Like many establishments of its kind, Lee’s Barbershop offers customers more than a cut and a shave. They can get news on the NFL, happenings in the community, advice on women, rumors about the mayor and updates on local artists. And like a growing number of black barbershops, Lee’s participates in potentially, life-saving health initiatives for its customers.
“The shop is definitely used as an outreach station to make the black community aware of services that will save their life,” says Arthur Lee, who has owned the establishment in Washington, D.C., for nearly 25 years. “Non-profits do things like high-blood pressure screening and HIV testing in front of the shop. We’ve been part of a condom program since about 2005. People who don’t even get their hair cut will come by and get (condoms)…because they’re free.”
Dr. Bill Releford knows that many black men frequent the barbershop way more than a doctor’s office. So he founded the Black Barbershop Health Outreach Program in 2007, starting with his own barber in his own Los Angeles community. Now the program has gone national through a 50-city tour, and more than 25,000 men have been screened for diabetes and high blood pressure in more than 400 barbershops. Releford said his goal is to screen 500,000 men by 2012.
My grandmother “Nana” was the dearest, sweetest, kindest and most loving woman I’ve ever known, a woman who raised her six children alone after being widowed at an early age. A fierce prayer warrior and strong woman of God, she was a Sunday-school superintendent and later a church mother.
And whenever she felt it necessary, Nana was deft with a strap across legs and hind parts. Following in her footsteps, my mother worked a mean slipper.
But they never went crazy or got out of hand, not like Joe Jackson and other parents accused of atrocities such as oiling their children before beating them with an ironing cord. No, with Ma and Nana, it was always just two or three licks and they were done.
Yours truly was a guest Wednesday on NPR’s “Tell Me More with Michele Martin.” The topic was my “Menthol Madness” article on The Root, regarding the FDA’s proposed ban on mentholated cigarettes.
The proposal has caused a rift among forces that advocate on behalf of blacks’ interests, including the NAACP, Congress of Racial Equality, the National Black Chamber of Commerce and the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives.
Joining me on the segment – with an opposing view – was John Patton of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.
As I’ve mentioned, I don’t enjoy taking a position that might appear to be supportive of Big Tobacco. The mere thought of being an advocate or defender creeps me out. But I can’t ignore the principle involved in this debate and the unintended consequences that would follow.
Sarah Palin has indicated that she’s open to a presidential bid in 2012. Therefore, President Obama and every one of his supporters should pray nightly that she enters the race and wins the Republican nomination.
Although there’s a “be careful what you wish for” risk in that scenario, I refuse to believe that most voters in a general election would choose Palin as their commander in chief. They might choose to put her on a Bridge to Anywhere Else, but definitely not the Oval Office. She’s easy on the eyes, but not with her finger on the button. She’d be in over her head so deep, she’d need custom-made stilettos to see her way clear.
Like virtually every other African-American smoker I know, the only acceptable brands of cigarettes for me came in green-and-white packs. If you didn’t puff Salems — my cancer sticks of choice — you probably consumed Newports or Kools.
I always found it odd that the top three brands shared the same color scheme. It took a few years to realize that menthol was another commonality, which Dave Chappelle had fun with on his “I Know Black People” game-show sketch on his Comedy Central show. He asked contestants why blacks love menthol so much. “I don’t know,” said a social worker. “That is correct!” Chappelle said. “No one knows for sure.”
Whatever the reason for that preference — shared by an estimated 80 percent of black smokers, according to most reports — cigarette manufacturers and anti-tobacco groups are well aware that we favor menthol. But a proposed ban on mentholated cigarettes has caused a rift among forces that advocate on behalf of blacks’ interests. In one corner, favoring a ban, are the NAACP, the National African American Tobacco Prevention Network and the African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council. In opposition are the Congress of Racial Equality, the National Black Chamber of Commerce and the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives.
The NAACP joined the debate last week, just three days after the other groups urged the Food and Drug Administration to reject calls for a ban on menthol flavored cigarettes. The issue appears to be a Catch-22: You either support blacks’ access to a dangerous-but-legal product (and arguably sustain its usage), or you support discrimination against the mostly black consumers of a dangerous-but-legal product (and arguably promote growth in the illicit cigarette trade).
