Part A — Multiple Choice

1. C) Gélé. The Gélé originated among the Yoruba of West Africa and is known for its tall, structured, sculptural form.
2. D) Angisa. The Angisa from Suriname used angular peaks pointing in specific directions to communicate coded messages.
3. B) Moussor. The Moussor is the original Senegalese wrap carried across the Atlantic, representing dignity and continuity of African identity.
4. C) Black women continued wearing tignons by choice as a symbol of cultural identity. After 1803, the tignon became a chosen expression of heritage rather than forced compliance.
5. C) Empress Joséphine of France. Joséphine adopted the tignon style, bringing it into European high society as haute couture.
6. B) A 21st-century law making it illegal to discriminate based on natural hair textures and styles. The CROWN Act protects natural hair in schools and workplaces.
7. C) A fashion statement — with bright colors and imaginative wrapping techniques that enhanced the beauty of women of color. Historian Carolyn Long documented how Black women transformed the tignon into high art.

Part B — Short Answer Key Points

8. Question: Choose two of the six tignon styles. Describe their origins, features, and what they communicated.
   A strong answer should include:
   • Gélé (Yoruba, West Africa): Structured, sculptural, rising high above the head; communicated royalty, dignity, and African sovereignty.
   • Tête en l’Air (Caribbean): Multiple upward peaks; each peak carried coded meaning; communicated messages colonizers could not read.
   • Madras Tignon (Louisiana/Haiti/Martinique): Bold plaid Indian trade cloth; bright colors; sometimes contained hidden messages.
   • Angisa (Suriname): Angular peaks pointing in specific directions; a coded communication system within the community.
   • Moussor (Senegal): Deep indigo and white; represented dignity and unbroken African lineage.
   • Jeweled Silk Tignon (New Orleans): Silk, satin, emerald brooches, pearls, feathers; ultimate act of defiance and luxury.
9. Question: Explain how Joséphine’s adoption of the tignon is cultural appropriation.
   A strong answer should include:
   • Black Creole women in New Orleans invented the Jeweled Silk Tignon and transformed a racist law into high art.
   • When Empress Joséphine adopted the style, French society celebrated it as “French fashion” without crediting its Black origins.
   • The history of resistance, oppression, and creativity behind the tignon was erased in the process.
   • This reflects a pattern where Black cultural innovation becomes mainstream only after being detached from its creators.
10. Question: Explain what it means that “the Tignon Law never really ended.”
    A strong answer should include:
    • The 1786 law attempted to control Black women’s appearance by legislating their hair.
    • Modern examples include school dress codes punishing braids, locs, and protective styles.
    • The CROWN Act (2019) was necessary because discrimination against natural hair continues today.
    • The same colonial logic — controlling Black identity through appearance — persists in modern institutions.