About
Hatch and Flock creates radical spaces of opportunity through transformative education and community collaboration. Our vision for collective liberation is centered on cultural empowerment, transformational restoration, and creative freedom. Our audience centers community members between the ages of 18 – 25, in the Twin Cities metropolitan area, Minnesota, and nationally.
We have worked together for over 10 years and have combined experience of over 40 years. Collaboratively, our work centers on creating design approaches, like Racism Untaught, that addresses racism, anti-Blackness, and other forms of oppression through iterative design processes. We prioritize impact through our two foundational pillars:
Hatch
- Education/Collective Learning
- Multiple Ways of Knowing
- Acknowledging Positionality
- Experiential Learning & Methodologies
Flock
- Collaboration
- Building Relational Trust
- Community Organizing
- Intentional Action and Accountability
Programming
Hatch
Hatch, the educational pillar objectives focus on transformative education by acknowledging multiple ways of knowing, positionality, and experiential learning & methodologies. The collaboration and community engagement pillar objectives focus on building relational trust, community organizing, and the impact of intentional action and accountability.
The founders collaborated on the development Racism Untaught, a framework that cultivates learning environments to explore racism and oppression. The toolkit was co-developed in the Spring of 2018 to foster conversations and learning environments focused on critically analyzing artifacts, systems, and experiences perpetuating racism and the oppression of historically underinvested communities.
Flock
Flock, the community pillar objectives focus on working with emerging designers on projects focused on community engagement and activism through design. As educators from higher education, we noticed a gap in access for emerging designers who are interested in doing this work and are looking for ways to create sustainable relationships with our communities.
We are currently working as a fiscal sponsor for the organizations:
Community Aid Network Minnesota (CANMN) is a volunteer-led mutual aid site located in Minneapolis, MN. We work to build mutual aid bonds with our neighbors, organize volunteers and redistribute resources to ensure everyone has the means for dignified survival.
LINKS FOR CANMN
Cool Runnings is back with group running and biking events hosted by Sharp Signs. Routes and pace are oriented towards a comfortable, recovery run pace. Routes will also be suitable for walking, including ADA and stroller accessibility. Cyclists and leashed pets are welcome to join.
LINKS FOR COOL RUNNINGS
The Faculty, Librarians, Alumni, Graduate Students, and Staff for Justice in Palestine at the University of Minnesota is a collective responding to the call by the US Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (USACBI) to form the FLAGS JP group. In solidarity with the people of Palestine.
LINKS FOR FLAGS JP
GuavaPalta provides funds for Personal Protective Equipment for legal observers of federal activity in the Twin Cities.
LINKS FOR GUAVA PALTA
North Star Health Collective is a community health collective focused on providing first aid and emergency care at protests. They train and support local street medics, partner organizations, and the broader community.
LINKS FOR NORTH STAR HEALTH COLLECTIVE
The People’s Fund is a community-centered support fund aimed at wellness and healing. Sally Nixon manages and facilitates the fund, ensuring its operation and reach to support people who need healing bodywork.
LINKS FOR PEOPLES FUND
Rising Waters is a Mutual Aid group rooted in direct action and focused on supporting our unhoused neighbors and those experiencing hardship.
LINKS FOR RISING WATERS MUTUAL AID
RUN BLK is a Minneapolis-based running and walking group designed to foster “Black Joy” and communal fitness. Founded by Bria Black in June 2023. The group’s motto, “Community for anyone looking to get active,” reflects its commitment to radical inclusivity.
LINK FOR RUN BLK
Midwest Black Book Fair is meant to honor their stories of the resistance and uplift the modern-day intersectional narratives of Blackness, Black history, and Black futurity. Held during Black August, the fair contributes to this month-long commemoration dedicated to honoring Black abolitionists, freedom fighters, and political prisoners. We are the stewards of these stories.
LINKS FOR MIDWEST BLACK BOOK FAIR
Team
Founders & Directors
We have over 40 years of design research experience and have worked together since 2012. Our work includes the co-development of Racism Untaught, which resulted in the book published by The MIT Press in October 2023.
Lisa Elzey Mercer (she/her) is a designer, educator, and researcher. Her interests are in developing and executing design interventions that fuel and sustain responsible design for social impact. The developed frameworks and tools are intended to create a space for conversation and knowledge exchange where participants can collaborate in creating new ideas and solutions.
Terresa Hardaway, PhD (she/her) is a proud Black queer woman dedicated to the liberation of Black and brown people through art and design. She is the Creative Director at Blackbird Revolt and a community-engaged scholar who created Project Naptural and co-created Racism Untaught. She is a core team member of African American Graphic Designers and collaborator with the Black Liberation Lab.
Staff
Assata Florell (she/her) is our Fiscal Sponsorship Coordinator. She is responsible for managing and coordinating aspects of our fiscal sponsorship program and will continue to shape the bounds of the fiscal sponsorship program. She live sin North Minneapolis, has a professional background in both corporate and non-profit settings, love to bake, and enjoys running with Cool Runnings and Run BLK.
Advisory Board Members
This includes H&F board members and the following mentors who help to hold us accountable in our actions and prioritize the impact of our work. The FAC explores how design might be leveraged for cultural empowerment, transformational restoration, and creative freedom in the design industry.
Dr. Jeanine Weekes Schroer
Chair of Board and Financial Committee
Associate Professor of Philosophy
University of Minnesota, Duluth
Shäri Lynn Robinson, BSSW, MSW, MA
Senior Director for Inclusive Excellence, College of Continuing & Professional Studies, PhD Student, Education & Human Development, UMN
Maria Miller
Founding Partner of KMALCO Group, LLC
Denver, Colorado
Nekita Thomas
Associate Professor of Graphic Design & Design for Responsible Innovation, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Dr. Christine Simon
Professor of Psychology
Temple College, Texas
Contact Us
We would love to hear from you!
Please reach out to us at fly(at)hatchandflock.org.
1128 Harmon Place #202, Minneapolis, MN 55403
(612) 208.8876