Terresa Hardaway Builds Community Through Design and Books
Terresa Hardaway co-founded the design studio Blackbird Revolt in 2017, serving government agencies, nonprofits and grassroots organizations with branding, animation, video, audio and fabrication. In 2024 she acquired Black Garnet Books, where she curates Black and Brown authors and hosts community events. Hardaway, an associate professor of graphic design and director of design justice at the University of Minnesota, talks about adapting her bookstore during Operation Metro Surge, leaning on her network, and why she recommends having a plan before you start a business.
Terresa Hardaway said her favorite part of being a business owner is the chance to intentionally build community. In 2017, she co-founded Blackbird Revolt, a design studio focused on social justice, anti-racism and abolition. In 2024, she acquired Black Garnet Books.
Blackbird Revolt helps government agencies, nonprofits and grassroots organizations with branding, animation, video and audio production, fabrication and other creative work, Hardaway said. At Black Garnet Books, she uses storytelling to show what Black liberation looks like.
“We’re able to really curate ourselves to have Black and Brown authors whose stories don’t necessarily get the life and the amplification that they need,” she said.
The bookstore also hosts community events.
“We find ourselves in a time where we really need third spaces, places where our neighbors feel safe, and so being able to build that to create events that center Black and Brown voices,” Hardaway said.
Hardaway said her network gave her the confidence to become an entrepreneur, encouraging and supporting her along the way.
“People are always like, ‘How do you do everything that you do?’ I’m like, ‘I don’t do it all,'” she said.
Keeping the bookstore a safe community space was tested during Operation Metro Surge, [the federal immigration enforcement operation in the Twin Cities]. Hardaway said adapting helped.
“Being able to adapt to ‘What is it that not just staff and employees need, but what does our community need?’ And being able to say, I own this model and actually don’t have to do it the way that other people do. … I actually want to center community. I actually want to give the community what they’re asking for,” Hardaway said.
In addition to running two Twin Cities businesses, Hardaway is an associate professor of graphic design and director of design justice at the University of Minnesota’s College of Design, where her research centers on abolition, design and Black liberation. Her businesses let her put those theories into daily practice.
Her advice to people who want to work in multiple fields is to find where they overlap.
“I do think if I can find that intersection, it makes it worth doing,” she said.
For anyone looking to start a business, Hardaway recommends having a plan, even though many people say to just jump in.
“While I would say, yes, it’s exciting to jump out and do it, have a plan and also know who you are and surround yourself around people who, when you forget, because you will forget who you are, they will remind you,” she said.
For more information on Blackbird Revolt, visit www.blackbirdrevolt.com.
Damenica Ellis welcomes reader responses at dellis@spokesman-recorder.com.
On the Radar highlights established Black-owned businesses and the people behind them. To have your business considered for a future feature, email dellis@spokesman-recorder.com.