This is an old question, but I think the answer needs to be updated.
This method does not involve defining and creating your own custom view.
In iOS 6 and up, you can easily change the background color and the text color by defining the
-(void)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView
willDisplayHeaderView:(UIView *)view
forSection:(NSInteger)section
section delegate method
For example:
- (void)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView willDisplayHeaderView:(UIView *)view forSection:(NSInteger)section
{
// Background color
view.tintColor = [UIColor blackColor];
// Text Color
UITableViewHeaderFooterView *header = (UITableViewHeaderFooterView *)view;
[header.textLabel setTextColor:[UIColor whiteColor]];
// Another way to set the background color
// Note: does not preserve gradient effect of original header
// header.contentView.backgroundColor = [UIColor blackColor];
}
Taken from my post here:
https://happyteamlabs.com/blog/ios-how-to-customize-table-view-header-and-footer-colors/
Swift 3 / 4
func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, willDisplayHeaderView view: UIView, forSection section: Int){
view.tintColor = UIColor.red
let header = view as! UITableViewHeaderFooterView
header.textLabel?.textColor = UIColor.white
}