More than just challenging the rights for women and queer people to feel safe and free in Catholic religion, Black female attendees also sought to reimagine the visual representation of catholicism's most important figures. Singer Zendaya appeared in a silver gown that resembled the body-armor of Roman Catholic saint and French heroine Joan of Arc. A quick google search of Joan of Arc reveals images of blonde and brunette white women appearing in paintings and films that portray the highly-celebrated figure. In wearing her warrior look, Zendaya not only showed an alternative interpretation of what Joan of Arc could have looked like, but also portrayed black women in the role of a heroine possessing a strength and prestige that was consistently questioned and forcibly challenged by the Catholic missionaries who pillaged African nation's in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

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Singer Solange Knowles, who is known for tackling social and political issues in her art, found power in creating a completely new image of a religious character. Solange incorporated different Catholic beauty and fashion statements into her look, including the iconic halo and nun head garb; however, instead of wearing them in their traditional manner she repurposed them to match the distinct characteristics of black culture and black womanhood. Solange stepped on the red carpet wearing the same durag that at any one moment can be found in the bathroom of practically any black household, and then topped it all off with a blonde braided crown pioneered by African women. Her look very well incorporated the night's theme but it would also loudly stand out on the ceiling of the sistine chapel.

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Looking back at the night's red carpet looks, it is fair to say that black women have once again taken the opportunity to use their image and art to address controversial subjects on major platforms. Just like in the spirit of Afro-futurism, where black women like Janelle Monáe and Erykah Badu are placing themselves in futuristic works of art, Rihanna, Lena Waithe, Zendaya, and Solange have positioned themselves not to adapt, but to stand out in spaces that have attempted to erase their existence. What makes their style statements even better is that these new images associated with Catholicism will now be permanently ingrained in the minds of millions of Met Gala enthusiasts. What's more, they will provoke conversations that question the continued oppression and isolation of black and LGBQTIA people in Catholicism — and their collective visual and written absence from Catholicism's history.

Related: 7 Met Gala Looks That Wouldn't Be Allowed in Catholic School

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