Meet Author/Publisher Sonya Hollins

For more than 20 years Sonya Hollins worked as a journalist at daily and weekly newspapers as well as a freelance writer for local, state and national magazines.  She earned awards for her writing from the Michigan Press Association, Associated Press of Michigan and others. She has been recognized for her professional and community service by such organizations as the A. Philip Randolph Association (Battle Creek Chapter), American Business Women’s Association (Battle Creek Chapter) and Heritage Battle Creek Sojourner Truth Anniversary Committee. 

In 2008 she founded a youth organization for young girls called, the Merze Tate Travel Club. The club is named for Tate, a Michigan native, who was the first African American to graduate from Oxford University in England and was a world traveler. 

Sonya also is the curator of the traveling photo exhibition, “The World Through the Lens of Merze Tate,” which opened at the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame. The exhibit was reported to be one of their most popular, and has since been booked at various venues throughout Michigan.  

Sonya is the author of the book, “Here I Stand: A Musical History of African Americans in Battle Creek, MI,” and also is a playwright and contributed to the recent Von Washington Production, “My Heart Belongs to You, Kalamazoo.” 

She is currently the editor and publisher of Community Voices online and print magazine. She and her husband Sean have four children and reside in Kalamazoo. To contact Sonya about her lectures, email her at editor@comvoicesonline.com .

Why did you found the Merze Tate Travel Club?


In 2005, I worked as a reporter at the Kalamazoo Gazette. It was during that time I wrote a story on the first African-Americans of Western Michigan University. After receiving a list from the alumni department of African American firsts, certain names stood out such as Ira Murchison, the first WMU student to earn an Olympic medal; Loretta Long “Susan” of Sesame Street; and Ollie Barnes, a friend of mine who was the first African-American Homecoming King at WMU. 

However, the name “Merze Tate” seemed to capture my attention. It was a name that I

Merze Tate

didn’t know belonged to a man or woman. Merze Tate had been noted as the first African American woman to earn a Distinguished Alumna Award. I wondered more about this person, and soon found out she not only left more than a million dollars to WMU, she achieved many other firsts, such as the first African-American graduate of Oxford University, and the first African American female to earn a Ph.D. in political science from Radcliff College at Harvard University. 

As I searched the university’s archives, I discovered her scrapbooks, with photos from around the world (she had traveled the world twice). One of the photos was that of Tate with a group of about 40 African American students holding a sign that read: Travel Club. It was intriguing. Where did they travel? How did they fund this during the 1930s? 

After writing my story, I still didn’t have all the answers I wanted about Tate. When the

Kalamazoo Community Foundation sent out a call to provide grants to those in the community with a creative idea to educate youth, I thought of Tate’s Travel Club and submitted a proposal for the $500 grant. I received it, and recruited 12 girls to be charter members of the Merze Tate Travel Club. That was in 2008. Today, we have had more than 100 girls take part in our organization, travel to various places within and outside our community, state, and country, and visit women from corporations and small businesses, learning of careers and what it takes to succeed. The premise of the Travel Club was to create “travel writers” who would learn of new things, places, and people, and write, video, and photograph them to share with the community and the world.

You’re the curator of The World Through the Eyes of Merze Tate traveling exhibit. Can you tell us about this exhibit and its importance?

After seeing the amazing photographs that Tate had taken throughout her lifetime, I felt they should be shared with others. They had been stored away in boxes in the archives at WMU, and after speaking with Sharon Carlson, director of the archives, she allowed me to select some of the most interesting photos for an exhibit. The exhibit was a partnership between Grand Valley State University and I. The university provided a grant for the printing of the images. The exhibit debuted at the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame in 2012 and has traveled throughout Michigan ever since.

You’re also the editor/publisher of Community Voices, an on-line news magazine. Can you give us a sense of its purpose, and recent topics covered?

