Inaugural Midwest Black Book Fair will debut in north Minneapolis
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Terresa Hardaway says above all, she’s a connector. She thrives when building relationships and organizing and prefers to stay busy, hence her long resume including co-founder and owner of Blackbird Revolt, a social-justice based design studio; associate professor of graphic design at the University of Minnesota; and owner of Black Garnet Books.
She was attending a monthly Black Bookstore Coalition meeting when the group got to talking about book festivals, and it struck her: Minnesota doesn’t have an event to celebrate Black booksellers and authors.
“I was just looking around at all these like really amazing Black women who are doing this really important work in the literary space, and I'm like, we need to. It's just been on my heart. We need to do something,” she said.
Hardaway decided to launch and curate the first Midwest Black Book Fair.
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She and her team got to work planning the fair, an event to honor stories of resistance and Blackness. The inaugural event takes place Saturday from noon to 5 p.m. at the University of Minnesota Urban Research and Outreach-Engagement Center in Minneapolis.
The fair will highlight about two dozen people and organizations, including Black authors, Black-owned bookstores, collectives and publishers focused on Black perspectives, and more. Hardaway and others are hosting workshops about Black literary history in Minnesota, how to get published and the influence of the Midwest on Black writers. As of last week, over 800 tickets had been reserved.
Mary Taris, the founder and owner of Strive Publishing & Bookstore in Minneapolis, will be at the fair. She said when Hardaway mentioned the event to her, she knew she had to be a part of it. It’s also special to her that the inaugural fair is in north Minneapolis.
“I’m from north Minneapolis, and I really wanted my bookstore to be in north Minneapolis, but that didn’t come to fruition. But being able to host our inaugural Midwest Black Book Fair in north Minneapolis is just incredible to me,” she said.
“I just really hope that everyone comes out for the Black book fair. No matter what background you are, come out and learn all about what's going on in the literary scene in the Midwest in terms of Black voices.”
Hardaway said she chose to host the event toward the end of the summer to coincide with Black August, an annual month-long commemoration that honors the lives of Black revolutionaries and activists. She also didn’t want to compete with Independent Bookstore Day in April.
“I think that is an important day for all independent bookstores. But I do think there is something about celebrating Black stories and narratives during Black August,” she said.
Tickets are available for free but attendees must register in advance. There will be free parking at NorthPoint Health & Wellness Center.
