Edward Walker, who has lived in Brunswick for the past 15 years, remembers exactly how long he spent in prison, down to the hour.
He grew up in the other Brunswick — the one in New Jersey. When he came to Georgia in 1997, he got in trouble. He joined a gang. He sold drugs. He used drugs.
“I wound up catching a case in Augusta, Georgia. It was an armed robbery. I was sentenced to 20 years, 10 and 10. I served nine years, two months, 19 days, and 16 hours in the penal system here in Georgia,” he said.
Walker keeps it in his head as a reminder of who he used to be and how far he has come. That is why, when he heard there would be a barbershop discussion the day before early voting starts in Georgia, he knew he had to be there. He wanted to share his story with a young person who may be walking the same path he did. He wanted to be in community with like-minded people who are also encouraging boots-on-the-ground action.
Black barbershops have long served as spaces where men, young and old alike, come together for candid conversations ranging from why voting is important to who is the best NBA player. Those intimate discussions occur because of the special sense of solidarity and trust created through local business owners and customers.
A Better Glynn, a nonprofit organization started in the wake of Ahmaud Arbery’s murder in 2020, fostered discussions with a similar barbershop vibe at the Thrive Center on Monday. Their goal: to spark civic engagement.
“First of all, we thought about the community. What needs are being met?” said Jocelyn Vaughn, a volunteer with The Cavalry at A Better Glynn.
“I think the community needs more hands-on people who are out here doing the work, so that people can come and get real results, real questions, and real help.”
Walker was one of at least 80 attendees last week who had gathered at the historic building that now home to the Thrive Center. The building used to house Battle’s Barber Shop, a Black-owned establishment located along the once-thriving corridor of other Black businesses on Gloucester Street and downtown.
One of the people who came to the discussion was a descendant of the former owners, who says that sense of community started to dissipate after integration.
“We were here for like 67 years. I used to come down here when I was six, seven years old and clean up on Wednesdays because they closed at 1 o’clock on Wednesday,” said Aldrid Battle.
“So I would come down and sweep the hair up and do all of that to earn me some change to go buy cookies and candy. This whole block, and the next block here, were Black-owned.”
On Monday, the razors buzzed, and conversations seemed never to end. From gentlemen in their golden years to youngsters still in grade school, it was a hodgepodge of people that normally only interact at barbershops.
Voting and this year’s election were among the main topics of discussion in the densely packed room. One key point was the low turnout in Glynn County among Black men in the 2024 election and how to improve voter participation.
According to the Brennan Center for Justice, 71 percent of Black men under 50 who voted in 2020 cast a ballot in 2024. By contrast, 81 percent of white men under 50 who voted in 2020 did so again in 2024.
“Because one thing is for sure: not voting is not helping us. When you look at the policies that have been put forward over the past couple of years, it ain’t benefiting us,” said Elijah “Bobby” Henderson, co-founder and executive director of A Better Glynn.
Walker, who returned to Brunswick after leaving prison, felt especially touched by the subject. While serving his sentence, he began visiting the prison law library and learned that you can regain your voting rights after you complete your probation, as long as you have paid your fines. He accomplished this, and at 55, he voted for the first time in the 2024 presidential election.
“I never had the opportunity to do something that I know counts. We may not think it counts, but it really does count. Because guess what? Not doing it counts, too. It counts against you. It won’t count for you,” Walker said.
For Battle, the gathering on Monday at the Thrive Center — the buzz of the clippers, the elbow-to-elbow crowd, the frank conversation — rekindled some of the joy he felt as a kid at the barbershop. He’s glad that organizations like A Better Glynn are starting to kickstart what his community has lost.
“This is perfect for our community because we need to know exactly what’s going on in our community, and we need to know what’s coming up for this election year and beyond,” he said.
”We need to know who has our best interests at heart, and not just vote for somebody who’s got a million dollars to have ads to spew out propaganda, and when they get your vote, you don’t see them anymore.”
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