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A comment on Black barbers have become mental health advocates for African American men. Parent comment

Re:Black barbers have become mental health advocates for Afr... by dragonwriter on Tuesday August 24, 2021 @12:43PM (#28291346)
> This is something that people are unaware of (sort of on purpose), but barbershops in black communities become ad-hoc community centers, where black men can just go and be among other black men

Originally, it may have been a kinda-sorta-secret, but given the prominent role that barbershop-as-Black-social-nexus has played in popular media portrayals of Black American communities targeting general (not just Black) audiences for the last several decades, that's hardly the case any more.

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Re:Black barbers have become mental health advocates for Afr... by jedimastert on Tuesday August 24, 2021 @01:00PM (#28291639)
I think the ignorance in these comments say otherwise...
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Re:Black barbers have become mental health advocates for Afr... by mc32 on Tuesday August 24, 2021 @01:29PM (#28292136)
There were a couple of movies around this trope. Black TV also has this trope (kind of like how other comedies might insert a bar(tender) scene).

People are unaware of lots of things. Ask, who are your two senators. You'd be surprised in today's day and age of constant media barrage, but many people can't answer.

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Re:Black barbers have become mental health advocates for Afr... by dragonwriter on Tuesday August 24, 2021 @01:40PM (#28292324)
> There were a couple of movies around this trope.

It’s even referenced in a Disney (Pixar Animation Studios) film (Soul, where the main character’s history of arms-length interactions in that context as a violation of social norms is called out.)

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Re:Black barbers have become mental health advocates for Afr... by dragonwriter on Tuesday August 24, 2021 @01:36PM (#28292263)
Oh, I think there is still some ignorance, I just don't think what remains is really much attributable to the “sort of on purpose” concealment by the community as to disinterest in the lifestyle of other subcultures by people outside.
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Re:Black barbers have become mental health advocates for Afr... by gowld on Tuesday August 24, 2021 @06:16PM (#28295660)
It's not a "secret" hangout, it's a safe hangout that has a racist-acceptable justification so it won't get raided by the police for no good reason.
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