The person01–03
01·Who they are
Who is Hakim-a-barber?
Hakim-a-barber arrives at the Johnson family homestead alongside Dee (now Wangero) as her companion—boyfriend, partner, or ideological ally, Walker never specifies. The ambiguity is intentional. He is a tall, bearded man whose hair, in Mama's memorable phrasing, "stood straight out like a funky mule tail," indicating his connection to a particular strain of 1970s Black nationalist aesthetics before he speaks. His name, phonetically derived from a barber—likely his trade—serves as Walker's compact joke at his expense: a man who has renamed himself after his day job and packaged it as revolutionary identity. He is, structurally, a minor character; he speaks little, acts less, and exits the story having changed nothing. However, Walker imbues his brief appearances with so much ironic weight that he becomes an argumentative shorthand for the story's central thesis about performance versus practice.
02·Arc & motivation
What is Hakim-a-barber's arc and motivation?
Hakim-a-barber lacks an arc in the traditional sense—he neither grows nor regresses because he is never genuinely invested in anything the story puts at stake. His motivation, as glimpsed through Walker's lens, appears to be self-presentation. He adopts the salaam, the beard, the dietary restrictions, and the name with the same curatorial enthusiasm Dee brings to photographing the family's decaying house or coveting the handmade quilts. When Mama asks if he and Dee are married, he quietly demurs, stating he does not "believe in marriage"—a line that reads less as principled conviction and more as another adopted posture, a boutique rejection of convention that commits him to nothing. His passivity during the quilt dispute is telling: for all the ideological scaffolding he carries, he has no stake in an actual inheritance and does not pretend to.
03·Key moments
What are Hakim-a-barber's key moments?
The two defining scenes occur soon after his arrival. First, the greeting: he attempts to embrace Mama, who sidesteps with the practiced ease of a woman who has decided she wants none of it. He compensates with the salaam, which Mama acknowledges but does not reciprocate. This exchange establishes the story's dynamic—his gestures are grand and borrowed; her response is grounded and unimpressed.
Second, and more richly comic, is the dinner table. Hakim-a-barber announces he cannot eat pork or collard greens due to his religious beliefs—then proceeds to eat the collard greens while declining the pork. Mama records this contradiction without editorial flourish, allowing the dry irony to speak for itself. This small moment crystallizes Walker's argument: his cultural and religious identity is selective, self-serving, and ultimately inconsistent, adopted when convenient and quietly dropped when collards are served.
The cast04–05
04·Relationships
What are Hakim-a-barber's most important relationships?
With Dee/Wangero: They arrive as a matched set, emphasizing their pairing. Together they create a unified aesthetic—African-print fabrics, elaborate names, salaam greetings—that presents itself as heritage but originates in a contemporary political movement rather than the Johnson family's specific history. His presence amplifies Dee's performance by giving it an audience and a co-star, yet he has no blood claim on anything in that house, quietly exposing the thinness of Dee's own claim when framed purely as ideology.
With Mama: Mama's narration of Hakim-a-barber is a masterclass in polite devastation. She describes him accurately, precisely, and without warmth, her detachment providing its own verdict. She avoids his embrace, notes his dietary contradiction, and moves on—he does not merit extended attention because he does not present an extended threat or mystery.
With Maggie: He barely acknowledges Maggie, and Walker gives him no lines directed at her. This absence is meaningful. Maggie carries heritage in her hands and memory; Hakim-a-barber carries it in his name. They have nothing to say to each other.
05·Connected characters
How is Hakim-a-barber connected to the other characters?
Study06–07
06·Questions
Questions readers ask about Hakim-a-barber
Who is Hakim-a-barber in 'Everyday Use'?
Hakim-a-barber is Dee's (Wangero's) companion, likely her boyfriend, though Walker deliberately leaves the relationship ambiguous. He accompanies her on her visit to the Johnson family homestead. He is a tall, bearded man whose hair, in Mama's words, "stood straight out like a funky mule tail." Though a minor character who speaks little and changes nothing, Walker imbues his brief appearances with ironic weight to critique performative cultural identity.
What does Hakim-a-barber's name mean or symbolize?
His name is a phonetic twist on "a barber," suggesting his actual trade. Walker uses this as a compact joke: he has renamed himself after his day job and framed it as revolutionary identity. The name signals that his adopted Black nationalist persona is more costume than genuine heritage—a self-applied label that reveals the superficiality of his cultural reinvention.
What is the relationship between Hakim-a-barber and Dee?
Hakim-a-barber and Dee arrive as a matched aesthetic pair—coordinated African-print fabrics, elaborate new names, and salaam greetings—creating a unified front of 1970s Black nationalist identity. His presence amplifies Dee's performance by giving it an audience and a co-star, yet he shares none of her blood connection to the Johnson family, revealing how tenuous her claim to that heritage is.
Why does Hakim-a-barber eat the collard greens after saying he can't?
Hakim-a-barber announces at dinner that his religious beliefs prevent him from eating pork or collard greens—then promptly helps himself to the collard greens while passing on the pork. Mama records the contradiction without comment, allowing the irony to speak for itself. Walker uses this moment to highlight a broader argument: his religious and cultural identity is selective and self-serving, adopted when it flatters his image and dismissed when collards are served.
Does Hakim-a-barber believe in marriage?
No—when Mama inquires whether he and Dee are married, he quietly states he does not believe in marriage. Walker frames this not as a principled conviction but as another adopted posture: a boutique rejection of convention that binds him to nothing and subtly undermines Mama's traditional values without offering a replacement.
Why does Hakim-a-barber stay out of the quilt conflict?
Hakim-a-barber remains passive during the dispute over the quilts because, despite all his ideological posturing, he has no actual stake in the Johnson family's inheritance. His non-participation is thematically deliberate—Walker uses his silence to expose the limits of purely ideological attachment to heritage: he can perform Black cultural identity through dress and name, but he has nothing real to defend in that house.
How does Mama react to Hakim-a-barber?
Mama regards Hakim-a-barber with bemused skepticism. She physically sidesteps his attempted embrace, acknowledges his salaam without reciprocating, and notes his dinner-table contradiction without flourish. Her detached, precise narration of him indicates that she sees through the performance he and Dee are staging, and she declines to give him more attention than he deserves.
Is Hakim-a-barber a foil to any other character in 'Everyday Use'?
Yes—Walker constructs him as a foil to both Mama and Maggie. Mama embodies heritage through daily practice; Hakim-a-barber embodies it through a borrowed name and selective dietary rules. Maggie holds heritage in her hands and memory, having learned to quilt from her grandmother; Hakim-a-barber approaches it as an aesthetic. Walker gives him virtually no lines directed at Maggie, emphasizing their silence and the gap between lived and performed inheritance.
07·Essay angles
Use this in your essay
Tool · Essay angles