The hum of clippers sets the rhythm inside Public Barbershop in Roseboro, but it’s the voices that carry the beat. Old friends catch up, students swap stories, a farmer cracks a joke, and a church deacon weighs in with wisdom from the end of the bench. The conversations flow as freely as the cuts, each chair a stage for laughter, debate, and reflection.

At the center of it all is LaJuan “Coop” Cooper, the man behind the clippers and the vision. To outsiders, it might look like just another small-town barber shop. To Roseboro and much of Sampson County, it is something bigger — a hub where style meets culture, and where a sense of belonging is as essential as the fades and tapers.

“I wanted to give the country a city vibe,” Cooper said. “A barbershop with energy, where everybody feels wel

See Full Page