By Lynn Jones | Stanton High School graduate Karen Blue Diallo was recently honored as the ‘Hometown Hero,’ at the sixth annual Jax Elite Beauty and Barber Expo held at the Prime Osborn Convention Center. Organized by Arlington native Fernando Corps, owner of a mobile barbershop, expressed, “I wanted to honor her as she is a seasoned woman that is not defined by popularity. She is a hometown hero. First, she has the criteria and the legacy. She has opened the doors for multiple African American women in
the Arlington area, so that makes her worthy of this award,” said Corps.
Karen’s story begins when she was bused from the Northside to Arlington to attend middle school. At the time, Arlington was a predominantly white middle class area of town. With the vision already in site, Karen began doing hair at her father’s house, styling friends’ hair in the neighborhood and became the go-to for hair care styling options. In 1978 Karen graduated from Stanton High School with her cosmetology license and at the age of 24 opened the Reflections Hair Fashions salon catering to African American women. The year was 1983 and racism in Arlington was still a pivotal issue. Clients were skeptical of crossing the Arlington Bridge due to toll road charges and expenses. “First of all, God opened the door for me to get that space at 24 years old in an all-white community and business area. The customers didn’t have to call me to tell me they were there. I was there already to meet them. I started playing gospel music and it went from gospel music to praying and ministering to people. I turned the shop over to God because I had to deal with prejudice in the home and the business. I knew this was bigger than me.”
Diallo closed the shop in 2016 after breaking three fingers in her right hand and made the decision to provide fulltime care to her ailing father whom had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. With a career spanning more than 35 years, her advice to up and coming stylists is to put God first and have a business plan, be there on time for your clients. Don’t have them in the salon all day getting their hair done and space your people out. “That’s why people stuck with me because I was faithful and committed. Being committed and faithful and doing a great job on clients hair, and word of mouth will establish you in your business, they will tell other people, now that’s your advertisement.” said Karen with a wink!