Series:

"Where Do We Go from Here?" Histories of Long-term Black Business Ownership, Community, and Family in Los Angeles County

Topic:

Business

African American History

Biographical Note:

Owner of Tolliver’s Barber Shop in Los Angeles.

Interviewer:

Hester, Yolanda

Interviewee:

Tolliver, Lawrence

Persons Present:

Tolliver and Hester.

Place Conducted:

Tolliver's Barber Shop in Los Angeles, California.

Supporting Documents:

Records relating to the interview are located in the office of the UCLA Library’s Center for Oral History Research.

Interviewer Background and Preparation:

The interview was conducted by Yolanda Hester, UCLA Center for Oral History Research; M.A., African American studies, UCLA.Hester prepared for the interview in this series by looking at a number of books and articles that examined Black business ownership in a historical context, as well as articles that examined it from a social science perspective and looked at current socioeconomic debates and findings. For the Tolliver interview, she also looked at articles and news reports on Tolliver and his barbershop and also at selected academic studies of Black barbershops, particularly Cutting along the Color Line: Black Barber Shops in America by Quincy T. Mills.

Processing of Interview:

The interviewer prepared a timed log of the audio recording of the interview. Tolliver was given the opportunity to review the log in order to supply missing or misspelled names and to verify the accuracy of the content but made no changes.

Length:

3 hrs.

Language:

English

Copyright:

Regents of the University of California, UCLA Library.

Audio:

Series Statement:

This series documents long-term and multigenerational business ownership in the black community through oral history interviews with owners of businesses located in Los Angeles County. The title is inspired by Martin Luther King, Jr.'s last book, Where Do We Go From Here? Chaos or Community, which focused on economic issues, including issues related to black-owned businesses.Businesses were chosen to participate in the series based on two criteria: that the business had been in operation for at least twenty-five years and that it was currently active at the time of the interview. An effort was also made to ensure that the businesses selected represented a variety of sizes and industries. They range from small, local businesses with only a couple of employees to enterprises that have a regional and even national reach, and the industries represented include construction, real estate, insurance, communications, dry cleaning, restaurants and catering, mortuaries, barbershops, and stove repair. Due to limited resources and time constraints, the interviews focused primarily on businesses in the Pasadena area and in South Los Angeles, with selected businesses in Hollywood, Gardena, and downtown Los Angeles as well. South Los Angeles remains one of the most important centers of Black economic activity in the region, and the Pasadena area has historically been a final stop for many Blacks who migrated to Southern California. It is also important to note that although the series focused mostly on these two areas, the reach and customer base of these businesses span well beyond their local communities.The first section of each oral history covers the individual’s family and migration history. The second and third sections then examine each business from two perspectives: (1) the day-to-day functioning of the business, i.e., staffing, profit and losses, marketing, etc., and (2) broader businesses strategies, including responses to policy changes, technological development, demographic shifts, and changes in the economy. For reasons that included scheduling, health, and capacity issues, some of the business owners who were invited to be interviewed declined. Those businesses included Eso Won Books, Roscoe’s House of Chicken and Waffles, Pete’s Foods Products, Winmax Construction Corporation, Beauchamp Distributing Company, and Gallery Plus.The UCLA Center for Oral History Research has also created a website that offers more context about black businesses in Los Angeles and includes numerous audio clips from this interview series. See https://www.library.ucla.edu/community-commerce-oral-histories-african-american-businesses-los-angeles

Birth and family background—Move to Los Angeles—Early childhood—Life in South L.A.—High school years—Attending barber college—Apprenticeship with Charles Pigford—Purchasing his own barbershop—Watts Riots—Early days as a business owner—Trends in Black hair styles—Staffing—Barbershops and community—A typical day at the barbershop—Returning to college.

American Barber College—Building a clientele—Female barbers—Barbershop expenses—Expansion—History of the barber pole—Attention from the media—The L.A. Riots—25th anniversary of the L.A. Riots—Developing a relationship with L.A. Times journalist Steve Lopez—Tolliver and Rosa Parks—Attracting a younger clientele—Obama’s and Trump’s election night events at the barbershop—Neighborhood demographic changes—Pricing and minimum wage policies—Succession—Advice to younger entrepreneurs.