What is it about hoop earrings and Black folks? Hoop earrings shine, not just because they are made of gold or silver, but because they represent something even brighter.
Introduced to ancient Egyptians around 1,500 BCE, hoops represented the cycles of life, and gold symbolized the flesh of the gods and the warmth and light of the sun. Centuries later, hoop earrings reminded our people that we are part of that circle of life.
As the only jewelry that many enslaved people were allowed to wear, hoop earrings helped them to assert their identity at a time when society and the law didn’t want them to have an identity at all.
Women continued to honor the African roots of these earrings during the Black Power Movement in the 1960s and 70s. Activists, musicians, and celebrities wore hoops. And today, those hoops are still shining.
The hoop is the symbol of things coming full circle. As Black people, we have always drawn our power and our identity from our origins. Hoop earrings help us keep that identity face forward, with style.