The Tignon Law — Part 2 Teacher Resources

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The Tignon Law

Part 2: The Crown They Couldn't Take — Teacher Resources

She Turned The Law Into A Legacy.

Note to Educators: This page contains the answer key for the "The Tignon Law: Part 2: The Crown They Couldn't Take" lesson plan available at hotepcreations.com. Please do not share this document directly with students. For questions or additional resources visit hotepcreations.com.

Quiz — The Tignon Law: Part 2: The Crown They Couldn't Take

PART A — MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. How did free and enslaved Black women respond to the 1786 tignon requirement?

B) They decorated tignons with silk, jewels, and feathers.

Students should recall that rather than wearing plain, modest coverings as the law intended, free and enslaved Black women wrapped their tignons in silk, satin, and fine fabric, adding jewels, feathers, and gold beads. [1]"Tignon law." Wikipedia, citing Miró's 1786 Bando de Buen Gobierno and subsequent historical scholarship.[2]Vice. "When Black Women Were Required By Law to Cover Their Hair." vice.com. Students who answer A, C, or D are selecting outcomes not supported by the historical record.

2. According to historians, what effect did the decorated tignon ultimately have?

B) It became a "mark of distinction" rather than inferiority.

Students should recognize that the decorated tignon became known as a "mark of distinction" rather than a symbol of inferiority — the opposite of the law's stated intent. [1]"Tignon law." Wikipedia, citing Miró's 1786 Bando de Buen Gobierno and subsequent historical scholarship.[2]Vice. "When Black Women Were Required By Law to Cover Their Hair." vice.com. Students who answer A, C, or D are selecting outcomes not supported by the historical record.

3. What historical event ended Spanish enforcement of the Tignon Law?

B) The 1803 Louisiana Purchase.

Students should identify the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, which ended Spanish colonial administration of Louisiana and, with it, formal enforcement of the Tignon Law. [1]"Tignon law." Wikipedia, citing Miró's 1786 Bando de Buen Gobierno and subsequent historical scholarship.[4]Messy Nessy Chic. "The Black Woman's Forgotten Fight Against the Laws That Banned Her Hair." messynessychic.com. Students who answer A, C, or D are naming events from a different period.

4. After enforcement of the law ended, what did many Black women in Louisiana do?

B) Continued wearing the tignon by choice.

Students should recall that many Black women in Louisiana continued wearing the tignon by choice well after the legal requirement ended, carrying it forward as an expression of identity and heritage. [4]Messy Nessy Chic. "The Black Woman's Forgotten Fight Against the Laws That Banned Her Hair." messynessychic.com.[5]Reframe52. "Tignon Laws & Black Women's Creative Resistance." reframe52.com.[6]Women & the American Story, New-York Historical Society. "Fashionable Rebellion." wams.nyhistory.org. Students who answer A, C, or D are not supported by the lesson.

5. According to the lesson, which historical figure later adopted the tignon style in Europe?

B) Empress Josephine of France.

Students should identify Empress Josephine of France as the figure described in the lesson as later adopting the tignon style, helping popularize it in European fashion. [3]Kiddle Encyclopedia. "Tignon Law Facts for Kids." kids.kiddle.co. Students who answer A, C, or D are naming other historical figures not associated with this specific claim.

6. What does the CROWN Act address?

B) Discrimination based on natural hair texture and protective hairstyles.

Students should identify the CROWN Act as legislation prohibiting discrimination based on natural hair texture and protective hairstyles historically associated with race. [8]NAACP Legal Defense Fund. "The CROWN Act." naacpldf.org.[9]GovDocs. "CROWN Act — States with Hair Discrimination Laws." govdocs.com. Students who answer A, C, or D are naming unrelated areas of law.

7. According to the lesson, roughly how many U.S. states had passed a CROWN Act by 2026?

B) More than half.

Students should recall that by 2026, more than half of U.S. states had enacted some version of the CROWN Act, though no federal law had passed. [9]GovDocs. "CROWN Act — States with Hair Discrimination Laws." govdocs.com.[10]Ogletree Deakins. "CROWN Act Becomes Law in Pennsylvania." ogletree.com. Students who answer A, C, or D do not match the figure given in the lesson.

PART B — SHORT ANSWER KEY POINTS

Question 8. Explain how free and enslaved Black women transformed the tignon from a mark of stigma into a mark of distinction, using specific details from the lesson.

