By Lenore T. Adkins, Special to the AFRO

It’s not a stretch for Alfred Graham to say barbering saved his life.

Instead of falling into the trap of selling drugs to make fast money while he was in high school, the D.C. native grabbed barber clippers and earned a living that way. “Me having a skill and being able to get hand-over-fist cash kept me from the peer pressure of wanting to get super involved in the drug trade,” said Graham, adding that he graduated from H.D. Woodson High School with a barber’s license.

At right, Kevin Washington listens to his fellow panelists during a discussion on D.C. barber shop culture at Wanda’s on 7th. The Kennedy Center arranged the chat in the run up to its production of “Barber Shop Chronicles,” a play about African men having discussions at barber shops around the world. The play runs Nov. 28 through Dec. 1. (Courtesy Photo)

Now the 34-year-old barber is building on the interpersonal skills he’s learned in the nearly 20 years of cutting hair to identify clients who need help. He was one of the first barbers trained through United Medical Center’s Barbershop embedded education program to recognize certain mental health characteristics in clients by paying attention to key phrases and shifts in behavior before referring them to counselors and other professionals.

“A lot of these guys will not go see a mental health therapist or anything, unless it comes from a referral that they can trust,” said Graham, now a barber at Upper Cuts.

Graham opened up about his experience Nov. 9 at Wanda’s on 7th Salon and Spa during an hour long panel discussion called Cuts & Conversations: Chronicles of D.C. Barber Shop Culture. The talk was the first of several events held by the Kennedy Center, leading to its presentation of the play “Barber Shop Chronicles” beginning Nov. 28 and running through Dec. 1.

The play, from Nigerian playwright Inua Ellams, is set in Black barbershops in Johannesburg, Kampala, Lagos, Accra, Kampala, and London. It allows you to be a fly on the wall for stimulating banter and conversations among African men.

Alicia Adams, the Kennedy Center’s vice president of dance and international programming, saw the critically acclaimed play earlier this year at the Royal National Theater in London and thought the story would translate perfectly to the United States, but wanted events around the play that include the community.

“I wanted to not just put something on the stage at the Kennedy Center but to really have it reach beyond that,” Adams said. “Barbers play an extraordinary role in our community.”

As an example, Aaron Warren, a barber at Lee’s Barber Shop, said he helped a homeless client secure a job and housing within two days by talking to some of his other clients, underscoring the importance of engaging with the people sitting in your barber’s chair.

For generations, Black barbershops have provided a place of refuge for Black men to talk about the world, relationships, racism, personal problems and more. Further, Black barbers are often seen as confidants, therapists, advisors, fixers and more. “All people assume what’s happening is that you’re getting a haircut but the reality is that there is love, nurturing support, there is mentorship, there is elevation, there is inspiration . . . there’s all these things happening at one time,” said Kevin Washington, a psychologist, academic and pastor who was also part of the panel. “And that is the power and significance of the Black barbershop.”