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Birmingham’s House of Cuts Helps Customers ‘Look Good for the Hood’ BY JAMAREAN HEARD NABJ JSHOP REPORTER
NABJ JSHOP23 REPORTERS
MARIAMA DIALLO P.D. Jackson Olin High School
SIGOURNEY BELL Briarwood Christian School Graduate
JUNIOR
S Y R AC U S E U N I V E R S I T Y FRESHMAN
JAMAREAN HEARD Ramsay High School
NAOMI AARON Homewood High School
SENIOR
SENIOR
When customers enter the Birmingham House of Cuts, the men will likely get more than just a taper or a fade and the ladies a wash and curl. There’s Torrey Walker, a barber who helps customers “look good for the hood,” but is also quick to offer sage advice on anything to anyone who will listen, especially to young people in need of some guidance. “Stay focused. Stay in school,” said Walker, who has been at the barbershop/ hair salon situated outside of downtown Birmingham for five years, to a group of NABJ JSHOP reporters visiting several local Black-owned small businesses on Tuesday. “Make sure you get your diploma.
NABJ JSHOP REPORTER
KATY MAHAND Ramsay High School Graduate
SENIOR
UNIVERSIT Y OF ALABAMA FRESHMAN
JACARI DILLARD Ramsay High School
ERIAL MALONE Ramsay High School
SENIOR
SENIOR
her styling. Maynor said her goals are simple and straightforward: keep her customers happy and coming back to the shop. And like any emerging entrepreneur, Maynor wants to have her own shop one day. She believes that if you put God first, “everything else will fall into place in due time.” “Get in a profession that you believe you will thrive in,” Maynor said. “Don’t do what everybody else expects you to do.”
For more information, go to https://thehouseofcuts.com/ Follow House of Cuts on Instagram at @birminghamhouseofcuts
Black Optomestrist Eyes Big Vision For Historic Downtown Birmingham BY KATY MAHAND
TAYLYN TOLBERT Ramsay High School
Don’t let the streets call,” Walker added. “They will call you. You don’t need to answer.” Marcus Williams, a regular client at the establishment, agrees. He loves the hospitality and has “no plans to change barbers for a long time.” However, haircuts isn’t the only thriving business in this building owned by Jimmy Shallow, a local businessman. Stylist Mia Maynor occupies space for her growing “Shades of Mia” clientele who come to her for various hair styles including pixie cuts, extensions, silk press weaves, twists, braids and loc maintenance. She even shapes eyebrows! Maynor, who has been sharing space at House of Cuts for two years, said she makes an effort to be diversified” with
It’s no wonder that Dr. Juanakee Adams, the first Black female optometrist in Alabama, has an infectious energy that explodes throughout her office. Adams, owner of Adams’ Eye Care in downtown Birmingham, continues to make waves by supporting her community from within, she said. Her business is located in the heart of the city’s Civil Rights District. She has been in practice since 1980. On a recent Tuesday afternoon, Adams, 66, was buzzing around the office as she shared highlights from her life and career, including writing three books, starring in a reality show about
seniors in the south, and she can be seen in the background of the movie, “Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Family Reunion.” Adams said she learned she could study to become an optometrist while she was a biology major in school at Dillard University in New Orleans. She said she started studying at Dillard when she was 16 years old and later completed the optometry program at Indiana University. “I had never been to an eye doctor, and it was just intriguing,” she said. Adams explained that after graduation, she tried to get a job in Birmingham, but there were only three Black optometrists practicing in the state, and they were all male.
“I guess I was not marketable because it was not something that had been done, so I had to start my own practice,” she said. Dr. Colleen Dent, another doctor at the practice, has been working at Adams’ Eye Care since 2018. She is the second female Black optometrist to graduate from University of Alabama at Birmingham’s School of Optometry. Dent said her advice for young black women and men aspiring to get into the profession is: “Pray about it.” Adams said she was proud to become a part of the narrative of Birmingham and sees it as an intense responsibility. She said she and her practice represent community, passion and diversity.