"OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE" : THE FORMER BLACK-OWNED BARBERSHOPS in MONROE

Before I give my list of some of the former Black-Owned Barbershops that use to be in Monroe,Louisiana, I will share a short story about one of the neighborhood Barbers, who cut my hair when I was around 8 years old. By the way, I grew up on the Southside of Monroe, in the "Legendary Bryant's Edition Subdivision!" My family lived on Bethune Street, right by the Zoo, only a few blocks away from where Sammy White, his parents, and his siblings lived. Well, getting back to the man who cut my hair a few times when I was a kid. I never knew his full name, or his first name, but "Mr. W T" is what everyone in my neighborhood called him. I still remember the first time my mother told me to go and have Mr. W T cut my hair. Since Mr. W T stayed on Beverly Street, within walking distance from my house, I was able to walk to his house by myself. My biggest concern about having Mr. W T cut my hair is that the kids at school had already told me about how Mr. W T would accidentally "cut a plug" in your hair. You see, during the week Mr. W T worked a full-time job, therefore, he would cut hair on Saturday mornings. Also, Mr. W T "loved watching wrestling," while he was cutting someone's hair, and would sometimes get distracted, which caused him to cut a plug in your head! Most times, the boy wouldn't even discover what had be done to him, until after he had left Mr. W T's house. After the boy showed up at school, everyone would say that he had a "W T SPECIAL!" Fortunately for me, I never received his special haircut. Now, here's my list of former Black-Owned Barbershops! 1. The Ritz Barbershop that was located at 918 Desiard Street ; 2.Ford's Clip & Style that was located at 1908 Tichelli Road, which was owned by Mrs. Rozena Ford ; 3. Robinson & Perry Barbershop that was located at 1101 Desiard Street, with William Robinson listed as being Co-Owner ; 4.Robert & Dorothy's Barbershop that was located at 709 Desiard Street, which was owned by Robert and Dorothy Henry ; 5.Stamper's Barbershop that was located at 713 Desiard Street, which was owned by Bennerson Stamper ; 6.Napoleon's Barbershop that was located on Renwick Street ; 7.Nelson 's Barbershop & Beauty Salon that was located at 3009 Burg Jones Lane ; 8.Edward's Barbershop & Beauty Salon that was located at 3310 Renwick Street ; 9.His & Hers Unisex Hair Styling Shop that was located at 1425 Winnsboro Road, and 10.Handy's Barbershop that's still in business, and is located at 3404 Renwick, which was owned by Jesse Handy, just to name a few!