This event is being hosted by Calvert County Library and made available virtually through a partnership with Maryland Libraries Together.

For more information and to register for the in-person event at Calvert Library - Prince Frederick, click here.

MD Libraries Together and Calvert Library are excited to present Michelle Coles to help celebrate Black History Month 2025.  Ms. Coles, a civil rights attorney, wrote the award-winning young adult book Black Was the Ink. The event will be held both online and in-person on Thursday, February 27 at 6pm. 

Ms. Coles will be in person at Calvert Library Prince Frederick and the event will also be streamed on the Calvert Library YouTube channel.  Books will be available for sale and signing at the in-person event. 

Black Was the Ink features Malcolm, a Black teen from DC, whose mom is worried about his safety over the summer and sends him to stay with his father’s family on their farm in Mississippi.  Part of the farm had been taken through eminent domain for a highway some years prior and now the state is threatening to take the rest of it even though there is an option to take some of the farm across the road.  Malcolm isn’t all that worried about it until he is transported back in time to the Reconstruction Era as his ancestor Cedric, an aide to Senator Hiram Revels, one of the first Black members of Congress.  Malcolm and readers learn about the Black heroes of the period and learn how to advocate in the present. This is an entertaining and inspiring read for both teens and adults and you’ll undoubtedly learn something new, too!

Read the book! Black Was the Ink is available to borrow as a book, ebook, and eaudiobook. Place a hold on the format of your choice!

This project is supported in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services through the Library Services and Technology Act Administered by the Maryland State Library Agency. It is made possible through a partnership with Maryland Libraries Together.