Kente Stoles: A Tapestry of Heritage and Achievement
Across the United States, graduation ceremonies are filled with students in traditional black or uniformly colored robes. Academic achievements or participation in extracurricular activities are often denoted by stoles worn over traditional gowns. These stoles, typically around five inches in width, are draped behind the neck, flowing down the front of the garment. While stoles are typically a single base color representing the wearer’s academic field or achievements, African American students may showcase vibrant, West African-inspired patterns and colors through Kente stoles.
The Essence of Kente Cloth
Kente is a colorful cloth composed of long bands of woven fabric with alternating patterns. Originating in what is now modern-day Ghana nearly 400 years ago, Kente signified royalty and was originally worn only by kings and queens. The word Kente is derived from the word Kenton, which means basket in the Asante dialect of the Akan language, referencing the basket-like pattern in Kente cloth. In Ghana, the Akan people also refer to Kente as nwentoma, meaning woven cloth.
Africans, specifically West African cultures, are famous for their weaving skills, developed over thousands of years. Kente evolved from different weaving methods as early as the 11th century in Ghana, West Africa. Excavations have revealed loom weights, spindles, and whorls, proving that many African ancestors made a living by making and trading Kente. By the 17th century, Kente gained popularity among Akan royalty. In the early 19th century, Kente houses filled with master weavers thrived throughout the Ashanti capital of Kumasi.
There is a story that says weavers invented kente by trying to replicate the patterns of a spider. Kente was introduced to the western world when the Prime Minister of Ghana wore the cloth to meet with President Eisenhower in 1958. This coincided with the civil rights movement, leading Black people to associate Kente cloth with African politics. Kente was brought back into the limelight when the hip hop community adopted it in the 1980s.
Kente Stoles in Academia: A Symbol of Pride and Heritage
A Kente stole is a scarf-like garment worn over a student’s graduation gown. While academic stoles have been a tradition since the earliest universities, Kente cloth stoles are a more contemporary adoption, growing in popularity at colleges and high schools in the United States over the last 30 years. Handwoven using silk, rayon, polyester, or cotton, Kente cloth incorporates a variety of shapes and patterns, often in combinations of black, red, green, blue, and gold colors.
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On the academic stole, Kente patterns typically border a large margin reserved for text, such as the graduating class year or Greek letters representing the student’s fraternity or sorority. Some Kente stoles are themed from top to bottom in vibrant patterns reminiscent of West Africa. Like other academic stoles, Kente stoles represent a specific theme for the students that wear them. Most graduates in Kente graduation stoles are of African descent, wearing them in union with the shared heritage of those who birthed the Kente cloth tradition.
One of the first graduation ceremonies where students wore Kente cloth graduation stoles was at West Chester University of Pennsylvania. The Kente Commencement Ceremony was initiated to honor the sacrifice and effort that Black students made to earn a degree from an institution of higher education. On May 15, 1993, Dr. Franklin Simpson, Jerome Huston, Dr. Christian Awuyah, and C. James Trotman organized the first Kente Commencement Ceremony, with thirty graduates in attendance. This ceremony has since spread to high schools, churches, and colleges worldwide.
Today, Kente Cloth Graduation Stoles are a common sight at graduations. Black people wear them as a symbol of pride and dignity in their rich African heritage. The stole can also have other personal meanings for the wearer. It offers significance for people of other ethnic backgrounds to wear the garment. While any high school or college student qualifies to wear a Kente stole at their graduation, the display should hold a deep, personal significance for the wearer.
The Significance of Stoles in Academic History
Stoles were first used by the Catholic clergy in the 12th century to distinguish rank or promotion within their hierarchy. Not long after, stoles were adopted by the earliest universities, each color or pattern identifying the graduate’s major or academic or extracurricular achievement.
Naturally, the majority of students that display the distinctively Ghanaian fabric are of African descent. For them, among other things, it has the direct representation of union with their ancestral heritage. Many Black students might also wear Kente graduation stoles as a sign of solidarity with other Africans and their displaced descendants around the world. However, Kente stoles can also signify any hurdle for the wearer that might make academic success uniquely difficult for them. This allows Kente’s symbolism to overlap with many personal struggles regardless of the person’s ethnicity or skin color. While it’s less common, many non-Black students have proudly and ceremoniously displayed their Kente stole at their graduation commencements. For many graduates, mostly at colleges and universities, wearing Kente stoles is a school-sponsored tradition, the stoles being ceremoniously donned onto participating students before the main commencement event.
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Authenticity and Appreciation
Authentic Kente is a handwoven work of art made in Ghana, West Africa. Since gaining popularity, authentic Kente stoles have been increasingly counterfeited. These imitation stoles, machine-made in China, are not handwoven in Africa and misrepresent true Kente cloth. Moreover, they appropriate the work of African artists and mislead African American graduates into believing they are wearing authentic Kente cloth.
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