Columnist visits barbershop in the 'hood
By Booker T. Hodges � One Nation News Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down and have a very interesting interview with a very intellectual and inspiring individual "the Bernard Walters." Walters is a 50-year-old father of two and a loving husband. Walters owns Pioneer Barbershop located in north Minneapolis. Walters' shop is located in one of the most crime-ridden neighborhoods in the Midwest. Despite this fact, Walters is persistent in keeping his doors open. Walters is an individual with a vast quantity of quality knowledge and I felt that it was vital for some of that knowledge to be shared with the community. Booker T: With your shop being in such a high crime area, what types of activities do you witness on a daily basis? BW: The worst eye witnessing of news in history. I see crack dealing, prostitution, police arrests, police brutality, open drug use and a whole lot of hopelessness. Booker T: What do you see as the number one problem facing African American people today? BW: Ourselves. Black men have the most fragile feelings in the world. Once we start to deal with the problems facing our community, such as lack of self-respect, lack of family respect and lack of some type of religious background, we'll be OK. We need to strengthen our families. We also have an employ-the-white-man syndrome. What I mean is we could put a lot of white people out of work if we just stop breaking the damn law. Booker T: As an African American business owner, do African Americans support your business? BW: Yes, I am 100 percent dependent on black dollars. It's the only way that I can feed my family. I hold my profession in the highest regard and I am blessed with good customers. Booker T: I like to ask everyone about their philosophy. What would you say is the "Bernard Walters" Philosophy? BW: My philosophy is one of family values. I feel family should only come second to God. We need to bring our families back together and, once we as black people begin to share in my philosophy, we will be all right. We as black people are unique; there is no other group like us in the world. Once we come together as a people there will be nothing that anyone can do to stop us. Booker T: What would you like readers to know about you? BW: I want the readers to know that I am a religious man, a people person and a real person. I keep things as real as I can. I tell people the truth about themselves because it allows me to sleep good at night. I wold like everyone to know that without my wife I would not be where I am today. Last, but not least, I want everyone to know that the best gift a person can give to society is to raise good kids. If you would like to meet Bernard Walters, you may visit him at his barbershop located on North Emerson and Lowery avenues. Booker T can be reached at [EMAIL PROTECTED] Posted by Shawn Lewis, Field Neighborhood -- _______________________________________________ Sign-up for your own FREE Personalized E-mail at Mail.com http://www.mail.com/?sr=signup TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Send all posts in plain-text format. 2. Cut as much of the post you're responding to as possible. ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
