Wahl mobile barbershop coming to JuneteenthKC in celebration of Kansas City Public Schools’ Dr. Chris McNeil

Dr. Christopher McNeil, the Director of Career and Technical Education at Kansas City Public Schools, will bring his ‘Books and Barbers’ charity program to JuneteenthKC on Saturday, June 15. The program, which McNeil started in 2019, provides free haircuts, books, and mentorship to students at three different KCPS elementary schools.

Last year, McNeil won the Wahl grooming company’s ‘Benevolent Beards Contest,’ in which the public votes to award a bearded man who has made significant contributions to his community with a $20,000 prize for himself, and a $5,000 prize for his charity. McNeil will be present at Wahl’s mobile barbershop during JuneteenthKC, and the company will donate $100 to the Kansas City Public Schools Foundation for every free beard trim. 

We spoke to McNeil about his charity and his presence at JuneteenthKC. Read the interview below. 

The Pitch: Tell us about starting Books and Barbers.

Books and Barbers really came out of my two passions. Barbering and grooming, because that’s an important part of my life, and then literacy as well.  and literacy as well. Growing up, I was always a struggling reader. That was because I didn’t have books that I was interested in. I wasn’t confident in terms of being able to talk to the text and understanding what that meant. So it was a program that I developed to service young kids that reminded me of myself. I was a kid who grew up in a single-parent home and didn’t necessarily have the opportunity to go to barbershops and have fresh haircuts… I want to be the person I needed when I was a kid, somebody that would help mentor me, and maybe give me a fresh haircut that helps my confidence. 

What’s special about the barbershop?

The barbershop is the place where you share life, where information is transferred, and where mentorship just naturally happens. If I think about the local barbershops in my neighborhood, you had doctors and lawyers who would come in and get a haircut and teach the younger folks, and you had plumbers and all kinds of people, and that was a way you found out about what’s going on in the community, and maybe get resources. It was a special place where, no matter what your title was, when you came in you were all on the same page, and you were equal.

How has running the charity impacted you personally? 

It gives me this personal fulfillment and validation. Being able to share it with some of the most outstanding people in our community and our students is more than I could even ask for. It’s such a true blessing. And being able to get the community behind it, and even the Wahl Clipper company, is a dream come true. 

Tell me about winning Wahl’s Benevolent Beards contest last year. 

It’s a national campaign where (Wahl) invites bearded men who are doing great things in their community to enter. I entered the competition and talked about our work here in Kansas City through our Books and Barbers program…Wahl clippers have always been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, from having those kitchen cuts to being the pair of clippers that I actually used to to cut my own hair and other people’s hair. It was an absolute dream come true, even though in a few months I’m about to hand over being the Wahl Man of the Year. I’m still on cloud nine. It’s probably, hands down, one of the coolest days that ever happened to me. 

What are you most looking forward to about Saturday? 

I’m excited to get around other people. I know some of my elementary school kiddos will bring their dads and uncles and paw paws or grandfathers. Connecting with the people is one of the things I enjoy most…It’s another opportunity to celebrate Kansas City at its finest and the great things that happen here.