For brothers, getting a fresh cut on the regular is part of our standard operating procedure. Whether you go to Midtown Barbershop (6406 Tierwester St, Houston, 77021), Exquisite Barber & Beauty Bar (21502 Aldine Westfield Rd., Humble, 77338), BlackStar Barbers & Books (17675 TX-249, Houston, 77064), where Defender Digital Content Manager/Sports Editor Terrance Harris gets his doo did, or any of the Houston-area Black barbershops, getting your stuff lined up, freshening up that fade, or making sure your beard is on point, is almost as essential as water.
But what about the brothers who can’t enjoy that experience so many of us take for granted?
Take, for instance, Black men who are currently and/or chronically unhoused (homeless). Lost in the reality of these brothers lacking a roof over their heads and regular access to food, along with a myriad of other challenges, is the fact that a simple haircut that does so much to lift Black men’s spirits, is another casualty to their unhoused reality.
Enter Christian Khammany, a local barber who dedicates much of his time off the clock to cutting heads on the streets of downtown Houston.
“I don’t always carry cash on me. So, one thing I do always carry on me is my clippers.That’s where I thought about it. I was, like, yeah, maybe I should start cutting their hair.”
Barber Christian Khammany
For the past year, Khammany literally sets up a table with all his head-cutting equipment and chair in Houston’s downtown just about every Monday and Tuesday.
The Gen Zer has been cutting heads for a decade now, with his training coming from self-taught lessons of trial and error, which began when he was 14. The Houston transplant got the idea to serve the homeless with his head-cutting skills in the midst of some soul-searching that had him seeking ways he could become a better person. Then, while driving through Houston’s downtown, he found his answer.
Knowing how important the barbershop experience is for Black men and seeing homeless brothers on the streets simply trying to survive, Khammany surmised he could use his clipper skills to add a bright spot to the tough days the unhoused experience on the regular.
“I don’t always carry cash on me. So, one thing I do always carry on me is my clippers,” Khammany told KHOU. “That’s where I thought about it. I was, like, yeah, maybe I should start cutting their hair.”
One thing Black barbers and their customers have said since clippers first started making fades pop is a haircut makes a brother feel like a new man. And it was with that spirit that Khammany began his unique “giving back” journey.
“Maybe I can make a change in the homeless community, you know, with the gift that God gave me, which is cutting hair,” he said.
So, even though Khammany cuts hair seven days a week, he still dedicates time on two of those days to venture downtown and offer edge-ups or whatever those downtown residents request, and does so until the clippers run out of juice.
“God gave me everything that I can ask for as far as success, family, love, happiness and everything else. So, I felt the need to give back to the community,” Khammany said, who hopes his example will inspire others to use whatever talents they have to bring light to someone in need.
“I want to influence the younger people to do something good for the community and do something to be a better person themselves… [It] makes me feel good that I can change lives one haircut at a time.”
(source: KHOU.com)