A strong answer should include:

  • The specific claim: free and enslaved Black women wrapped their mandated tignons in silk, satin, and fine fabric, adding jewels, gold beads, feathers, and intricate knots [1]"Tignon law." Wikipedia, citing Miró's 1786 Bando de Buen Gobierno and subsequent historical scholarship.[2]Vice. "When Black Women Were Required By Law to Cover Their Hair." vice.com.[7]Neo-Griot. "History: Tignon." kalamu.com.
  • Why this mattered: the result was widely described as a "mark of distinction," the opposite of the visual erasure the law was designed to produce
  • Strong answers will note: the elaborate tignons often outshone the dress of the white colonists the law was partly meant to reassure [2]Vice. "When Black Women Were Required By Law to Cover Their Hair." vice.com.[7]Neo-Griot. "History: Tignon." kalamu.com.
  • Strong answers will connect: this transformation to a broader pattern of turning a restriction into a form of visible self-expression rather than simple concealment

Question 9. Using the timeline described in the lesson, explain the difference between when the Tignon Law stopped being enforced and when Black women stopped wearing the tignon — and why that distinction matters.

A strong answer should include:

  • The specific claim: Spanish enforcement of the Tignon Law ended with the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, when the United States took control of the territory [1]"Tignon law." Wikipedia, citing Miró's 1786 Bando de Buen Gobierno and subsequent historical scholarship.[4]Messy Nessy Chic. "The Black Woman's Forgotten Fight Against the Laws That Banned Her Hair." messynessychic.com.
  • The distinction: many Black women continued wearing the tignon by choice long after the legal requirement no longer applied [4]Messy Nessy Chic. "The Black Woman's Forgotten Fight Against the Laws That Banned Her Hair." messynessychic.com.[5]Reframe52. "Tignon Laws & Black Women's Creative Resistance." reframe52.com.[6]Women & the American Story, New-York Historical Society. "Fashionable Rebellion." wams.nyhistory.org.
  • Strong answers will note: this shows the tignon had shifted from an imposed requirement into a chosen marker of identity and heritage
  • Strong answers will connect: the gap between legal enforcement ending and cultural practice continuing to the lesson's broader point that identity can outlast the conditions that first produced it

Question 10. Connect the history of the Tignon Law to the modern CROWN Act. What does the persistence of rules around Black hair across more than two centuries suggest about the relationship between law and identity?

A strong answer should include:

  • The specific claim: more than two centuries after the original 1786 edict, states began passing CROWN Act legislation, starting with California in 2019, to prohibit discrimination based on natural hair texture and protective hairstyles [8]NAACP Legal Defense Fund. "The CROWN Act." naacpldf.org.[9]GovDocs. "CROWN Act — States with Hair Discrimination Laws." govdocs.com.
  • The current status: by 2026, more than half of U.S. states had passed some version of the CROWN Act, but no federal law had passed the Senate [9]GovDocs. "CROWN Act — States with Hair Discrimination Laws." govdocs.com.[10]Ogletree Deakins. "CROWN Act Becomes Law in Pennsylvania." ogletree.com.
  • Strong answers will note: hair-based rules targeting Black women have taken different legal forms across more than 200 years, from a colonial dress mandate to workplace and school grooming policy
  • Strong answers will connect: the persistence of this issue to the lesson's central argument — that laws policing Black appearance have repeatedly failed to erase the identity they target, even as new versions of the same policing re-emerge

Sources & Footnotes

  1. [1] "Tignon law." Wikipedia, citing Miró's 1786 Bando de Buen Gobierno and subsequent historical scholarship.
  2. [2] Vice. "When Black Women Were Required By Law to Cover Their Hair." vice.com.
  3. [3] Kiddle Encyclopedia. "Tignon Law Facts for Kids." kids.kiddle.co.
  4. [4] Messy Nessy Chic. "The Black Woman's Forgotten Fight Against the Laws That Banned Her Hair." messynessychic.com.
  5. [5] Reframe52. "Tignon Laws & Black Women's Creative Resistance." reframe52.com.
  6. [6] Women & the American Story, New-York Historical Society. "Fashionable Rebellion." wams.nyhistory.org.
  7. [7] Neo-Griot. "History: Tignon." kalamu.com.
  8. [8] NAACP Legal Defense Fund. "The CROWN Act." naacpldf.org.
  9. [9] GovDocs. "CROWN Act — States with Hair Discrimination Laws." govdocs.com.
  10. [10] Ogletree Deakins. "CROWN Act Becomes Law in Pennsylvania." ogletree.com.

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