By Lisa Carolin
You may have noticed stickers on the windows of residences and businesses around Chelsea that carry the powerful message “We Stand Against Hate.”
They are the creation of Lynae MacLellan, who owns Devil’s Haircut in downtown Chelsea.
She created the stickers more than a year ago, in August of 2017, following the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, which resulted in violence.
“When it happened, I was in Columbus, Ohio for the Annual Mopar Nationals Car Show with my dad,” said MacLellan. “After watching the coverage on the morning news, I became sensitive to my surroundings, and I found myself in a sea of confederate flags, open carry weapons, and people with sharp tongues grumbling or even laughing about what happened in Charlottesville.”
MacLellan said that it felt like in a matter of hours, the events in Charlottesville set everything back (in Columbus) 150 years.
“People were being proudly racist,” she said. “I decided I needed to tell my friends, my colleagues, all those who do business with us, and anyone who walks past our store front, that we (I and my employees) will not stand for that. At Devil’s Haircut, we serve people of all nationalities, races, genders, sexual identities, and religious and political backgrounds, but we will not have bullies, bigots and racists in our shop.”
The stickers are free to anyone, businesses or individuals, who wants one.
“The message itself can be invaluable for someone looking for a safe place to be themselves,” said MacLellan. “The goal is to send the message that hate, bigotry, prejudice and gossip will not be tolerated. The hashtag #standupchelseami encourages the rest of the community to advocate against those things as well.”
Why did MacLellan choose Chelsea as the place to spread her message about standing against hate?
“It’s my opinion, as a business owner in a town that is so loyal to its local businesses, that we have the platform and the responsibility to set an example for how we want our town to be,” she said. “I want to raise my son in a safe environment with people who value other people, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, etc., and I have the opportunity to create that for him.”
Devil’s Haircut is located at 1250 S. Main St. in downtown Chelsea.
Lynae, thank you for your beautiful message! It was the first thing my girls and I noticed when we visited your salon for the first time. We love it! Thank you for being willing to take a stand against hate. And you guys totally knock hair styling out of the park! My girls leave there feeling wonderful. We are so lucky to have you and Devil’s Haircut in Chelsea! #standupchelseami
Wonderful! And I fully support what Lynae is working to achieve. There shouldn’t even be a question of inclusiveness in 2018. I will stand up to hate wherever I am. And I support Devil’s Haircut as well.
This kind of inclusive, “no hate, no judgement” message is why I’m a faithful Devil’s Haircut patron.
Good for her!!
Lynae, I commend your courage and leadership! I’ll be by soon to get one of the stickers, and hope many others will also. That sort of attitude should not go unchallenged in a modern society that claims to be enlightened. We need to do all we can to show that we don’t stand for hate, and we WON’T stand for it. Thanks.
You got it, Lynae!!
Lynae MacLellan – you are an incredible woman, human being, mother and business creator/owner – not to mention the best hair dresser I ever had. Thank you so much for being community and nationally focused and concerned. You definitely are a ‘doer’ and not just a talker. I appreciate you! PEOPLE – GO to Devil’s Haircut for your next hair cut and meet this woman and her incredible staff!