Barber course at Genesee County jail gives men a skill to use immediately upon release
Sometimes, the best way to learn is by making mistakes. For some of the incarcerated inmates lodged at the Genesee County Jail, the mistakes they may have made in life have led them to a chance to learn something new.
In the fifth-floor activities room of the county jail in downtown Flint, chairs are aligned, and the room is readied as the buzzing sound of hair clippers soon replaces the buzzing of the security doors opening between rooms just outside the space.
It’s Thursday, and a hands-on barber class is set to begin. The men were chosen during a screening process, following their booking, to be a part of the 10-week course, offered since 2023 as part of the IGNITE (Inmate Growth Naturally and Intentionally Through Education) program.
Inside the room, Deputy Nathaniel Minard, also a licensed barber, meticulously lays out the tools used in his class. “We don’t have scissors here, but we really don’t need them,” he said, pushing a barber chair into place in the center of the room.
IGNITE, created by Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson, launched in the fall of 2020. Swanson had noticed that generations of the same families had been incarcerated in the jail, and he wanted to change that through educational programs built on meritocracy. Jails are intended to house people awaiting trial and those who have been sentenced to shorter terms. Of the 549 currently incarcerated, Swanson said 28 have been sentenced. Through the online platform EDOVA, the men have access to thousands of courses that teach trades, while also offering GEDs, high school diplomas and college skills, and hands-on courses like the barber classes. The program is so successful that 15 states have adopted it, with more than 20 others set to come on board this year.
“There’s space to fill. If it’s not being filled with something constructive, it’s only going to fill with something destructive. They’ve been raised in a destructive home,” said Swanson, who has held 25 IGNITE commencements at the jail. “We give them an opportunity to say that’s not your future. Don’t let that define you. Let’s build you up, and let’s make you into something greater. It’s not about policy, party or race. It’s about educating people that are addicted, mentally ill and incarcerated so they never come back.”
Michigan’s laws no longer require a person to set foot in a school or college to become a barber, and the 250-hour course gives these students the skills to walk into a barbershop and obtain an apprenticeship, the next step on the path to becoming a barber.
So far, five students have graduated. In the previous class, one student got the chance to cut the hair of recording artist Jelly Roll, also a returning citizen (someone reentering society after being incarcerated), during a recent visit to the jail to speak and perform. “It was a boost to my ego and trustworthiness. I don’t think that that would be something you’d run into in the world. You’re just not going to run into a celebrity like that,” said program graduate Calvin Clark, still housed at the facility. “When I get out, I’m cutting hair for sure.”
As the current class of seven incarcerated men walked in single file from the day room to their seats, James Wheeler, an inmate from another unit, sat in the chair, after being cleared to participate. Fellow inmate Eryn Carver had been selected to trim Wheeler's beard ahead of a court date. “He’d been messing with me all day,” Wheeler said, as Carver quickly chimes in, making a shaving sound, before laughing.
Carver began moving around the chair, working from different angles, lining up Wheeler’s beard. Soon, others began chiming in, sharing tips and taking turns with the clippers — and the discussing the need to accept that at some point, everybody’s messed up someone’s hair.
“While I want people to be confident and take the first step, I’m here to walk people through,” said Minard, who admits to also receiving advice on lining up a haircut on another deputy. “If they get stumped, I’ll step in.”
These students were selected because they were serious about learning, or had some experience beforehand. One spoke of how he wanted to give back, providing haircuts to people who couldn’t afford them. For another, it was about networking, and the potential to spin off into something else — he had noticed older people from his neighborhood who had gone to prison transition from street life into careers as barbers. “I want to ... teach somebody else instead of me just learning it. This could possibly open up a door for them,” Shaqur Brewer said. “Pay it forward, considering my lifestyle before this.”
As the cut came to an end, Carver asked, “Does anybody else see anything?” “Nah he butter," replied inmate Amier Hill, using a slang term for "smooth," before breaking out in laughter. "He might owe you a couple soups. You did a good job for real.”
While the cape was removed following everyone’s approval, inmate Calvin Robinson shouted, “Thank you for coming to jailhouse cuts,” before the group returned to their cells prior to the evening lockdown.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Barber course at Genesee County jail gives men an immediate skill
