Knights of the Razor

Black Barbers in Slavery and Freedom

Douglas W. Bristol Jr.

• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Year: 2009
• eBook ISBN: 9780801898303
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Economic History
• Index: History

Black barbers, reflected a freed slave who barbered in antebellum St. Louis, may have been the only men in their community who enjoyed, at all times, the privilege of free speech. The reason lay in their temporary—but absolute—power over a client. With a flick of the wrist, they could have slit the throats of the white men they shaved. In Knights of the Razor, Douglas Walter Bristol, Jr., explores this extraordinary relationship in the largely untold story of African American barbers, North and South, from the American Revolution to the First World War.

In addition to establishing the modern-day barbershop, these barbers used their skilled trade to navigate the many pitfalls that racism created for ambitious black men. Successful barbers assumed leadership roles in their localities, helping to form a black middle class despite pervasive racial segregation. They advocated economic independence from whites and founded insurance companies that became some of the largest black-owned corporations.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• 1 The Origins of Black Barbers
• 2 Becoming Knights of the Razor
• 3 Caught between Regional Origins and the Barber’s Trade
• 4 Self-Improvement and Self-Loathing before the War
• 5 Defining the Meaning of Freedom
• 6 From Barbershops to Boardrooms
• Conclusion
• Notes
• Guide to Further Reading
• Index