Camden Barbershop Becomes a One-Day Black History Museum and Celebration Point For Community Leaders
By KYW community affairs reporter Cherri Gregg
CAMDEN, N.J. (CBS) -- A South Jersey business consultancy today hosted its 12th annual "Black History in the Barbershop" program, recognizing individuals who are making a difference in the City of Camden.
RC's Universal Tonsorial Parlor, near 5th and Benson in Camden, was abuzz today as dozens of people crowded together for the celebration of local barbershops as a community gathering place for black Americans.
Dee Bailey, executive director of the business consulting firm Each One Teach, led the activities honoring three local community change makers, including Camden Metro police chief J. Scott Thomson.
"We just wanted to recognize Chief Thomson for the work he's been doing here to bridge the gap between the police department and the citizens of Camden," she said.
The day's activities at the barbershop included some hands-on lessons in black history -- including the painful chapter of slavery.
"These are middle passage shackles right here, and this is a tether," said Joe Ragsdale, from the Lest We Forget Black Holocaust Museum, who had set up an exhibit between barber chairs as customers got haircuts.
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"It gets the information to black people about black people, and the horrors of slavery," he noted.
Another honoree for the day was Reggie Gaines, celebrating the 20th year of the Larry Gaines Stop the Violence organization, in Camden.
