DEWAYNE BOO HACKNEY

DEWAYNE BOO HACKNEY is a lifelong resident of Providence, R.I. He is an alum of both Central and Mount Pleasant high schools. However, his formal and most useful education came and comes from understanding the obligatory charge of advocacy and community service since his teenage years. Dewayne is able to see himself as a sun/son of the city because in his words "as black boy he was raised as royalty" by his family and community. 

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Dewayne is a licensed professional Barber of 38 years. This Talent has put him in a position to unfortunately give many young black men from his city their first and last haircuts. He has the honor of cutting their hair at 2 years old and then he is asked to cut their hair for their funeral. Because of an untimely death which more often than not is at the hands of another young man from his city. This scenario is one of the driving forces behind his decades of advocacy for the black community and others, as well as conflict resolution/ mediation with gang violence. 

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He was co- owner of It's Hair Community Barber Shop(1999-2019). Dewayne is co-founder of The No More March and I.O.U. which stands for It's On Us. A group of men Muslims, Christians, and others who decided to be accountable and take responsibility for the well-being of the city's youth and the city in general. They did this by working directly with schools, law enforcement, gangs, the non-violence Institute, Night Vision, and parents. 

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Dewayne is a full-time employee of the Department of Public Works in the city of Providence (cutting hair is still his first love). He is a member of the NAACP as well as a board member at the Non-Violence Institute. He is an artist. 

Dewayne is a husband married to his high school sweetheart of 32 years, a father, a 

grandfather, a lifelong activist/ advocate and a humble, proud, bold Black Man.