Community Voices is a magazine that developed from a bi-weekly newspaper. The original Community Voices magazine was founded by James and Arlene Washington in 2005. I had contributed to it for years. When they decided they could no longer manage it, they approached my husband, Sean and I to take it over. Because Sean has a business in graphic design (Fortitude Graphics), they felt this would be a perfect match for us. We took the online magazine and made it more appealing, and created a quarterly magazine to replace the bi-weekly newspaper. Community Voices is dedicated to sharing the positive news of our community and the people who live In West Michigan.

You and your husband Sean recently wrote and published a children’s book, Benjamin Losford & His Handy Dandy Clippers. Who is Benjamin Losford and why is he so important?

I learned of Benjamin Losford after presenting Merze Tate during an event at the Grand Rapids Public Library. Shirley Wulff, a native of Edmore, Michigan, approached me about Benjamin, a man who had been a legend in their town. Benjamin’s father, Abraham, had escaped slavery in Kentucky, and later came back to rescue his son, Benjamin, from the plantation after slavery. Abe brought his son to Howell, Michigan, where he made a home and life as a barber, and taught his son the skill. Ben was offered an opportunity to work in a newly developed town, Edmore, Michigan, and was their first barber and first African American citizen. His son, Norm, became a barber as well, and they ran the longest-running business in the town’s history. Their story was interesting to me because we rarely hear what happens after someone escapes slavery. For both of these men to make their lives a success in towns where they were the first African American residents, showed determination, and that if you have a skill, you can go anywhere.

What other books have you written? How about magazine/newspaper work?

The first book I wrote was, Here I Stand: One City’s Musical History. The book, published in 2003, featured the African American history of Battle Creek, MI, and the famous musicians who lived there. One of the most popular musicians, who called Battle Creek home, was Junior Walker of the All Stars. The band moved to the town as a house band for a little club called, The El Grotto. Artists such as Al Green honed his skills at the El Grotto with Junior Walker playing for him.

When I learned that one musician, Wade Flemons, wrote his first hit, Here I Stand, while still in high school in Battle Creek AND became the co-founder of Earth, Wind, and Fire, I was excited. Musician Bobby Holley helped me gather musicians together who shared their stories for a book that was released with a free community concert, which also featured Motown artists the musicians had shared record labels with. That book has been revised several times, and continues to be a popular one among music historians as much of the history and photographs used had never before (or since) been published. 

Photo by John Grap

You and your husband, Sean, run Season Press, LLC.  Could you tell us what books have you published recently, and what’s the motivation behind this business venture?

Sean and I came into the business of Season Press without even trying. Once Here I Stand was published, many others came to us to find out how we had self published our work. While we were no experts, we knew the urgency many authors had to share their stories, become published, and have a quality product people would buy. So, Sean and I took on one project after another; all through word of mouth. Since 2007, we have helped dozens of authors become self-published authors.

Do you have any tips for writers?

My main tip for writers would be to make sure you invest in a professional copy editor or book editing software. Most of my complaints (about my works and those I consult) is that readers get hung up on silly grammatical errors. You can have the best story, the best idea, the most original concept, but if people can’t see past your errors, it is all just a waste of time. I learned that the hard way. No amount of money for a real copy editor is too much as it makes you look more professional in the long run. 


How about tips for those writers who are thinking about publishing their book?

What I tell authors most of all, is to make sure you have your audience in mind before you write a book. So many people say they have a book, but who will buy it? If you can’t think past family and friends, then you need to rethink why you are writing it. Some just want to write to get something out of their heads, or to just do something for family. Others want to make the New York Times Bestsellers List, but feel the book will just sell itself. Everyone needs to have a hook, a valid reason why they are the best person to write this book, and the stamina to push it out through all sorts of creative marketing. If you don’t want to work, don’t waste your time. 

Is there anything else you’d like to mention?

I am so excited for our authors and love to share their new releases on our Season Press Publishing Facebook page. I would love for those interested in publishing to see some of the past works we have helped create, and support self-published authors.

Photo Credits: bottom photo by John Grap 
Image of Merze Tate from sheroes of history