The clippers start to buzz as Mcatee looks out at the dozen other students in the room.

鈥淲hat’s the biggest peer pressure you think y’all facing right now?鈥� Mcatee asks.

The students, all Black or Hispanic males, gather each Wednesday morning with Mcatee, local activist Antonio Patton and sometimes other barbers or guest speakers for the school鈥檚 new 鈥淏arbershop Talks鈥� program 鈥� an anti-violence, mentoring and counseling effort building on the trusted relationship between haircutters in the Black community and their male and female clients. 

Frank discussions that can be spontaneous as clients sit in the barber鈥檚 chair have grown increasingly formalized as haircutters also , , and

Patton and Mcatee have been at the school weekly since October at the request of Principal Stan Law. Mcatee and visiting barbers cut hair while the students, two of whom report having been shot previously, talk about challenges they face. Mcatee and Patton offer insights in return about how to handle stresses and to de-escalate tensions before they turn violent. 

Mcatee鈥檚 question about peer pressure on this day in April draws a flood of answers: Drugs, girls, people picking fights on social media, and one response that highlights the stakes at play clearly:

鈥淚 just feel like the biggest peer pressure for me is just like making the right decisions, like doing the right thing,鈥� said Xavieon Wilson, 15. 鈥淭he other day I had a choice. I could have went with a group of friends and did something not so good or I could have went to a workout. I went to a workout and one of my friends ended up being shot.鈥�

鈥淲ow,鈥� Patton said, asking if the person died. (He survived)

鈥淭hat鈥檚 a smart decision,鈥� added Mcatee, who was shot as a bystander in his teens and wants to help others avoid that kind of danger. 鈥淵ou see the outcome of it, right? That’s just being smart.鈥�

The program at the school grew out of community-wide barbershop talk sessions Patton and his non-profit group started scheduling in shops across Indianapolis in 2022 in an attempt to reduce violence, domestic abuse and other social problems.

Similar efforts are happening in barbershops , , and  

As Patton鈥檚 effort鈥檚 drew attention, Principal Law invited Patton to adapt the talks to his school, which is 84 percent Black or Hispanic and where two thirds of students are considered economically disadvantaged.

The school is also in the Haughville neighborhood of Indianapolis, long regarded as one of the most dangerous in a city setting a new record for homicides in 2020, then before easing last year.

鈥淭here is a grave need for black male scholars to engage with older, caring, and relevant black males who have a story of perseverance and triumph over challenges that the scholars can relate their current experiences that affect their lives,鈥� said Law.

鈥淎 barbershop motif provided the platform to help our young men make connections with real stories with real experiences with real solutions,鈥� he added.

Guests have included former Indiana Pacers basketball player George Hill, who grew up in Indianapolis, and people from the school鈥檚 neighborhood who were in trouble as teens but found successful jobs and lives.

The peer pressure question on this day continued to draw responses. Dae鈥檇en Thompson, 16, said he feels pressure when two friends have a conflict and he has to pick a side.

鈥淒o you know how many beefs I’ve managed?鈥� asks Mcatee, who has worked at multiple barber shops in the city. 鈥淭he best thing to do is stay out of it. You say 鈥業 got love for you鈥� and 鈥業 got love for you.鈥� The best thing you can do is try to bridge it if you can.鈥�

He tells students that sometimes having friends talk, without others around that they have to show off for, can defuse a problem.

鈥淥nce they really get there and talk, man, a lot of that stuff don’t be about nothing,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey really don’t want to beef.鈥�

 鈥淭hey do it when they get around a friend,鈥� a student said.

鈥淭hat’s it,鈥� said Mcatee. 鈥淭hat’s the only reason that they do it.鈥�

For the next hour, the conversation bounces from cyberbullying to materialism, absentee fathers, letting slights go and not seeking conflicts over money or property damage that could lead to violence. At other points they joke about girls, about embarrassing moments or about going to prom as a group.

Thompson and other students say they appreciate the program for a chance to talk with students and adults who understand their lives.

鈥淚 come here and can speak my mind,鈥� he said.

Law says the talks seem to be having an impact. He did not have data, but said behavior problems with participants has fallen and attendance has improved. That鈥檚 in keeping with results from a for a few months after participating in barbershop discussions. Those results didn鈥檛 last, however, and the program at George Washington is too new to know the long-term effect.

The biggest impact Patton hopes for, though, won鈥檛 be measurable. It鈥檚 about preventing tragedy.

“I’m tired of meeting moms screaming for their babies that’s never coming home,鈥� Patton tells the students. 鈥淚 do not want to see one of you young men on the news other than being highlighted for something amazing.鈥