CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The sound of clippers and laughter is what you’ll find inside a small barbershop called Doyenne.

Alicia Phillips and Sakinah Dunlap both met in barber school a few years ago, and decided they wanted to open a barbershop together here in Charlotte.

“It’s about Black strong women stepping out and identifying themselves as strong Black women (and) making a stance in barbering and anything you do," says Phillips.  
Their barbershop is not only Black-owned, but it’s also a space for the LGBTQ community.  

“People are realizing what they want to be and who they are at an early age, so it’s important for us to have this in the community so we can reach out to those who don’t have that in their home or in their community," says Phillips. "We’re here.”

These last couple of months have been challenging because of COVID-19, but one of their clients sent them information about funding that could help their business.

“So it was like, ah we’re just going to throw this out there and we’ll see and when we got the call that we were selected, it was kind of like….we didn’t even have words," says Dunlap.

Both women recently were awarded the Human Rights Campaign and SHOWTIME’s "Queer to Stay" preservation initiative funding.

This initiative is designed to help support minority-focused LGBTQ businesses that were affected by the pandemic.

“We were driving together and she called and we were like, 'you got to hang up cause we can’t hang up we’re so excited,'" says Phillips. "It was exciting news, and I’m glad to be a part of it.

Thanks to this funding, Doyenne can continue to move forward and grow, and that’s something these ladies are excited to see.

“I just know that it’s going to be big, and I hope that I’m able to take on everything that’s going to come," says Dunlap.

Nine other businesses across the country were also selected to receive this funding that will help support businesses that focus on LGBTQ, people of color, women and the transgender community.