My Hood

Before we start, this is very close to an actual conversation I’ve had with multiple barbers. And it’s true – men’s hair styling schools will train you in cutting white OR black hair, or both if you’re just so crazy you want that.

Men’s hair styling is fundamentally racist in that a white person can go to certain barbers and fully expect that no one in the shop will be black, because his barber only cuts white hair. Now, to their credit, most people don’t recognize this as a fact. In fact, I challenge all of my male readers to ask your barber next time you drop in for a cut whether or not your black friend Victor can have his hair cut there. I almost guarantee you an interesting conversation…

On a side note, this first happened to me in ’91 when I was going to my Marine Corps Staff Sergeant’s favorite barber. I arrived at the base without my haircut, and they refused to believe that he wouldn’t cut my hair. It was an incredibly frustrating experience. In fact, if I’m looking for a barber, I make it a case to ask.

In McKinney, the M and M Barbershop on University Dr. only cuts white hair. At the Supercuts on El Dorado, only one barber will cut black men’s hair. And he only comes in on Sunday mornings.