Defiant Mich. barbers say coif it up
LANSING, Mich. — Barbers plan to offer free haircuts on the Michigan Capitol lawn to protest the state’s stay-at-home orders, a defiant demonstration that reflects how salons have become a symbol for small businesses that are eager to reopen two months after the pandemic began.
Barber Karl Manke, 77, has been the star at rallies outside his shop in Owosso, 30 miles northeast of Lansing. His license was suspended last week by Michigan regulators.
“We all have the same spirit and the same soul for freedom,” Manke said this week. “One of the things I want to emphasize, Michigan, all of you business owners, you beauticians, you barbers, massage therapists — all of you. Open up your shops! Stand up and show up!”
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s closure of nonessential businesses is among the nation’s toughest and is in effect at least through May 28.
While new infections have flattened, Whitmer, a Democrat, is being cautious with what she calls a “slow re-engagement.” She has opened construction, manufacturing and outdoor industries, along with real estate. Restaurants and bars reopen Friday in less populated northern Michigan.
“I would love to go get my hair done, too,” Whitmer told Kalamazoo television station WWMT after saying it is “very unlikely” salons will open next week. “But the nature of that personal service is such that it’s intimate, it’s close. You can’t social distance and get your hair cut.”
Manke was joined this week by Shelley Luther, a Dallas salon owner who was jailed for opening her shop before the Texas governor intervened.