Empty Barbershops on Saturdays

Empty Barbershops on Saturdays

Weekends, particularly on Saturdays are a significantly busy day for barbershops in the African American community of Milwaukee, similarly to African American barbershops across the country. Historically, these places designed to provide hair styling options, have been equally if not more importantly used as buildings for socialization. For African American men, along with religious structures, barbershops are one of the most significant gathering places to share and exchange business, political, leisure, and religious concepts. Barbershops represent an important faction of the African American community, serving as connective fibers for the community. This empty shop not only represents the absence of cosmetic business, but perhaps even more significant, is the absence of the social exchanges that have provided upliftment for many.

Kitonga Alexander

April 18, 2020

Kitonga Alexander