The Black Country Club : The Barbershop

When you think of country clubs you think a bunch of white men who sit around in their leisure time who have a drink, chat with one another, maybe smoke a cigar, and maybe play a round golf. But there is another country club that many people wouldn't even consider it to be one, and that's THE BLACK COUNTRY CLUB: THE BARBERSHOP. Ever since I was a kid, I would get my haircut by these gifted individuals, who know how to work a pair of clippers. However, as I got older, I realized that a barbershop was more than just a place where a black man like myself would get a haircut and go home. I noticed the brotherhood and the unity of this place and not to mention the networking with one another. This is a place where you can talk sports, politics, currents events on both the local and national level, I mean you name it it will become a topic of discussion in the barbershop, and that includes "women." It is also a good place for networking, I have seen business cards exchanged from a guy who needed a job to the person offering the job, I have seen black men and women come in barbershops with always something to sell like cd's, jewelry, food, clothes, maintenance services I mean you name it I have seen it. And just like many places you attend and meet people there is always a story to tell. I recently spoke to a man whom I have known for years named "Lee" at the "who next" barbershop in Kansas City and I asked him what made him get into the barbering industry and he said to me " he got tired of being in the streets and constantly looking over his shoulders and being that he had kids he wanted a better life so barbering became a safe haven for him and has been for almost 11 years". He also said, " it's our black country club, anything, and everything will go down here from sports to women to politics, it's a place where you never know what to expect." I must say after speaking to him; he was right I have noticed it, and it becomes the mecca for black men all over. A mecca I hope that stands forever.

Images provided by gossiponthis.com