See more about this event or find out how to RSVP for this free event at these links:
http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs136/1102964307953/archive/1116698178390.html
“The best that we as educators can give our students and graduates is capacity for continued growth. Having a purpose gives meaning to what human beings do. We cannot play football effectively unless we know where the goal line is. We cannot play the human game without right aspirations, leading us toward durable accomplishments.”
Merze Tate
What:Discovering Merze Tate Book Advance presentation by Sonya Bernard-Hollins
When: Noon, Thursday, March 20, 2014
Where: Fair Housing Center of West Michigan, 20 Hall Street SE (just east of Division) Grand Rapids, Mich.
Lunch is provided, and parking is available. To RSVP for the luncheon, email: annie.edwards756@gmail.com or spmiles@comcast.net
GRAND RAPIDS (MICH.)-She rubbed elbows with prime ministers, purchased a ticket for a proposed first passenger flight to outer space and left millions to universities upon her death in 1996. She was stabbed and left for dead. Some documents on her are still “classified.” She attended one of the first public meetings of Adolph Hitler in Germany.
More than eight years ago Sonya Bernard-Hollins learned of the phenomenal Merze Tate during an assignment for the Kalamazoo Gazette (Michigan) featuring Western Michigan University’s African American Firsts. The list produced a list of alumni who had earned local, national and international acclaim. However, one name stood out– that name was Merze Tate.
After more than eight years of research, lectures and educational programs based on the legacy of Tate, Bernard-Hollins is planning the release of the first biography of Merze Tate. She will discuss Tate and her upcoming book, “Discovering Merze Tate,” during the Women’s History Month presentation collaborated by the Grand Rapids Study Club and Greater Grand Rapids Women’s History Council.
“When I saw her name on the list of WMU Firsts, I just couldn’t let it go,” Bernard-Hollins said. “What was it about her life that led to her being named WMU’s first African American female Distinguished Alumna? The answer was astounding and resulted in me dedicating the past eight years to chronicling her life story for the world.”
During this Women’s History Month presentation, she will share of the amazing facts she learned about a woman who had every title from history professor to expert in disarmament. Who was this woman who, in the era of the Civil Rights Movement, was traveling the world and writing its history for scholarly works assigned as required reading at Ivy League schools across the country?
Who was this woman who was friends with other well-known historical figures such as Mary McLeod Bethune and the first prime minister of India? Who was this woman who has records that are still “classified” with the U.S. Government? Who was this woman who was called a “security liability,” and at the same time left millions of dollars to universities across the country?
Bernard-Hollins has created Merzetate.com, the Merze Tate Travel Club for inner-city girls, and has a traveling exhibition of Tate’s personal photos from around the world. She also is publisher of Season Press (parent company of Community Voices) playwright and author.
Find out more about Tate through this presentation and how to get one of the first copies of the soon-to-be released biography.
