Hakim Cunningham was born and raised in the streets of Boston. The product of a Jamaican immigrant father and a Native American mother from Florida, he grew up in a predominantly Caribbean neighborhood in the Dorchester Center area of Boston. As a young man in the late 80’s, Hakim was introduced to gangs and became a hustler himself. His life of crime eventually lead him to prison for a 4 year bid. At the Bridgewater State Prison Complex, Hakim took computer classes and took part in the Cadre program working as a hospital inmate worker learning trades in flooring installation and facilities maintenance. In this program, Hakim’s life took a turn for the better when he he met prison Imam Abudullah Faaruq . After taking his Shadah Hakim decided to turn his life around and and redirected his focus to educating himself while incarcerated. As Hakim approached his release date, he learned of the BWA and the organization’s serious work. After securing a job but then being fired because of his CORI, Hakim contacted the BWA and quickly became a member. Hakim was elected to the BWA Board in 2007 and was hired as BWA’s second staff person in January of 2009.