Longtime Cleveland barber recalls 1954 move from Arkansas and civic service

Bernice Mitchell Sr., a barber and former board president, told a Cleveland city meeting she moved from Snell, Arkansas, to Cleveland in January 1954 and later built a barbershop that became a neighborhood gathering place.

Mitchell, speaking in public comment, summarized how she arrived with little money, learned a trade and served on local boards: “My name is Bernice Mitchell senior. I've been in Cleveland ever since 1954.”

Mitchell said she left Snell at about age 20 after a local employer and his brother helped her get a bus ticket. She said the fare was $13.65 and that she and her spouse had about $20 to $30 combined when they left Arkansas. “I said, well, I don't know where I'm going, but I'm going. I was 20 years old,” Mitchell said.

She described starting in barbering in 1961 “with Willie Frank at the other barbershop” and buying or building her own shop in 1967, which she said became a place where longtime residents gather. “My barbershop is kind of like a gathering place a lot of time,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell said she served 24 years on a local board and was the first Black president of that board, serving two terms. “I didn't think that I would ever be 1 of the first blacks to serve on scribe boards here. In fact, I was first black president of the board. That was me,” she said.

She closed by urging unity and fairness in Cleveland’s future, saying she wanted the city to give everyone a fair chance. “My hope is for Cleveland, the future, to be the city that we would like for it to be. To teach everybody, have a fair chance on everything, and everybody can work together,” Mitchell said.

The remarks were offered as personal recollection and public comment; no formal actions or votes were recorded in the meeting transcript related to Mitchell's remarks.