I poke a little fun at barbershop conspiracies, but all jokes aside, I wouldn't sleep on barbershop spaces as places that could generate meaningful social change!!
Side note: I am primarily speaking of black barbershops. It's what I know, it's my experience and I cannot write authentically from any space outside of my experience.
Barbershops are the one place where young boys, teen boys, young, middle age, and older men, preachers and teachers, Muslims, Christians, agnostics, lawyers, cops, trash collectors, firefighters, football but not basketball enthusiasts, golfing but not swimming enthusiasts, Democrats and the others, students, professors, drunks, club hoppers, hip hop, classical, jazz, gospel, Philly beard or goatee jawns, bald, need-to-be-bald, landscaping, gardening, PhD, drop outs, GEDs, college, trade school, self taught, ex-offenders, and not-so-ex offenders, Eagles, Cowgirls, ALL types, shapes, sizes, and experiences, these guys all gather in the barbershop!
They don't all go to church, but they all go the barbershop!!
They all don't drink and club, but they all go to the barbershop!!
I believe political careers, visions for businesses, mentorship programs, little league teams, and other initiatives in the neighborhood and around the nation began as conversations in barbershops!!
Others are digging the whole barbershop scene as a place and space for change as evidenced by recent literacy initiatives.
Recognizing the potential of such an amalgam, people have taken strides to improve upon the literacy "situation" in our communities. From the barbers themselves to politicians, here are just a few:
In the Germantown section of Philly, Representative Rosita Youngblood started a #BookstoBarbers literacy campaign.
In New York...
Check out Barbershop Books @BarbershopBooks on twitter:
Tweets by @BarbershopBooks
In Iowa
http://www.today.com/news/meet-courtney-holmes-barber-who-gave-kids-free-haircuts-reading-t39116
Wednesday, August 19, 2015
Monday, August 17, 2015
Beefed up security for "Straight Outta Compton"
So, all you have to do is Google search it, view the tweets, or turn on cable news and you will see that this past weekend, theaters added extra security for the Straight Outta Compton movie.
The topic is prime ribeye for barbershop bantering ('bantering' makes for good alliteration, it may be true in some cases, but in other cases I'm not so sure)!
Beef up security for what will undoubtedly be a majority black attended movie? OK??
Here are the #BarbershopPhD dissertation starters:
1. Blacks aren't the ones shooting up theaters.
2. You beef up security for a movie that intertwines in it strained police/black community relations so that when movie goers leave the theater...(some Barbershop PhD candidates would say that's a set up if they ever saw one)
But then, in related news, a friend of mine reposted this on Instagram...
Oh, so it was expected that we'd act like animals? Hmmm
Some Dr. Clip-n-Cuts would say, "well, maybe they should really be beefing up security when movies like Little House on the Prairie come out, because they seem to be the types of movies that....{you finish the sentence}"
This is what you may or may not hear in black barbershops about beefed up security at the showing of Straight Outta Compton.
The topic is prime ribeye for barbershop bantering ('bantering' makes for good alliteration, it may be true in some cases, but in other cases I'm not so sure)!
Beef up security for what will undoubtedly be a majority black attended movie? OK??
Here are the #BarbershopPhD dissertation starters:
1. Blacks aren't the ones shooting up theaters.
2. You beef up security for a movie that intertwines in it strained police/black community relations so that when movie goers leave the theater...(some Barbershop PhD candidates would say that's a set up if they ever saw one)
But then, in related news, a friend of mine reposted this on Instagram...
Oh, so it was expected that we'd act like animals? Hmmm
Some Dr. Clip-n-Cuts would say, "well, maybe they should really be beefing up security when movies like Little House on the Prairie come out, because they seem to be the types of movies that....{you finish the sentence}"
This is what you may or may not hear in black barbershops about beefed up security at the showing of Straight Outta Compton.
Thursday, August 13, 2015
#PopeInPhilly
I've had no shortage of opinions about Philly's preparations for the Pope's visit to Philadelphia for the World Meeting of Families. I decided that my inaugural post under #BarbershopPhD would focus on the lack of advertisements about this event.
(Digression: I intend for my #BarbershopPhD blog to be my opinions on topics not related to education and the African American experience. For those who frequent barbershops, EVERYBODY is an EXPERT on EVERYTHING in a barbershop! I confess, I do get sick of it sometimes and just sit and listen to the latest conspiracy and how my brothers KNOW that the government conspired to
make the sun hot. So, here, I opine and I AM right, lol)
Unless, I haven't been looking in the right places or been listening to the right stations or even watching the right channels, I have not seen, heard, or viewed a single advertisement on the World Meeting of Families set to take place here in Philly in September.
What I have seen and heard are CONSTANT news media reports on the topic, massive shut down plans for roads, SEPTA's stupid solution, and all these traffic boxes and whatnot! This is the quintessential marketing strategy and it's free. Why market when you can get the media to report on some aspect of the event every single day?
I was sick of all of this when it first started and now I see that many others are finally seeing things MY way, lol
BarbershopPhD Bottom Line: The Vatican is trying to save money and signed agreements with all the news stations that they have to report on The World Meeting of Families everyday to get them free marketing! Because you notice, we haven't seen anything about pedophile priests lately.
#BarbershopPhD
#EveryoneAnExpert
#EverybodysRight
(Digression: I intend for my #BarbershopPhD blog to be my opinions on topics not related to education and the African American experience. For those who frequent barbershops, EVERYBODY is an EXPERT on EVERYTHING in a barbershop! I confess, I do get sick of it sometimes and just sit and listen to the latest conspiracy and how my brothers KNOW that the government conspired to
make the sun hot. So, here, I opine and I AM right, lol)
Unless, I haven't been looking in the right places or been listening to the right stations or even watching the right channels, I have not seen, heard, or viewed a single advertisement on the World Meeting of Families set to take place here in Philly in September.
What I have seen and heard are CONSTANT news media reports on the topic, massive shut down plans for roads, SEPTA's stupid solution, and all these traffic boxes and whatnot! This is the quintessential marketing strategy and it's free. Why market when you can get the media to report on some aspect of the event every single day?
I was sick of all of this when it first started and now I see that many others are finally seeing things MY way, lol
BarbershopPhD Bottom Line: The Vatican is trying to save money and signed agreements with all the news stations that they have to report on The World Meeting of Families everyday to get them free marketing! Because you notice, we haven't seen anything about pedophile priests lately.
#BarbershopPhD
#EveryoneAnExpert
#EverybodysRight
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