Deion Hawkins

Dr. Deion S. Hawkins is a dedicated community-engaged scholar and Assistant Professor of Argumentation and Advocacy in the Department of Communication Studies. With a PhD in health communication, Hawkins has developed a distinctive, equitable research program at the crossroads of race, power, communication, and culture, driven by a commitment to challenging systemic injustices.

Through critical qualitative and rhetorical methods, Hawkins’ research foregrounds the narratives of Black Americans at the intersection of identities like sexuality and disability—voices that are often overlooked or structurally silenced in research. His research on race, HIV, and police brutality has substantially impacted his field, with over a dozen peer-reviewed articles and competitively selected book chapters to his credit. His work has garnered considerable recognition from the National Communication Association, including top paper awards in family communication and the prestigious Article of the Year (2024) honor from the African American Communication and Culture division. Hawkins’ collaboration with the Counter Narrative Project, a nonprofit dedicated to policy and narrative change for Black queer men, earned a GLAAD Media Award nomination for Best Blog for The Reckoning.

As a first-generation college graduate who has transitioned into academia, Hawkins is committed to using higher education as a powerful tool for self-discovery and critical thinking. Beyond his classroom duties, he excels as an impactful speech and debate (forensics) coach. He stands out as one of the few coaches in the country to have secured multiple national championships in both debate (IPDA 2013, IPDA 2019) and speech (Duo-AFA 2017, Duo-PKD 2019) within his first decade of coaching.

Driven by a profound commitment to advancing equity beyond academia, Deion leverages his academic influence to effect real-world change. He actively engages with 826 Boston and serves on the Board of Directors for Boston Healthcare for the Homeless Program, where his lived experience and expertise in health equity make a significant impact. Beyond his community work, he also plays an essential role in shaping academic discourse, regularly reviewing for respected journals such as Health Communication, Journal of Black Studies, and Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies. Hawkins is also a leading diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) consultant, serving high-profile clients such as Shark Ninja, UNAIDS, and the Massachusetts Department of Health. He is the recipient of Emerson’s 20222 Outstanding Teaching Award.