Before earning a Master of Arts in Gender and Cultural Studies at Simmons, Corrie Locke-Hardy ’20MA had spent nine years in the restaurant industry baking pastry.
“I was preparing to become business partners with an existing bakery, but when that fell through I needed to change direction,” says Locke-Hardy, who pivoted to her passion for social justice education and helping kids.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in early education at UMass Boston before discovering the master’s program at Simmons.
“I liked how the degree was set up, the flexibility. And I liked the Simmons reputation,” she says.
At Simmons, Locke-Hardy found a program rooted in social justice, which melded well with her interests.
“Simmons let me design the program I wanted. Every experience was dynamic. Even the mandatory classes were incredible, with a wide range of topics. Faculty supported students in whatever the student wanted to do, whether that was pursuing a PhD or creating something to benefit educators,” she recalls of her experience, naming Professor Suzanne Leonard and Professor Emerita Theresa Perry as particularly powerful mentors.
“I could come up with the most incredible idea to help people, and it was encouraged,” she says.
Creating Social Justice Resources for Educators
That spirit of innovation inspired Locke-Hardy to create The Tiny Activist, which offers anti-bias and anti-racist training guides and curriculum to teachers and parents, in addition to consulting and training.
“We were using intersectional literature in the classroom to jumpstart conversations about social justice,” recalls Locke-Hardy, who noted two pivotal titles: When Aidan Became a Brother by Kyle Lukoff and Kaylani Juanita (Lee & Low Books, 2019) and From the Stars in the Sky to the Fish in the Sea by Kai Cheng Thom, illustrated by Kai Yun Ching & Wai-Yant Li (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2017).
“That sparked my thesis — to create a resource guide for early childhood educators interested in integrating social justice curriculum into their classrooms,” says Locke-Hardy.
She interviewed teachers doing this work, and then created a resource guide, lesson plans, and discussion questions.
“I wanted to know that when I walked across the stage at graduation that I had this guide that I could give teachers, to help them,” she says.
While Locke-Hardy still offers guidance for starting these conversations in early childhood, she has expanded her reach and impact by consulting with school districts and educational organizations like Head Start about effectively using literature for this purpose. She has offered workshops about the representation of disabilities in books, and also does equity and sensitivity readings for Penguin Random House and Tundra.
“They send me a mostly finished book and I review it for maximum inclusion and diversity,” says Locke-Hardy.
Working with publishers also has led Locke-Hardy to uncover pervasive inequities that still persist in the industry. When she discovered that Instagram book reviewers of color were offered lower rates for ads from book publishers, she knew the issue needed to be addressed.
“I joined with other organizers to create a private group for book reviewers on Instagram where we could talk about the money and share network contacts to work against gatekeeping in publishing,” says Locke-Hardy.
Building a Community, in Person and in Nature
Locke-Hardy’s approach to dismantling gatekeeping can be summed up in one way: creating community.
“I was talking to a couple queer friends who work in publishing, and we thought, we can have a community for more than a 90-minute [dinner]. We should make something for ourselves!” Locke-Hardy says.
This year they did just that, arranging the inaugural Queer Kidlit Camp, a three-day camp for adults held over Memorial Day weekend. People who identify as 2SLGBTQIA+ and work to create or engage with children’s literature — through writing, editing, publishing, reviewing, marketing, selling, or educating — gathered for writing workshops, arts and crafts, and affinity groups.
“I found a campground in Vermont owned by the Venture Out Project, a 40-acre campus that they rent out for events. We designed a very nostalgic summer camp experience, along with panels about books and stuff that were relevant to us. For example, we talked about what to do if you work in marketing and have to market titles that you don’t align with personally, as part of your job,” Locke-Hardy says.
Through sponsorships, the group was able to fund 12 scholarships for people to attend the camp, which was particularly important to Locke-Hardy.
“Artists and queer folks have overlapping marginalization,” she notes, adding that Simmons was a sponsor for the event. “Thirty people flew in from all over the country and internationally. It was a really cool mix of people. We filled to capacity almost immediately, which was very validating. People agreed to fly across the country for this, and they didn’t even know me! It showed the great need for this community space. I’ve already booked the space for next year.”
Feeding the Revolution with her Debut Book
All of this community-building eventually comes back to books … and baking. Locke-Hardy’s debut text, The Revolution Will Be Well Fed: Recipes for Creating Community, will be published this year by Raspberry Bow Press.
“I had this idea to create a cookbook with recipes that are easy to share and eat with your hands and paired with social justice essays,” she reflects. “It felt like a cool combination of my first two careers: food and education.”
For example, there is a recipe for scones that, according to Locke-Hardy, you should definitely bring to your next planning meeting. “The main message is community over capitalism. The easy recipes embody that community spirit.”
Locke-Hardy is still grateful for the solid foundation she received from Simmons.
“I’m a first-generation college graduate and the first in my family to earn a master’s degree,” she says.
Having grown up in a blue-collar, low-income background, she worried she wouldn’t find her place in higher education. “At Simmons, nobody was trying to force me into a certain path. The faculty let me get really excited and express my intellectual interests.” She still relies on this approach in her current projects; as she says, “I just follow the dopamine!”
Most importantly, she developed relationships at Simmons that continue to support her.
“Dr. Leonard and Dr. Perry went above and beyond what I thought a professor would do for students, and have continued to do that for the four years since I graduated,” she says. “Suzanne has continued to be supportive from the sidelines and introduced me to some people that led to consulting jobs down the line. Theresa has continued to be a writing mentor. We communicate regularly.”