SMCM to Host One Maryland One Book Talk
Join author Carole Boston Weatherford and artist Jeffery Boston Weatherford for a discussion about their book, “Kin: Rooted in Hope,” from 7 to 9pm October 8, 2025, at St. Mary’s College of Maryland.
The event will be held in the Nancy R. and Norton T. Dodge Performing Arts Center at 47855 College Drive in St. Mary’s City.
Released in 2024, the book is a work of art, history, and personal genealogy–the authors’ search into their family tree led them to ancestors who were among the founders of Maryland.
Hybrid in form, and even more expansive in what it has to say, “Kin: Rooted in Hope” is a book created by, and about, a Black family and its generations. With each poem and its accompanying illustration, Carole and Jeffery tell their family story through each of their kin and the world they lived in: the Chesapeake Bay, the plantation house, Frederick Douglass, Harriett Tubman, and more.
The author talk will begin at 7pm, with a book signing and sales to follow. Local historical organizations will offer exhibits in the lobby, starting at 6:30pm and continuing through the conclusion of the event.
The daughter of a printer, Carole was practically born with ink in her blood. She began writing at age 6 and soon after saw her poems in print. Her 80-plus books have garnered two NAACP Image Awards and 18 American Library Association Youth Media Awards, including a Newbery Honor, Coretta Scott King Award, and four Caldecott Honors.
Her career achievements have been recognized with the North Carolina Award for Literature, the Nonfiction Award from the Children’s Book Guild and induction into the North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame. A retired English professor, she lives in Maryland.
Jeffery was born with such distinctive hands that his grandmother predicted he would grow up to do important work. She was right.
An award-winning illustrator, Jeffery has collaborated with Carole on three books. He was a Romare Bearden Scholar at Howard University where he earned a Master of Fine Arts degree. Also a performance poet and fine artist, Jeffery has performed or exhibited in the US, West Africa, and the Middle East. He lives in North Carolina.
The St. Mary’s College of Maryland Office of Community Outreach & Engagement is proud to partner with the St. Mary’s County Museum Division; Southern Maryland Regional Library Association; Calvert, Charles, and St. Mary’s County libraries; and the College of Southern Maryland to host the event.
One Maryland One Book is a program of Maryland Humanities. Learn more at the program’s website.
