Jan. 10, 2020
By Elizabeth Walker, Walmart Corporate Affairs
Every day, Shaun Corbett is making history, just by coming to work. He owns Lucky Spot Barber Shop, which is located inside the supercenter on Wilkinson Boulevard in Charlotte, North Carolina. Shaun and his team are known for creating fresh fades and perfect edge-ups, but many people do not realize that Lucky Spot is actually the first African American owned and operated barbershop in any Walmart.
Shaun’s achievements do not end there. Together with Sheriff Garry McFadden of the Charlotte-Mecklenberg police department, Shaun developed the groundbreaking Cops & Barbers Program. Cops & Barbers connects Charlotte youth with members of the police force to foster camaraderie and understanding between the two groups.
Shaun and Sherriff McFadden, who was a detective at the time, developed the idea for the program in 2014 as an opportunity to bridge the gap between police and Charlotte’s African American community. Shaun thought about his own adolescent son and wondered whether he knew how to talk to police officers. He decided to help young people all over Charlotte get to know their police officers.
As part of the program, officers are paired with kids and teens from the communities they serve. The initial conversations can be awkward, but the two groups usually find things in common. The officers help with tutoring. What’s more, Cops & Barbers developed a program to send at-risk youth to barber school. Walmart has donated $35,000 to help further these goals.
According to LaWana Mayfield, who serves on the Charlotte City Council, Shaun and the program have “changed a community through dialogue and engagement.” Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles called Shaun a “champion for change.”
Barber. Father. Community activist. Change maker. Shaun Corbett is doing big things, every day.
