Fullerton College A2MEND program held its final Barbershop Talks event of the year on Dec. 4. The event is a space for young men of color to connect with their peers, get resources and share about their personal lives all while receiving a free haircut. The event was held by assistant men’s basketball coach Marshall Johnson who became the newest special projects manager for Fullerton College’s A2MEND program on Aug. 15, 2023.

Barbershop Talks is one of the newest events by the A2MEND program, an organization that focuses on young African American men in community colleges and provides them with resources to help them with their higher education. The event consisted of free haircuts courtesy of barber PJ Yates, a showing of the movie “Antwone Fisher” and free pizza. Johnson said he chose this movie because of how relevant it may be to some of the students attending this event.

“One of the reasons why I chose this movie is you see that Antwone is refusing help and he’s refusing the support that is here for them and a lot of times our guys are in similar situations here on campus. So we want to make sure in these barbershop talks that you have somebody here you can reach out to.” said Johnson.

Johnson also emphasizes the importance of mental health at these events. He started the event by doing a mental health check and going around the room asking students how they are doing inside and outside of school. He even spoke with a couple of students, following up with them after missing a few of the events due to some personal matters. Johnson wants these events to be more than just a place where you can get a haircut. He wants to build a sense of community with these students and build connections with them in case they ever need someone to talk to.

“It brings a deeper connection towards each other instead of just seeing each other and being like ‘what’s up?’ Like I can actually go up to Caleb and ask him how he’s doing or how is his day and get a better insight on him versus just seeing him around school.” said first year business management major Shawn Woodson.

Johnson is working to bring back these barbershop events next semester as well as making more events that will bring even more resources and help for any of the students who need it. He also has plans to open up a centre specifically designed for men of color. For more information on what the A2MEND program is up to on Fullerton College you can follow their page on Instagram.

“Everybody needs something and we want to find out what that is and we want to be able to help them and help them be successful,’ said Johnson. “You know, everybody’s story is different. Everybody’s unique to their own self so we want to make sure that we are not missing out on anybody.”