MIAMI GARDENS, FLA. (WSVN) - A South Florida university professor had an idea to help air community concerns, and it has led him to use his influence to hold important conversations inside the barbershop, all while empowering the men sitting in the chairs.
For decades, the barbershop has been a place where men can speak their mind, rub elbows with the elders of the community, and receive feedback about who they are, who they want to be and what they believe to be true about the world around them.
“The barbershop is a place where people can have real and authentic conversations,” said Jefferson Noël.
Noël, a professor at Florida Memorial University, had the notion that the barbershop is the community’s classroom, and everyone there is both a teacher and a student.
It’s what inspired him seven years ago to create Barbershop Speaks
“When I started, there was no specific topic. It was just, ‘What is the state of the community?’ And from there, people were actually interested,” he said.
That interest is still going strong.
“People still continued to come, and that showed me that there’s a thirst, a thirst for these real conversations inside the shop,” said Noël, “so it evolved, I evolved by listening to other people, and I believe my community evolved as well.”
Noël holds these talks in barbershops all across Miami-Dade County and in parts of Broward.
A recent conversation took place in Miami Gardens.
“We can have conversations that matter, such as financial literacy. We can have conversations about voter education and criminal justice and mental health awareness,” said Noël. “Those are incredibly important dialogues that we need to have, but we need to be intentional about those conversations.”
The more recent conversation was titled “My Money Matters.”
It sparked a conversation about the importance of how to save, how to invest, credit, taxes and so much more.
The barbershop is where they know your name, walk-ins are welcome, and after sitting in the chair, customers walk out with a fresh cut and a few more nuggets of wisdom.
It’s that knowledge and wisdom that’s also brought several women to Barbershop Speaks and joining in on the conversation.
Like small business owner Akira Byas.
“These conversations are super important because, not only does it provide resources, and we get to hear from local experts,” she said. “We’re also kind of like educating our people … about how to take control your money. I think a lot of time, especially in this economy, we don;t always have control of our money, ’cause we’re always on survival mode.”
Noël said he hopes to expand these conversations across the country, making a measurable impact in communities, one barbershop at a time.
To learn more about Barbershop Speaks, click here.
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