Barbershop and Black Congregation Cooperative
The Barbershop and Black Congregation Cooperative is a left-of-center religious coalition that is a member of the left-of-center faith-based group ISAIAH. The group was a supporter of an unsuccessful ballot initiative that would have dissolved the Minneapolis Police Department after the killing of George Floyd by police and replaced the department with a public safety department with limited roles for police officers. 1
Contents
The group also supported an amendment to the Minneapolis city charter that gave the city council the power to impose rent control. 2
The founder and head of the coalition, Brian Fullman, is a former drug dealer. 3
Background
Brian Fullman, an organizer with the left-of-center faith-based group ISAIAH, created the Barbershop and Black Congregation Cooperative in 2017 with the goal of building Black political power in Minnesota. The group canvasses at barbershops and Black churches for the purpose of political organizing. 4
The group views barbershops as “staples of communities as they provide both individual and collective empowerment, esteem and moral.” 5
By February 2020, the group had organized with two dozen barbershops. 3
Advocacy
Restrictions On Police
In April 2021, the Barbershop and Black Congregation Cooperative supported legislation passed by the Democratic-controlled Minnesota House which restricted the police. The legislation would restrict the use of no-knock warrants, limit when police officers could pull drivers over, and increase the use of mental health teams to respond to some 911 calls instead of police officers. 6
Minneapolis Police Abolition Initiative
In 2021, the Barbershop and Black Congregation Cooperative supported an effort to abolish the Minneapolis Police Department and replace it with a new public safety department. The push to abolish the Minneapolis Police Department came after the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. 7
Groups supporting the abolition of the police department came together under the “Yes 4 Minneapolis” banner. The campaign got 20,000 signatures, almost twice the necessary signatures to put the initiative on the ballot, and raised $1 million by August 2021. The George Soros-aligned Open Society Policy Center donated $500,000 in support of the initiative. 1
Minneapolis Question 2 would have replaced the Minneapolis Police Department with a Department of Public Safety which would have taken a “comprehensive public health approach to safety.” Minneapolis voters rejected the initiative in November 2021. 1
Rent Control
In September 2021, the Barbershop and Black Congregation Cooperative supported a call made by TakeAction Minnesota, Faith in Minnesota, the Muslim Coalition of ISAIAH, MN350, Our Revolution Minnesota, Home 2 Stay, and other left-of-center to far-left groups to pass Minneapolis Question 3, which would give the city council the power to pass rent control. The initiative passed in November 2021. 2
Felon Voting
In February 2023, the Barbershop and Black Congregation Cooperative supported a bill that granted convicted felons the right to vote while serving probation or parole. The group said it would help those felons register to vote and encourage them to vote. 8
Leadership
The leader of the Barbershop and Black Congregation Cooperative is Brian Fullman. Fullman is a former drug dealer who later became a barber and a minister. He gave up his barbershop to become an organizer with ISAIAH, a left-of-center religious-based political organizing collaborative. 3