An African-American tradition is back. Judith Hunter, owner of Jumping the Broom Bridal Shop in Columbia, says she started her business about seven years ago after writing the broom ceremony for her daughter's wedding. For a while, Hunter kept her full time federal government job even as she operated her own African-American museum and gift shop. Rave reviews of her daughter's wedding led to a flood of requests for guidance from other engaged couples who also wanted to jump the broom, a tradition revived partly by references in the book and TV serial Roots and the recent movie Best Man. The Broom , which will be published this year by Black Classic Press in Baltimore.
Some couples even purchase smaller, personalized versions of their broom as keepsakes for guests.
The brooms, made from tree limbs and natural brush, are decorated by Hunter with ribbons and fabrics that compliment colors worn by the bridal party. In fact, her brooms are so popular that she has been contracted by the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles to provide a ceremonial broom for its permanent display. Broomstick ceremonies in this country began on pre-Civil War plantations whose owners prohibited Christian or civil weddings among slaves. The desire of couples to bond for life in a sanctified ceremony won out, however, as slaves created their own ceremonies, which included an eclectic mix of rituals from different African tribes. If one doesn't jump, the other wears the pants.