As several states begin reopening, Black barbershop owners across the country have been weighing in on whether or not to continue following social distancing guidelines due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
They have found themselves at an impasse, CNN Business reported. Some remain closed amid stay-at-home orders, public pressures and/or personal experiences with the virus, while others said they need to get back to the passion that feeds them. None of them want to lose their businesses.
As such revered spaces in Black communities, the Black barbershop provides more than just a nice fade.
“There’s probably all kinds of barbershops talking about what’s going on with our government right now,” Mike Knuckles, 45, a barber at Select Cutz in Grand Prairie, Texas, told CNN Business. “If you lose a barbershop that’s been in the community 30 years and has a tradition and respect in the community, that’s huge.”
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Many are afraid they won’t be able to rebound – and their very livelihoods are on the line. Some even risked their lives making house calls through the pandemic.
“It’s kind of bone chilling,” Dennis Mitchell, owner of Harlem’s Denny Moe’s Superstar Barbershop, told CNN Business. He’s been unable to open his shop since New York is the country’s epicenter for the virus.
“I have an apartment I have to pay for as well and people who depend on me to put food on the table. … A lot of [black business owners] are not going to come back from this,” Mitchell said.
Like the Black community as a whole, Black businesses have been hardest hit by COVID-19. Many Black small business owners have failed to qualify for funding from programs like the Paycheck Protection Program. Since barbershops employ many independent contractors, their problem is magnified.
“If you’re a barber and you’re not a large enough priority for a major bank or financial institution, you’re going to be at a disadvantage getting your application in,” said Damon Dorsey, president of the American Barber Association. “We’re going to see a certain level of disadvantage for black-owned business because of the nature of systemic racism that exists in the financing industry.”
