Catalog Entry from If These Walls Could Talk Exhibit, Neill-Cochran House 2020:

The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, blew away the cold air at President Barack Obama’s first inauguration, January 20, 2009, singing “My Country Tis of Thee.” It was an epic performance minutes before Obama was sworn into office. The outlandish hat she sported became a meme. Here it is immortalized in porcelain, with a bow that is not even big enough. I added to it two images by African-American artist Faith Ringgold, Mama Can Sing, Papa Can Blow, and gave it a title to remember. The outlandish hat, akin to a church lady’s “crown,” was custom-made of gray felt affixed with a massive, Swarovski-studded bow. Due to its significance, there were reports that the Smithsonian had requested the hat, but after Franklin’s death in 2018 the organization confirmed it would not include the piece in their collections. President Obama apparently wants the hat for his presidential library. Meanwhile, Jennifer Cumberbatch took inspiration from the hat to create a monologue featuring Paul Lawrence Dunbar’s poem of “When Malindy Sings.” When If These Walls Could Talk reopens after the pandemic isolation, she hopes to honor local divas (sheroes) with this hat. We will all join together to make American sing again.