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A Lasting Gift: The Barber, the Barbershop, the Community


 

Less than a year ago I was was inspired by an article in the Banner to write this piece:

One Hundred Years and Other Good News, Village Green/Town² October 21, 2024

The Banner article:

Columbia barbershop marks 100 years of haircuts and mentoring Black barbers, Jess Nocera, Baltimore Banner  

It’s because of Ms. Nocera that I learned about the history of Warren’s Barbershop, now in Owen Brown, and of its long-time Howard County owner, Julius Warren, Jr.

His son, Mr. Julius, joined the family [barbershop] business when he was 13. That’s when his father handed him his first pair of clippers. 

“Being a barber was one of the best businesses to have back then,” said Mr. Julius, who took over the shop from his father in 1981…

Yesterday Nocera was back with more about Warren and his life’s work as she penned his final story.

Julius Warren Jr., Black-owned barbershop owner, was an institution in Howard County, Jess Nocera, Baltimore Banner

Also noteworthy: Warren was a 1955 graduate of Harriet Tubman School.  You may remember how I learned about the value and power of a good haircut to students at Harriet Tubman from a talk by fellow-graduate Bessie Bordenave in 2017.

Helping to keep members of the community looking good and feeling good - - I’m paraphrasing County Executive Calvin Ball here - - was and is a far bigger deal than many of us who are white can imagine. In a culture that has long insisted that white skin and white hair are The Norm, the creation of spaces where Black Americans were welcomed and valued has been hugely important. (Still worth watching: Henry Louis Gates, Jr’s “Making Black America: Through the Grapevine” on PBS.)

Days after Warren died the barbershop that had been his life’s work held their sixth annual back-to-school event. That must have been hard to do. Think of how you would feel under those circumstances.

Here’s a flyer from last years’s event to give you an idea. 





A few days after Mr. Warren died, the barbershop held its annual back-to-school festival, complete with free haircuts and a live band.

When Clark spoke about Warren at the community day last month, he looked out to the crowd and was filled with joy.

“I looked around at the whole bunch of people and knew this all started because of Mr. Julius,” Clark said in an interview Friday. Clark and Julius Warren III now co-own the barbershop.

It’s impossible to ignore the common thread in both of these articles: hard work, mentoring, teaching, learning, fostering relationships, engaging in community service. As much as these themes are imparted to the reader, it’s even clearer to see just how deeply they have been imprinted on Warren’s children.

Brittany Warren and her brother, Julius Warren III, want to start a foundation to honor their father’s legacy by helping young Black entrepreneurs start their own businesses.

The Instagram account for Warren’s Barber Shop announced the passing of Mr. Julius and shared funeral arrangements, along with a song. I’m listening to it now and giving thanks for his life and legacy.









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