Barber Shop Boycott
Date(s) of occurrence: 5 December 1947 - 14 January 1948
Origins: The SRC voted unanimously to boycott the barbers of downtown Fredericton that showed racial discrimination in any form.
Account of events: As reported in The Brunswickan, two UNB students were denied service at several barber shops in Fredericton because of their race. After meeting several days later, the S.R.C. passed a motion: to boycott the offending barbers, to send a formal letter of protest to the City Chamber of Commerce, to authorize an extra edition of The Brunswickan to publicize the controversy, and to share the story with local media outlets to spread awareness of the issue. Over 500 students signed the protest letter in a matter of days.
The boycott lasted just over a month before it was lifted by the S.R.C., having deemed to have served its purpose.
Note(s):
- The Brunswickan openly criticized the Daily Gleaner for not reporting on the issue.
- Fred Cogswell, who was a UNB student at the time, penned a poem in response to the discrimination titled "Ode to Fredericton, January, 1948" that first appeared in The Brunswickan and was later published in A Long Apprenticeship: The Collected Poems of Fred Cogswell. Fredericton: Fiddlehead Poetry Books, 1980.
Source(s):
- UNB Scrapbooks (UA RG 100), 1919 - 1943. "UNB Students Will Boycott Barbershops," 3 December 1947.
- "Will Boycott Barber Shops," Evening Times Globe, 4 December 1947, p. 5.
- The Brunswickan, vol. 67, no. 10, 5 December 1947, p. 1-4.
- The Brunswickan, vol. 67, no. 12, 14 January 1948, p. 1.
- The Brunswickan, vol. 67, no. 13, 20 January 1948, p. 3.
© UNB Archives & Special Collections, 2014
