Charles A. Johnson is from Blacksburg, Virginia. He graduated at the top of his barbering class from Christiansburg Industrial Institute in 1952 – the region’s only secondary and vocational institute for African Americans, until desegregation was made the law in 1966. After he graduated from the institute, Mr. Johnson was drafted by the U.S. Army to serve in the Korean War. He spent a year in Korea and Japan as a military barber, where he sharpened his skills as a barber, learning how to cut and style different types of hair – this was what he used to get his mind off the war. Mr. Johnson was honorably discharged from the military in 1955 and returned to Blacksburg where segregation laws were still being enforced.
Back in Blacksburg, …show more content…
Johnson later became a manager at the campus barbershop, but also began looking at the possibilities of running his own barber shop. During the fall of 1974, he opened his own shop which was then known as Town and Campus at 410 N. Main St. Realizing the shop needed a better name, he changed the name of his shop some years later to what is now popularly known as: New Image Barber-Stylist. In 2000, he moved the barber shop to the Collegiate Square shopping center to use the fact that it had more parking space and foot traffic driven by popular restaurants. On August 21, Mr. Johnson made another big move by opening a second location not far from his original shop, in the basement of long-time eatery, Hokie House at 322 N. Main St. The new place currently features one barber and three cosmetologists. He said the volume of customers he has gotten over the years brought about the need for a second location. Also, he wanted to create more hair cutting jobs for …show more content…
Johnson ultimately got his own shop, but faced prolonged resistance. Finally, he found someone who would lease a shop space to him – a black lady who had inherited her family shop and wasn't having a pleasant time herself. Some of her white counterparts around her disliked that she was the proprietor, so they gave her a really hard time. Nevertheless, she offered her shop to Mr. Johnson. Though this offer was made to Mr. Johnson, things weren't made any easier for him. The folks who worked in the ladies shop bothered her about not selling the shop to them. Because of that, she decided not to sell the shop to Mr. Johnson anymore. After she decided to give her workers another chance, there was no improvement; they were still giving her a hard time. Eventually, she went back to Mr. Johnson with hopes of working out a new deal – which of course he accepted. He leased the shop for just a year initially to see if he would still be interested in running the shop afterwards. The deal was done and New Image opened on January 2. Despite owning his own barber shop, Mr. Johnson still did not feel welcome. His feelings were verified when one of his 3 workers quit almost immediately after he was hired. According to one of his co-workers, John (his name) did not want to work for a black man. The same worker returned with the hopes of getting his job back, but he got turned
Back in Blacksburg, …show more content…
Johnson later became a manager at the campus barbershop, but also began looking at the possibilities of running his own barber shop. During the fall of 1974, he opened his own shop which was then known as Town and Campus at 410 N. Main St. Realizing the shop needed a better name, he changed the name of his shop some years later to what is now popularly known as: New Image Barber-Stylist. In 2000, he moved the barber shop to the Collegiate Square shopping center to use the fact that it had more parking space and foot traffic driven by popular restaurants. On August 21, Mr. Johnson made another big move by opening a second location not far from his original shop, in the basement of long-time eatery, Hokie House at 322 N. Main St. The new place currently features one barber and three cosmetologists. He said the volume of customers he has gotten over the years brought about the need for a second location. Also, he wanted to create more hair cutting jobs for …show more content…
Johnson ultimately got his own shop, but faced prolonged resistance. Finally, he found someone who would lease a shop space to him – a black lady who had inherited her family shop and wasn't having a pleasant time herself. Some of her white counterparts around her disliked that she was the proprietor, so they gave her a really hard time. Nevertheless, she offered her shop to Mr. Johnson. Though this offer was made to Mr. Johnson, things weren't made any easier for him. The folks who worked in the ladies shop bothered her about not selling the shop to them. Because of that, she decided not to sell the shop to Mr. Johnson anymore. After she decided to give her workers another chance, there was no improvement; they were still giving her a hard time. Eventually, she went back to Mr. Johnson with hopes of working out a new deal – which of course he accepted. He leased the shop for just a year initially to see if he would still be interested in running the shop afterwards. The deal was done and New Image opened on January 2. Despite owning his own barber shop, Mr. Johnson still did not feel welcome. His feelings were verified when one of his 3 workers quit almost immediately after he was hired. According to one of his co-workers, John (his name) did not want to work for a black man. The same worker returned with the hopes of getting his job back, but he got turned