Hat

Clothing/Dress/Costume

Vermont Historical Society

Name/Title

Hat

Entry/Object ID

2020.26.1

Description

Shiny green cardboard top hat with oval label reading "VERMONT'S 66TH KAKE WALK". The hat tapers toward the top and has a round brim. The label is attached to the center front of the hat, flaring away from the hat at the sides. The words are white on a green ground, and are covered in silver glitter.

Context

UVM Kake Walk was a popular annual fraternity fundraising event in which participants dressed and performed in blackface. Excerpt of Kake Walk history from https://vtcynic.com/enterprise/kake-walk-a-look-back/ "For 73 years, UVM fraternity members danced in blackface and satin tuxedos during the longest running winter carnival in the country. At its peak in the 1960s, this event, known as the Kake Walk, was held twice over a February weekend in the Patrick Gym in order to fit all 8,000 spectators, according to ticket sales reports. The concept of the Kake Walk originated with slaves on northern plantations who performed in outrageous ways for their owners. The “most comical” slave won a piece of cake, sociologist James Loewen stated in the book “The University of Vermont: The First 200 Years.” Kake Walk began in 1893 to replace a canceled military ball at a time when Jim Crow laws were rampant and minstrel shows were becoming more popular in Vermont, Loewen wrote." Kake Walk ended in 1969.

Acquisition

Accession

2020.26

Source or Donor

Dopp, Sarah L.

Acquisition Method

Gift

Clothing/Dress/Costume Details

Article of Clothing/Dress/Costume

Hat

Clothing Sex

Unisex

Textile Details

Material

Cardboard

Made/Created

Date made

1963

Place

City

Burlington

County

Chittenden County

State/Province

Vermont

Country

United States of America

Continent

North America

Lexicon

Nomenclature 4.0

Nomenclature Primary Object Term

Hat, Party

Nomenclature Sub-Class

Party Accessories

Nomenclature Class

Ceremonial Objects

Nomenclature Category

Category 08: Communication Objects

Relationships

Related Person or Organization

Person or Organization

University of Vermont

Related Places