Headmasters of Brooklyn

An intimate exploration of the barbershop as a space where Black identity is defined and debated.

Throughout history, the barbershop has been more than just a place to get a haircut. In Headmasters of Brooklyn, Shatima Jenique Jones takes readers inside a Black barbershop in Crown Heights, where everyday banter reveals deeper debates about race, relationships, and gentrification. Based on years of ethnographic research, Jones shows how the barbershop serves as a vital social space where Black men across generations mentor, debate, and shape one another’s ideas about Black people’s values.

Filled with memorable characters and rich storytelling, this accessible book explores how ordinary conversations become powerful sites of cultural meaning-making. As barbers and their customers negotiate questions of masculinity, class, and race, they also create competing visions of respectable Black male identity and the future of their community. Headmasters of Brooklyn offers a fresh and nuanced portrait of urban Black life that moves beyond stereotypes to illuminate how racial identities are forged in the spaces where people gather every day.