As part of our programming for the state’s largest reading and discussion program, 2025 One Maryland One Book authors Carole Boston Weatherford and Jeffery Boston Weatherford will tour across Maryland to discuss their book Kin: Rooted in Hope.
All tour events are open to the public, and free with exception of the reception. Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Book signings will occur as part of the event.
October 6, 2025
Riverdale, MD
A Reception for Kin: Rooted in Hope
Join us for our annual One Maryland One Book Author Reception featuring the poetry and art of a Maryland family by Carole Boston Weatherford & Jeffery Boston Weatherford.
This year’s One Maryland One Book Reception will be a visual celebration of Kin: Rooted in Hope. Presented by Maryland Humanities and hosted by the Riversdale House Museum, this location is a National Historic Landmark. A restored, five-part, stucco-covered brick plantation, this home was built between 1801 and 1807. With up to 55 enslaved persons working the grounds at its height, the Riversdale House Museum is the perfect venue to help tell the story of enslavement and one family’s resilience towards gaining freedom.
Make sure you join us promptly at 5:00 p.m., as this year’s reception will include a tour of the Riversdale House Museum featuring Jeffery Boston Weatherford’s art skillfully placed throughout the home, along with a program featuring both Carole and Jeffery.
Mark your calendars! Space is limited, so don’t miss this exhibit and conversation.
Presented in Partnership with Riversdale House Museum, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Maryland State Library Agency, BGE, and The Crowe Foundation.
October 7, 2025
Wye Mills, MD
What We Collect, What We Tell
Our history, our family, our stories
6:00 PM to 7:00 PM
Chesapeake College
1000 College Cir, Wye Mills, MD 21679 (map)
Join us for One Maryland, One Book author talk for Kin: Rooted in Hope, with author Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrator Jeffrey Boston Weatherford.
Names and dates from the roots and branches of a family tree, stories are the foliage that brings the past to life. In Kin: Rooted in Hope, the Weatherfords affirm that knowing your history is generational wealth for everyone. This event is free and open to the public. No registration is required.
Exhibition, reception, book sales and signings to follow.
Doors open at 5:30 p.m.
Presented in Partnership with: Talbot County Free Library, Eastern Shore Regional Library, Washington College, Caroline County Public Library, Kent County Public Library, Dorchester County Public Library, Queen Anne’s County Public Library, Talbot County Public Schools, The Needle’s Eye Academy
October 8, 2025
La Plata, MD
Kin: Rooted in Hope: A Discussion Among Descendants
1:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Brad and Linda Gottfried Theater
College of Southern Maryland
8730 Mitchell Rd, La Plata, MD 20646 (map)
What does it mean to be a descendant? How do we engage with the past in the present?
In this lively panel discussion, join authors Carole Boston Weatherford and Jeffery Boston Weatherford, St. Mary’s College of Maryland Community Affairs Liaison Kelsey R. Bush, and Historic Sotterley Board of Trustees President Gwendoline Bankins about ancestry, storytelling, and family legacy. This event is free and open to the public. No registration is required.
Schedule of Events:
1 – 2 p.m., Panel Discussion, Kin: Rooted in Hope: A Discussion Among Descendants, Hank Willoughby Foundation Center for the Arts (FA Building), Brad and Linda Gottfried Theater
2:15 – 3 p.m., Book signing to follow in FA Lobby.
In this lively panel discussion, join authors Carole Boston Weatherford and Jeffery Boston Weatherford, St. Mary’s College of Maryland Community Affairs Liason Kelsey R. Bush, and Historic Sotterley Board of Trustees President Gwendoline Bankins about ancestry, storytelling, and family legacy.
Moderator: Caitlyn Socrates, Associate Professor, CSM English Department
Panelists: Carole Boston Weatherford and Jeffery Boston Weatherford, One Maryland One Book authors, Kelsey R. Bush, Community Affairs Liaison, St. Mary’s College of Maryland, and Gwendoline Bankins, President, Board of Trustees, Historic Sotterley.
October 8, 2025
St. Mary’s City, MD
6:30 PM to 9:00 PM
Nancy R. and Norton T. Dodge Performing Arts Center
St. Mary’s College of Maryland
47855 College Dr, St Mary’s City, MD 20686 (map)
Join author Carole Boston Weatherford and artist Jeffrey Boston Weatherford for an inspiring discussion about their book Kin: Rooted in Hope. 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 7:00 pm, with a book signing and sales to follow. Local historical organizations will offer exhibits in the lobby, starting at 6:30 pm and continuing through the conclusion of the event. This event is free and open to the public. No registration required.
The event is produced in partnership with The St. Mary’s College, the St. Mary’s County Museum Division; Calvert Library, Charles County Public Library, and St. Mary’s County Library; and the College of Southern Maryland to host this event. Support for the event is provided by the Arts Alliance at St. Mary’s College of Maryland.
October 9, 2025
Baltimore, MD
6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Morgan State University
Martin D. Jenkins Hall – Behavioral and Social Sciences Center – Room 512/514
1600 Havenwood Rd, Baltimore, MD 21251
Join us for a One Maryland, One Book author talk for Kin: Rooted in Hope, with author Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrator Jeffery Boston Weatherford. Hosted by the Morgan State University English Department and moderated by department chair, Dr. DaMaris Hill.
Book sales and signings to follow. No registration required.
The OMOB Author Tour is brought to you with sponsorship by:
