One Maryland One Book: Author Discussion Panel

Date: October 08, 2025
Times: 01:00 PM - 02:00 PM
Location: La Plata Campus , Hank Willoughby Foundation Center for the Arts (FA Building), Brad and Linda Gottfried Theater MAP

One Maryland One Book: Author Discussion Panel 

'Kin: Rooted in Hope:' A Discussion Among Descendants

What does it mean to be a descendant? How do we engage with the past in the present?

In this lively panel discussion, 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 explore ancestry, storytelling, and family legacy.

October 8 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 and Coffee Social, Michelle Simpson Center for Teaching and Learning (Room 205), Learning Resource Center (LR Building)

View More One Maryland One Book Events

Moderator:

Caitlyn Socrates, Associate Professor, CSM English Department

Panelists:

• Kelsey R. Bush, Community Affairs Liaison, St. Mary’s College of Maryland
• Gwendoline Bankins, President, Board of Trustees, Historic Sotterley
• Carole Boston Weatherford and Jeffery Boston Weatherford, One Maryland One Book authors

Biographies

Kelsey Bush

Kelsey R.M. Bush is a native of Lexington Park in St. Mary's County, Maryland, where he attended county public schools, graduating from Great Mills High School. He earned a bachelor of arts from St. Mary's College of Maryland with dual majors in political science and sociology/anthropology. He also earned a Juris Doctorate from the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law. Currently, Bush is the community affairs liaison for St. Mary's College of Maryland.  For 20 years, Bush worked for St. Mary's County Government as the Local Management Board (LMB) and youth coordinator in the Department of Aging and Human Services. In that capacity, he developed youth-related initiatives and programs, monitored grants, and collaborated with other agencies and citizens on youth, family, and children-related issues. Additionally, Bush worked on equity, feeding, homelessness, and other quality-of-life issues. He served on multiple committees and collaborations through this position. Governor Hogan appointed Bush to the Historic St. Mary's City Commission where he has served for the past six years. Additionally, he is a member of the alumni council for St. Mary's College of Maryland. Bush was appointed a commissioner on the Maryland Commission for African American History and Culture in 2007 and served for 10.5 years. Recently, Bush joined the board of trustees of Historic Sotterley. He has served as president of the board of directors for Alternatives for Youth and Families, Inc. and the Kiwanis Club of St. Mary's County. He is also a former member of the Tri-County Youth and Families board of directors, the Unified Committee for Afro-American Contributions, and the St. Mary's Teen Court Oversight Committee. Bush lives in California, Maryland, with his wife Catherine, their two children, and two cats.

Gwendoline Bankins

Gwendoline Bankins is a St. Mary’s County native known for her love of community and her passion for raising awareness and restoring hope through over three decades of local and state volunteer outreach programs on how to communicate on social and health-related issues on behalf of children, youth, and families, crime victims, and law enforcement. Bankins is the president of the board of trustees of Historic Sotterley, chair of preservation, restoration, and interpretation, and a direct descendant of the Kane family who was enslaved at Sotterley in the 19th century with her first visit to the site in the late 1970s. Bankins is a steering committee member of the Southern Maryland National Heritage Area and a member of the Dismantling Racism and Privilege in Southern Maryland Equity in History Coalition. She is a chaplain with the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office, a master chaplain, and the Maryland area representative with the International Conference of Police Chaplains.

Carole Boston Weatherford

The daughter of a printer, Carole Boston Weatherford 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 2 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 Boston Weatherford

Jeffery Boston Weatherford 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, he has collaborated with Carole Boston Weatherford on three books. He was a Romare Bearden scholar at Howard University, where he earned a master of fine arts.  Also a performance poet and fine artist, he has performed or exhibited in the U.S., West Africa, and the Middle East. He lives in North Carolina.

Support

This event is sponsored by the College of Southern Maryland (CSM), the CSM Global Initiatives Committee, and CSM's Connections Literary Magazine, in partnership with Maryland Humanities. For more information, visit the program website.

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