Calendar of Events › Author Visits

Captain Montalvan will discuss his book Until Tuesday and educate the public about the trauma and real experiences of veterans and people with disabilities. He will discuss issues relating to service members, veterans, and their families. Montalvan is a 17-year veteran of the U.S. Army, including multiple tours in Iraq, and an advocate for persons with disabilities. He and his service dog Tuesday will be available for book signing and photos after the presentation.

One of the Little Rock Nine, Carlotta Walls LaNier will be speaking as part of the Fair Housing Center of West Michigan’s 26th Annual Fair Housing Luncheon & Workshop Series. Tickets available at 616.451.2980 or www.fhcwm.org.

Please join the Grand Rapids Public Library in the book launch of Song of the Owashtanong: Grand Rapids Poetry in the 21st Century. This work is a remarkable collection, bringing together sixteen of the most accomplished Grand Rapids poets, including David Cope, Linda Nemec-Foster, G.F. Korreck, Mursalata Muhammad, among others. A book signing will follow the presentation.

In Success to Significance, motivational speaker Kris Mathis delivers a step-by-step program that teaches you “the eight keys to achieving any goal or dream.” These principles will help you discover your true purpose, how to take control of your life, and then help you make your dreams and goals a reality.

Author Todd Robinson will present his recent book, A City within a City, a case study of the civil rights era as it happened in smaller cities. The book focuses on the struggles involving school integration and bureaucratic reforms, as well as the role of black youth activism to detail the diversity of black resistance in Grand Rapids. Robinson’s book adds a new dimension and understanding of how the civil rights movement operated in a part of the country that has only recently become a focus among historians. A book signing will follow the presentation.

Author Todd Robinson will present his recent book, A City Within a City: The Black Freedom Struggle in Grand Rapids, Michigan, a case study of the civil rights era as it happened in  smaller cities. The book focuses specifically on the struggles involving school integration and bureaucratic reforms, as well as the role of black youth activism to detail the diversity of black resistance in Grand Rapids. Efforts to dismantle structures of racial inequality had a very different flavor in smaller northern cities than they did in other parts of the north, and Robinson’s book adds a new dimension and understanding of how the civil rights movement operated in a part of the country that has only recently become an object of focus among historians.