“It’s All About Just Creating the Safe Space”: Barbershops and Beauty Salons as Community Anchors in Black Neighborhoods: Crime Prevention, Cohesion, and Support During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

We conducted 13 in-depth qualitative interviews with Black owners of barbershops or beauty salons within predominantly Black neighborhoods to explore the social mechanisms that aid in suppressing crime. Four emergent themes arose: (1) community anchors and safe havens, (2) violence interrupters, (3) life counselors, and (4) COVID-19 disruption and lessons of resiliency. Findings from this study contribute to the theoretical and empirical literature focused on “local institutions” and the importance of these businesses in building informal social control within Black communities. Further, these findings enhance our understanding of underlying place-based crime prevention mechanisms. This study promotes these institutions as key components in future crime prevention and public health interventions.

Place type or place function: What matters for place attachment?

“…Examining a variety of places within the category of local consumption is important because places that support attachment and social connection vary by population group; geographic area and cultural contexts. For example, the social and symbolic significance of barbershops and beauty salons in Black American communities has long been acknowledged (Boehme et al, 2022), while in regional Scotland public houses are well known places of attachment and connection (Baker et al, 2016). Thus, examining local consumption places as a general category can provide a better understanding of the importance of local consumption places for generating attachment to the community for different sub‐population groups.…”

“…Understanding the form and function of places in the community that engender feelings of attachment and community belonging among residents may have important practical applications, such as shaping policies to support individual businesses to serve as community hubs of attachment and socialization. Scholars suggest such interventions may be useful for enhancing place‐based conservation initiatives, suppressing crime and enhancing resilience (Boehme et al, 2022). Practically, the findings of this research also provide evidence to support the utility of places that can offer consumption or functional activities alongside opportunities for social engagement.…”

A Scoping Review of Black American Beauty Studies From 1995 to 2022

“…Scholars have studied the importance of hair within the African diaspora, from barbershops and hair salons (Boehme et al, 2022) to individual and communal relationships to hair. Various systematic and scoping reviews focusing on Black Americans or beauty exist.…”