Dennis Mitchell owns a small ground-floor barbershop in the heart of Harlem, where he presides over rows of gleaming salon chairs, cutting fades and shaves and earning the nickname Denny Moe. For years, one of the regular customers sitting in front of Moe's mirrors has been Dr. Joseph Ravenell, an associate professor in the Departments of Population Health and Medicine at New York University's School of Medicine. Barbershops have been havens for Ravenell since he was a kid, when he accompanied his father to his regular haircuts and witnessed the bonds that men formed in these safe places, "talking about everything under the sun."
As an adult, Ravenell focuses his research on the medical disparities black men face in America.
"As a man myself, and a father and a brother, I have an enlightened self-interest in the topic," he says, laughing. Black men, because of both logistical barriers and mistrust, are often cut off from health-care systems—but as he was thinking about haircuts one day, Ravenell says, "a lightbulb went off." Barbers, he thought, as trusted confidants and community leaders, could become a powerful bloc to promote health in black communities.
[For more on this story by LOIS PARSHLEY, go to https://psmag.com/social-justi...d-racial-disparities]
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