTube. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post.


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BACKGROUND
Since at least the 1980s, many African American graduates -particularly university graduates- wear a kente cloth stole over their graduation robes. The kente cloth stole represents the graduates' pride in their African heritage, and their pride in their accomplishment of graduating. If they are members of a historically Black Greek lettered fraternity or sorority, the stole will be in the two colors of their organization.

Here are excerpts from two articles about this custom:
From http://articles.latimes.com/1991-10-27/news/vw-1049_1_kente-cloth
'Everybody Wants a Piece of Africa Now' : Culture: Kente, a cloth rich in color and tradition, weaves its way into wardrobes of African-Americans. 'It makes me feel stronger,' one wearer says.

October 27, 1991|DONNETTE DUNBAR | TIMES STAFF WRITER
"You might have seen it as a bright accessory donned by Spike Lee, Bill Cosby, Arsenio Hall or Jesse Jackson. Or you may have seen someone wearing it on the street, at a party, in church, at college graduation: in a bow tie, a cummerbund, a scarf, a skirt--even in shoes.

No matter who is wearing it--no matter what the garment--kente cloth is one of the most striking images to emerge from the growing Afrocentric movement. The brilliantly colored material that originated in Ghana and started to crop up in the United States in the late 1980s is appearing with greater frequency in urban areas…

Tightly woven on narrow looms with colorful threads, kente originated centuries ago in Ghana with the Ashantis, who still wear it, toga-style, during royal and religious ceremonies. (Kente means "basket.")...

"It's part of a larger movement, a new generation that has discovered an appreciation of African culture--its music and art," says Abena Busia, an associate English professor at Rutgers University in New Jersey, who was born in Ghana. Much of the cloth is made in red, green and gold, colors that came out of the Pan African movement in the 1950s.

Many high school and college students wear strips of kente around their necks during graduation ceremonies. At prominent black colleges such as Howard University in Washington, D.C., and Morehouse, Hampton and Spellman in Atlanta, kente--in the form of scarves, hats and book bags--has become commonplace.

Cal State Northridge students have been wearing the cloth sporadically since the early '70s, says Margaret J. Brown, 53, coordinator of the university's black graduation ceremonies. She says wearing kente stoles at graduation has become a tradition.

Kente is making an appearance at Sunday church services too. Walk into the First African Methodist Episcopal Church and you will see kente stoles draped on the shoulders of its ministers.”...

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From http://www.virginia.edu/oaaa/cult_events.html
Annual Donning of the Kente
Graduation Ceremony
"The origins of Kente cloth date back to 12th century Africa, in the country of Ghana. The cloth was worn by Kings, Queens, and important figures of state in Ghanaian society, during ceremonial events and special occasions. In a total cultural context, Kente is more important than just a cloth. It is a visual representation of history, philosophy, ethics, oral literature, moral values, social code of conduct, religious beliefs, political thought, and aesthetic principles. Today as African-Americans wear Kente cloth, they do so for inspiration, to honor, to celebrate, to connect, and to reflect on our collective heritage and communal struggles and successes.

The first "Donning of the Kente Ceremony" was held at Virginia Tech on the eve of spring commencement in 1995, as an African-American celebration of achievement sponsored by Virginia Tech's Black Organizations Council. Ronald Giddings was the founder of the "Donning of the Kente Ceremony" at Virginia Tech. It is a unique way to honor and recognize African-American graduates"...
-snip-
Particularly on the high school level, there has been administrative opposition to Black students in the United States wearing kente cloth stoles during their graduation ceremonies. For news articles about this opposition, click
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2000-05-21/news/0005210297_1_stoles-graduation-african-american and http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=3953

Some community, churches, student organizations (including historically Black Greek lettered fraternities and sororities) sponsor annual African American ceremonies for graduates. These ceremonies aren't meant to take the place of the students' official commencement ceremony. Most graduates who choose to participate in those ceremonies wear a kente cloth stole over their graduation robe.

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FEATURED VIDEOS
These examples are presented in chronological order, with the oldest dated examples given first.

Example #1: Syracuse University 2011 BLACK GRADUATION



Eeshe White, Uploaded on May 15, 2011

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Example #2: J.P. @ the Univ. of Washington Black Graduation Ceremony



DJJPGUNNz, Uploaded on Jun 14, 2011

What a night of jubilation, creativity & music. Of course, my son tries to steal the show as he places the ceremonial Kente Cloth around my neck. (Why did I give him permission to do it? God, what a ham!) My mom was very proud that night. My wife, Victoria, was a trooper throughout this whole journey.
-snip-
I don’t believe that there is a widespread custom of placing a ceremonial kente cloth around the neck of a graduating student at the commencement program. It's my experience that the students either purchase their stole themselves or someone purchases it for them and gives it to them to wear prior to the beginning of the graduation program.

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Example #3: Fresno County 2012 African American Graduation



LeachMedia Published on May 23, 2012

2012 Fresno County African American Graduation ceremony held at Fresno Memorial Auditorium. Hosted by San Joaquin Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.
-snip-
[Fresno County California] This appears to me to be a celebration for pre-university age students apart from their actual graduation ceremony.

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Example #4: After UW's Black Graduation Ceremony..."Eleleleleleelel"



thabeacon206ickness, Published on Jun 11, 2012
-snip-
"UW" is probably "University of Wisconsin–Madison".

This video appears to be of graduating students of Ethiopian descent dancing and celebrating with other Ethiopians. As such, this video suggests that wearing a kente cloth stole has become a custom that has been adopted by other Black students in the United States, and not just by African American Students. Notice there is no difference between the colors and designs of these students and those of many of the Black students in the other videos featured in this post. The crimson and cream colored stoles may indicate that these females are members of the historically Black Greek lettered sorority Delta Sigma Theta, Inc. or wearing stoles with those two colors may have an entirely different significance for these female graduates. On second thought, if the crimson and cream colors were paraphernalia for Delta Sigma Theta sorority they would have the initials DST, and it doesn't appear that those stoles have those initials.

I wonder if the custom of wearing a kente cloth stole during graduation is also practiced in other African or African Diaspora cultures outside of the United States. For instance, do graduates in the Ivory Coast and Ghana wear kente cloth wraps or stoles during their graduation ceremonies?

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Example #5: 2012 UCLA African American Student Graduation Procession



jwnealy3 Published on Jun 17, 2012
The beginning of the African American graduation ceremony, lead by traditional African dancers.
-snip-
This is probably an optional ceremony that African American graduates might participate in apart from their official graduation ceremony.

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