‘You Next’ is a new book that captures the essence of Black barbershops

As a kid, one of two things would occur every Saturday morning for photographer Antonio Johnson: His father’s barber would cut his hair, or his uncle would. Either way, by noon, Johnson sported a fresh, low-even fade.

At the shop on 52nd and Market Street, where his late uncle Jason Gavin was a barber, Johnson remembers sitting as still as a statue while his uncle gingerly lined his head with a straight-edged razor.

And at the Southwest Philadelphia shop where his father would get a haircut, Johnson remembers staring at the style charts that were taped to the walls and thumbing through the issues of Jet Magazine that were scattered about the shop.

In 2016, Johnson visited Havana and was inspired by the dozens of barbershops that lined the streets. They were vibrant — physically and culturally. Johnson pulled out his Leica D-lux camera to document.

When he returned to Brooklyn, where he lived at the time, Johnson came up with the idea to create a photo book that would document the varied, yet universal experience of the Black barbershop. He decided to name it, You Next.

The book was published Sept. 1 by the Chicago Review Press, and retails for $26.99 on Amazon and other online retailers. Originally, You Next was meant to collect scenes in Black literature where the barbershop had a significant presence, like in Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon, and Ralph Ellison’s Shadow and Act, and Albert Murray’s Train Whistle Guitar. Johnson broadened the idea to be able to create more original content and be more representative of the real-world experience.

“I love photography,” Johnson, 31, said. “This was something that I wanted to do as a part of my legacy and my contribution to the world.”

During the early stages of putting together the book Johnson wrote a proposal and launched a Kickstarter campaign. By March of 2018, he raised nearly $12,000, which allowed him to embark on a 10-city tour to take photos for the book. In June of the same year, he traveled to Philadelphia and then made his way to Washington, Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, New Orleans, and a handful of other cities, snapping thousands of photos.

Johnson said he chose the black-and-white motif to add a sense of uniformity to the variety of shops and settings. “I wanted to combine everything together into one cohesive expression,” he said. The black-and-white images “added a classic, timeless feel that will last forever.”

Johnson’s intention in creating You Next was to “celebrate the space that has given me so much, but has also given my community so much.” he said. “I wanted to highlight the Black men who are in that space and start a conversation around investing in the spaces where we feel whole.” The Black barbershop is “solely for us,” Johnson explained. “It can’t be replicated.”

Vox writer Aaron Ross Coleman agrees. Coleman is a friend of Johnson’s and penned an essay for You Next titled, “The Undefeated Business of the Black Barbershop.” The essay explains why the business model has sustained generations.

Coleman describes the Black barbershop as a “unicorn of a business.” Despite “the macroeconomic hardships that Black people may face,” such as poverty and discrimination, the Black barbershop remains (in most cases) Black-owned and staffed, and supplies grooming and cultural needs.

“It’s actually pretty exceptional as far as there being not a lot of barriers to entry,” Coleman said. “Here’s an accessible, practical, feasible, [business opportunity], for aspiring Black entrepreneurs.”

While barbershops have long been heralded a sanctuary for Black men and one of the cornerstones of the Black community, they have not always been inclusive to women and the LGBTQ+ community.

“I have considered that,” Johnson said. “[You Next] doesn’t shy away from the fact that the barbershop is not a perfect place. … [The book] shows many barbers who are gay. It also highlights a barbershop in Brooklyn called [Camera Ready Kutz], which is a safe space for LGBTQ+ identities.”

Johnson’s father, Ron Johnson, remained loyal to the same barber for over 30 years: the late Mr. Leon, whose eponymous shop sat at the corner of 56th and Catherine. “I only had to tell him how to cut my hair one time,” Ron Johnson said. From then on, “he just knew what to do.”

According to Ron Johnson, Mr. Leon knew everything. And when he needed a haircut at 3 a.m., Mr. Leon would be there. “When my son [Antonio] got bigger, I took him there,” Ron Johnson said. “For all of my son’s major events, for all of my major events, we went to Mr. Leon.”

“At the barbershop, I had a chance to really see my dad as a person that was bigger than my dad,” Johnson said. Johnson learned that his dad was “someone who had friends, someone who had full life experiences that were before me.”

As Mr. Leon grew older, his health began to fade and the Johnson men had to find another barber, and “a good barber is hard to find,” said Ron Johnson.

While in the eighth grade, Johnson found a new barber, G., and began to experiment with different styles to show off his wavy hair texture. Johnson still sees the barber when he visits Philly.

Johnson credits the Black barbershop for introducing him to hip-hop, developing his sense of style, and “an understanding that we all come to this place but live very different lives.”

Johnson now lives in Atlanta and has been a photographer for five years. His work has been exhibited at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, the Hamilton Landmark Gallery in Harlem, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music. He studied broadcast journalism at Morgan State University in Baltimore.

You Next is a launching point for Johnson. He wants to continue to photograph spaces that “feel like home.”