“This image by English artist Eyre Crowe was published on the cover of the March 9, 1861 edition of the Illustrated London News. Click here or on the image to read the complete entry at the Encyclopedia Virginia website.
“Before the Civil War, most black barbers explicitly groomed wealthy white men, like businessmen and politicians. Black customers were not allowed to get haircuts in these black-owned barbershops, mainly because white customers didn’t want black customers getting shaved next to them. That smacked too much of social equality, so barbers capitulated to the wishes of their white customers both in the North and the South.”
Hunter Oatman-Stanford. “Straight Razors and Social Justice: The Empowering Evolution of Black Barbershops,” Collector’s Weekly, May 30, 2014
“Even when Black-owned shops did eventually arise as slavery fell, these shops were still mostly catering to a white customer base. As such, it was difficult for a Black man to approach a Black barber to reap the benefits of their skills.”
“The History of Black Barbershops: The Must-Know Info About Black Barbershops’ Impact on the Industry,” National Association of Barbers, February 27, 2022
Douglas Walter Bristol, Jr. Knights of the Razor: Black Barbers in Slavery and Freedom. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2015
Quincy T. Mills. Cutting Along the Color Line: Black Barbers and Barber Shops in America. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2013
____________. Left of Black: The Black Barbershop. (35:46) John Hope Franklin Center at Duke University, 2014
____________. Left of Black: The Black Barbershop (4:42) John Hope Franklin Center at Duke University, 2018
1st U.S. Colored Cavalry 
eye opener in our history
LikeLike