Author Talk and Book Signing with Joseph Holland

Spend an afternoon at Seymour Library with the inspirational Joseph Holland, son of legendary Auburn native, Jerome “Brud” Holland! This special Author Talk & Book Signing will offer a rare opportunity for a meet and greet with Holland, including a reading from his latest book “Make Your Own History: Timeless Truths from Black American Trailblazers,” followed by an audience Q&A. The book will be for sale, with the writer autographing copies.

2:00 pm: Opening Reception & Refreshments
2:45 pm: Author Talk & Q&A

This event is brought to you by aaduna with refreshments courtesy of the Friends of Seymour Library.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Joseph H. Holland is a writer, attorney, entrepreneur, and ordained minister. A former Director/General Counsel to the New York State Senate Housing Committee and a New York State Housing Commissioner, over four decades he has operated a Harlem-based real estate law practice and used his management skills to build commercial enterprises and community-based programs. He has written five books and developed the motivational life skills program “Holistic Hardware” (myholistichardware.com) as well as the supplemental educational curriculum “Virtues Academy” (virtuesacademy.com). 

He presently serves as an elder of Harlem’s Bethel Gospel Assembly. A graduate of Cornell University, where he earned a BA and MA and was an All-American and Academic All-American football player, Holland has served as a member of the University’s Board of Trustees since 1988. He holds his JD degree from Harvard. 

For more information visit JosephHolland.com.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Celebrating the vast breadth and scope of Black excellence, Make Your Own History spotlights the principles of success exemplified by the lives of 120 Black role models who have blazed trails throughout American history.

Make Your Own History gathers together motivational quotes, historical contexts, and enlightening precepts from Black trailblazers spanning the eighteenth century to the present. These insights encompass twelve central themes: courage, self-discipline, compassion, perseverance, teamwork, integrity, industriousness, self-reliance, optimism, purposefulness, civility, and faith. These vigorous virtues will:

• Deepen your courage through journalist Ida B. Wells’s activism in the face of professional and personal peril
• Fuel your perseverance through tennis superstar Serena Williams’s journey to 23 Grand Slam singles titles
• Spark optimism through poet Langston Hughes’s work as an artistic and intellectual catalyst for the Harlem Renaissance

Through these perspectives and so many more, Make Your Own History serves not only as an uplifting historical resource but also as a spiritual road map for the lifelong journey of purposefully setting and meeting personal goals.

This event is funded in part by Poets & Writers with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.