ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Feb. 24 now officially is Clyde Bosket Day in Allentown and Lehigh County.
The city and county honored Bosket, 93, at a gathering Friday at ARTHAUS Community Gallery to celebrate his career as one of the first black barbers in the Lehigh Valley.
And, even more importantly, the work he’s done in the community.
- Feb. 24 is now officially Clyde Bosket Day in the City of Allentown and Lehigh County
- Clyde Bosket is an iconic barber in the Lehigh Valley
- He also has had a significant community impact
Pas Simpson, one of the organizers of the event, recalled an interaction with Bosket that helped change his life.
“I was 19 years old, I ran in the barbershop,” Simpson said.
“Mr. Clyde didn’t know I was in a shootout. He just knew I had that huge gun. He asked me ‘Are you going to be a college student young man, or are you gonna be a drug dealer?’
“I said Mr. Clyde, I got a baby. So I’m a drug dealer going to college.”Pas Simpson, activist and businessman
“I said Mr. Clyde, I got a baby. So I’m a drug dealer going to college.”
Bosket said that wasn’t good enough.
Now, three decades later, Simpson is a graduate of Lehigh University and owns a consulting business. He credits Bosket for keeping him on the straight and narrow.
Born in Saluda, South Carolina, Bosket was one of 17 siblings. His parents were sharecroppers and his grandparents were enslaved.
He moved to Allentown in 1956, and set up barber shops in Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton. He trained hundreds of barbers who worked in the Lehigh Valley today.
“From the heart of the people in Lehigh County,” County Executive Phil Armstrong said, “how grateful we are for what you have done.”
City Councilwoman Cynthia Mota said Clyde Bosket Day was long overdue for Allentown and the Lehigh Valley.
At the event, which came during Black History Month, she praised him for bringing Black and brown people together.
"We underestimate the power of a barber shop," she said. "The barbershop is the place where families can talk about the issues they're facing."
As a mother to a 12-year-old son, she said she especially appreciated the role they play in her child's life.
"Barbers are the first support system many young men know," she said.
She said his legacy is one of solidarity and racial healing.
"Young Latino men were taught to cut hair alongside of their Black brethren and were all treated with the utmost respect. That's thanks to you," she said.
She also highlighted his work helping people who had gone through the criminal justice system get a fresh start.
"Clyde saw people as people," she said. "Before anyone was receiving grants or making stands to help returning citizens.
"His barber school was more than just a school. It was a place of hope."
Bosket still has advice for young people.
“If you raise a family, be a good leader," he said. "If you’re going to be a worker, be a good worker.”
But he warned, “don’t be a workaholic like I was.”
He said the secret to his impact has been positive psychology and the role of church in his life.
“I feel very proud,” Bosket said. “I feel thankful that I’ve been honored so many times.”
He said he has 19 plaques on the walls of his home, including his basement. But he said, “it doesn’t make me have a swelled head.”
He said Allentown helped him as much as he helped it, and he's grateful he was able to raise his family and make his life in the city.
“I’m just happy to be here,” he said. “Whatever I can do, I’ll put 100 percent into it.”