Beloved D.C. teacher and salon owner remembered for dedication to Southeast Washington
Perry Stein
When Helenmaire White closed her Anacostia hair salon in 2014, her children hoped she would retire. She and her husband raised five children, and they operated a bustling salon for 30 years on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue that doubled as a friendly and spiritual gathering spot for so many Southeast Washington residents. Her son Tony White II thought it was time.
But White wasn’t ready. She wanted to continue with her second job as a cosmetology teacher at Ballou STAY, an alternative school for students who struggled in mainstream classrooms to receive high school diplomas and vocational degrees. White became a mother to many young women in her classrooms, teaching some how to be mothers themselves — and, of course, she taught them how to complete her signature finger-wave hairstyle.