I haven’t been a smoker for more than 20 years and have no intention of picking up the habit again. But if I did and discovered that my Salems were forbidden while those disgusting Marlboros were still on sale, I’d be livid. Why would the government ban the cigarettes that I prefer, while the estimated 78 percent of non-Latino, white smokers who prefer non-mentholated cigarettes are allowed to keep on puffing?
That’s been my stock answer whenever asked – always in a “You’re a what?” tone of disbelief – how in the world I can be a fan of the Dallas Cowboys AND the New York Giants. I was just a little kid. That’s how.
And while many folks act like I’m getting over on the system, or I have an unfair advantage compared to typical fans, there’s nothing fun about watching my teams face one another. Let’s just say I know how Richard Williams must feel when he watches Venus and Serena compete against each other.
My Giants beat my Cowboys on Monday Night Football, and like every other time they’ve met in my lifetime, it was pure misery. My daughters get a big kick out of my agony, repeatedly asking who I’m rooting for. It’s simple: I root neither for nor against either team when they butt heads. I just sit there in pain.
I’m a huge fan of natural hair styles like braids and dreads, and I’m especially fond of sisters who rock billowing Afros or kinky twists. I’ve been known to raise my fist in a black power-type salute and say “Free hair!” when passing a sister like, say, Danielle “The Black Snob” Belton (when she wears it out).
I’m not hating on the sisters who get perms. But I think it’s important to let black girls know there’s nothing wrong with their natural hair – regardless of what mainstream America thinks. That’s why I’m sharing this Sesame Street video and encourage you to do likewise.
It’s a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma: How can African-Americans gain power and influence within the Republican Party – giving them a welcome option and an insurance policy against being taken for granted by the Democratic Party – when the GOP seems so indifferent, if not hostile, toward African-Americans?
I don’t have the answer. But it might help if Republicans had more black members who are as introspective as Condoleezza Rice appears to be on her book tour. Rice, author of “Extraordinary, Ordinary People,” doesn’t come off like the stereotypical “color-blind” black Republican, someone who acts like 40 years of Civil Rights has wiped out 400 years of discrimination. As a woman who grew up in Bull Connor’s “Bombingham,” Ala. – and a childhood friend with one of the four girls killed at the 16th Street Baptist Church – she says her views can’t be easily categorized despite her party affiliation.
I don’t what’s happened between Clarence Thomas and his wife, Virginia “Ginni” Thomas. But he must have really pissed her off. That’s the only explanation for bringing so much unwanted and unnecessary attention to the Supreme Court Justice.
Either that or she’s nuttier than the craziest members in her Tea Party organization. Liberty Central purports to “restore the greatness of America” and oppose the “tyranny” of President Obama and Democrats in Congress.
When she founded Liberty Central and became its chief executive, Virginia Thomas dropped a mess of ethical issues on her husband’s lap. But by calling Anita Hill and dredging up a sexual harassment case that transfixed the nation nearly 20 years ago, Virginia Thomas shoved a pile of old mess back in her husband’s face.
What parent hasn’t squared off with a child about completing chores?
I know I’ve had my share of battles when it comes to getting my kids to clean their rooms, the bathroom, kitchen, family room or car – you name it. But my dear friend and author Kimberly Parker, aka “Writing Momma“has an answer for parents who are tired of haggling with kids about chores.
According to Parker, it’s all about incentives and positive reinforcement. She explains on her new blog for the Prince George’s County (Md.) School District. She offers a great way to motivate children and teach them the rewards of hard work and discipline. I’m definitely going to implement her advice.
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Like many establishments of its kind, Lee’s Barbershop offers customers more than a cut and a shave. They can get news on the NFL, happenings in the community, advice on women, rumors about the mayor and updates on local artists. And like a growing number of black barbershops, Lee’s participates in potentially, life-saving health initiatives for its customers.
