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];
}