Barry Hankerson (born August 3, 1947) is an American record producer, music label owner and manager. Hankerson is the founder of Blackground Records.
He is the uncle of singer and actress Aaliyah.
Who is Gladys Knight husband Barry Hankerson?
Hankerson married Gladys Knight in October 1974; after four years the couple divorced.
He has one daughter and two sons; one with Knight, Shanga-Ali Hankerson and Jomo Hankerson, his oldest son, from a previous marriage.
Hankerson is the brother of Diane Haughton and uncle to her and Michael Haughton’s two children, American R&B singer Aaliyah and Rashad Haughton.
Born and raised in Harlem, New York City, Hankerson attended Central State University in Ohio, where he majored in sociology and played on the football team.
After unsuccessfully auditioning for the New York Jets, he moved to Detroit, Michigan, where he worked as a community organizer in the office of mayor Coleman Young in the early 1970s.
Later in the decade, Hankerson moved into the entertainment industry, helping to produce the 1976 film Pipe Dreams, which he also costarred in with his then-wife Gladys Knight. He produced Ron Milner’s play Don’t Get God Started in 1988.
