Gardner LaClede Bishop was a barber and activist remembered for his contributions to the school integration movement in the District of Columbia in the 1940s and 1950s. He was born on January 20, 1909 in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.[1] He learned how to express his opinions early on, winning prizes as a high school debater in his home state. Although he attended a year of college at Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina, he did not graduate. In 1930 he moved to Washington, D.C.[2] He lived east of the Anacostia River and, like his father, began working as a barber.[3] After challenging the comments of racist customers on multiple occasions, he was fired. Not cowed, he opened B&D Barber Shop at 1515 U Street NW in 1940, which he owned and operated through his retirement in 1985. His bl