A visual story of the heart of a city.

The barber shop, a cultural platform of the Black community as early as the 1800’s, was the first privately owned black business. The barber and the barber shop experience nourishes the soul of the unseen man that comes from a population which has been haunted by their outward appearance for centuries. It is in the barber shop where the image of blacks is skillfully composed and the Black identity is crafted. unFaded looks at rites of passage, tradition, and how the barbershop experience has served as a cultural platform for individuals in the Black community.

Thrust into a world of change, Shackled down in fetters,
Given strange new standards, By different pace setters;

Up early, every morning, Before the break of day,
With hair matted down, Like tramped on Hay;

No aids to aid nature, No soap, nor shampoo, No comb, no brush, 
What was a chief to do? Lost was his culture,
Taken from his kind, Picked was his brain,
Confused was his mind.

Tall, strong and sturdy, A ring in his nose
The Chief of his tribe, Wearing “corn rows”.

A band on his forehead, A pick in his hair,
The spear by his side, Showing a man of care.
The feeling of rejection, His soul had to face
With the changing of time, And the change of pace. 
- Bessie Ann Watkins

FREEDOM BEFORE SLAVERY: PRECEDING 1612
"Rooted Pride"
The African pick, a symbol of culture, heritage, and beauty is carefully designed to help maintain the kink and curl of black hair. It represents the sense of self-worth and dignity blacks were forced to leave behind along with their freedom. As a product of their identity black hair is not a commodity. The barbershop is a Black Space central to the production of black identity.

CIVIL WAR: 1861 – 1865
PROFESSIONALIZATION MOVEMENT: 1880’S - 1890’S
"Color-Lines"
Barbering was viewed as a racialized skill since slaves 
learned from their masters. By the end of the nineteenth century, blacks mastered this skill and transformed into master barber businessmen making barbershops one of the first black owned businesses. However, barbershops, such as those in the south, were bound to a new kind of bondage, white clients only.

JIM CROW: 1877 – 1960’S
GREAT MIGRATION: 1910 - 1970
"Migration by a New Generation"
Barbershops began defining their Black Space during the turn of the twentieth century. The industry shifted from a service to whites into a foundation for the beginning of a black cultural movement. The number of black barbershops increased as a new generation considered the organization and safety of black communities.