Perhaps he doesn't have the sort of hedge trimmers necessary to take on a serious set of dreads...
Posted on 10/26/2005 8:01:27 AM PDT by BerniesFriend
'Whites Only' Barber
While America remembers Rosa Parks, some in North Lafayette are being reminded of Jim Crow. A whites only barbershop owner says it's not what you think. Or is it?
Barber Herb Leger says, "I tell them you want a haircut, go across the street. They can give you a professional haircut, but I can't." Most people are shocked when they see whites only on Leger's barber sign. Like Victoria Cenales who stopped by to ask Leger why doesn't he accept black customers.
Leger told her, "It's not that I don't want black people in the shop. It's just that I'm not qualified to give them professional service." Cenales told him, "People will misunderstand that sign. That was back in the 60s."
Leger says he's inexperienced and not trained to cut black hair. "Completely different way of cutting hair. It's not the same," he says. The owner of Platinum Kutz, another barbershop across the street, says Leger has never sent customers his way, and customers inside can't believe Leger thinks it's okay to put up a whites only sign. Thirty-year-old Nick Milton says, "I had to think about what year I was in - whether I was in the 60s or the 2000s." "Just plainly state I don't do black haircuts. You don't have to say whites only," Ellis Banks says. Barber Ron Landry tells KATC, "It's a racial sign. It makes a statement. I don't like it."
Leger is 72-years-old and clearly remembers the animosity and hurt that "whites only" signs spread during the civil rights era. He says he's not racist, just not qualified. Cenales says his sign is "the way society is." "Most people are closed-minded," she says.
Leger understands the sign could send a mixed message. "In today's life, I can see. People, especially your black people are not very broadminded," he says. Platinum Kuts owner Jason Walker says, "I feel it's ignorance, and it has no place.
Leger says in a few days he's replacing his temporary sign with a permenant one without whites only. Since he only opened two months ago, he used it to establish the kind of services he offers.
My guess is that he would not be happy to try. Just a guess now.
Concerning the blunt signage, the following observation, "Since he only opened two months ago, he used it to establish the kind of services he offers", says it all.
If anyone did not get that you were making a joke w/o having to be told, then they are stoopid.
I suspect the guy would have a much easier time explaining his situation to a white man than a black man. Now that I think back over the years I don't think Ive ever seen any blacks in the places where I get my hair cut. I think it's kind of a naturally occuring segregation.
Think about it. How often do you find a tanning salon full of black people?
How about 'high yallas?'
Because the other type goes to a fabulous stylist instead of just a barber?
Where's the outrage about the malls in Atlanta that won't cut white people's hair?
In order to get a cosmetology license, I believe that you have to demonstrate proficiency with *all* types of hair.
And all hair *isn't* alike.
I'll never forget my wife having to explain this to my daughter when she came home from a friend's house [daughter:white, friend: black] with some of the friend's hair care products in her hair- they'd been playing, as little girls do.
And we were grateful it was just conditioner they had used- some of those products have real strong chemicals in 'em...
So if Michael Jordan came in and wanted his head done in his normal fashion (bald) this guy could not do it ?
I had an old barber once with a similar policy, only he didn't have a sign. But one day I am in the chair getting my hair cut when a young black guy comes in and sits down. Without even missing a beat the barber says:
"Sorry son, I don't cut black hair, unless you got Cab Calloway hair."
I busted out laughing, the guy sat their stunned (perhaps unaware of who Cab Calloway was) then slowly got up and left.
I don't think the barber was a racist, he just needed to work on his tact.
Perhaps he doesn't have the sort of hedge trimmers necessary to take on a serious set of dreads...
I find the motivation to be very questionable. A lot of black athletes like a bald head. I would think this guy would be qualified to shave a bald head, black, white or whoever.
That's my understanding. However, given this guy's age, he might have "grandfathered" in prior to the proficiency requirement.
After visiting Herb Leger:
That's what he claims.
Leger told her, "It's not that I don't want black people in the shop. It's just that I'm not qualified to give them professional service."
Trying to be coy doesn't hide the blatant ignorance he's showing. He put the sign up, the least he could do is be honest about it. One puts a sign up like that, they fully understand the connotations behind it. Claiming it has a new meaning today is just to try and add insult to everyone's intelligence.
LOL. Do they have a sign outside their shops that reads "Blacks only".
This white guy would NEVER set foot in his shop, but I've been known to tilt at a few windmills.
"Just plainly state I don't do black haircuts. You don't have to say whites only," Ellis Banks says. Barber Ron Landry tells KATC, "It's a racial sign. It makes a statement. I don't like it."
So, you can say 'No Blacks', but you can't say 'Whites only'? That's just plain stupid. Get the chip off your shoulder and get a %#$% haircut
Also, I knew some girls in cosmotology school in the '80s and you either elected to train to cut both styles of hair or one or the other. This practice has never been considered racist.
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