The District Chronicles

Issue date: 9/2/07 Section: Business

Media Credit: Robert Freeman Jr.

You know how you can tell if a guy is into you?  He'll take you to the barber shop with him.  It's his sanctuary," one Freeman's Barber Shop customer told a friend one afternoon.

Freeman's Barber Shops in Largo, Capitol Heights and Laurel, MD, are examples of those sanctuaries where men, women and children convene, not just for haircuts but also for warm fellowship. So much that in 2003, the Prince George's County NAACP honored Freeman's Barber Shop as the Community Business of the Year.  In 1999 and 2000, it won Barber Shop of the Year accolades. Black Enterprise magazine and local publications in the D.C. Metropolitan area have praised the shops in print.

They really are your brothers, sisters and cousins that you look forward to seeing at gatherings on a regular basis, Freemans' devoted customers say.  Even customers' children are falling in line to treat every customer like a regular.

"I came to the barber shop with my dad," a miniature Brian White II professed as his dad was cutting an "order" for a customer. "Since I already got my hair cut, I'm just sitting around and trying to make friends with people who come in."

Students graduating from high schools have benefited from scholarships the three barber shops in Prince George's County and one in Milledgeville, GA offer every year. The Freeman's Minority Scholarship was established in 1994, one year after opening the first location on Central Avenue in Capitol Heights, Robert Freeman, owner of the barbershop said.

Health seminars are also held at the shop for prostate cancer to bring about awareness in honor of the many relatives Freeman lost to the disease.

"These seminars are near and dear to my heart because my father died from cancer two years ago," Freeman said.  "I promised my father I would get my yearly exam in January. I'm holding true to that and encouraging other men to do the same."

During the Christmas season, Freeman's sponsors a toy and food drive, and invites kids to photograph with Santa Claus. During last Christmas, in fact, Freeman's volunteer Kameisha Hodge, barber staff's encouragement and a quiet clothing allowance helped the high school student win a $143,000 scholarship to LaFayette College.

Freeman's Barber Shop is a place where the energy beyond the buzzing of clippers is meant to make one feel good.  Whether getting a hair cut or simply stopping in to check your e-mail with the recently installed router allowing customers to log on to their wireless laptops, the barbers and stylists at Freeman's always greet customers with a smile.

No matter if the barber has been at Freeman's for 12 years like Alex Deal or if the barber is a rookie, Freeman's clientele are in the company of love. The Freeman's Barber family gives with no expectations except that you are happy.

"Freeman's is a philanthropy that just so happens to be a business and I give all the credit to the staff," Freeman said. For more information on Freeman's Barber Shop visit www.freemansbarbershop.com.

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