BLACK HISTORY MONTH
ON FEBRUARY 5, 2026, FROM OUR COMMUNITY, WE RECOGNIZE:
MAXINE HOLLAND
Born in the unincorporated community of Cobham in northeastern Albemarle
County, Ms. Holland came of age during the era of segregation. She attended
the three-room Keswick Elementary School and later Rose Hill Elementary
School. In 1967, she graduated from Jackson P. Burley High School as part of the
last class of graduates before Albemarle County integrated schools. Through her
many roles, she engaged community members of all ages and contributed to a
diverse and vibrant African American community. Ms. Holland launched
numerous community initiatives in Cobham and nearby neighborhoods.
Among them were: tutoring, teaching dance and rhythmic activities to
preschoolers, conducting exercise classes for adults, organizing programs to
raise awareness of Sickle Cell Anemia, and celebrating Pan-African Day.
Her experiences in both segregated and integrated communities underscored
the crucial importance of linking teachers, parents, and community into a
triangle of advocacy to successfully educate a child. She honors Black teachers
and their educational strategies that developed generations of successful Black
men and women, despite segregation. She integrated Black history into all
subjects. She was more concerned with preparing students to function beyond
the classroom with a sense of character and self-sufficiency than training them
to get jobs and become consumers. Prior to leaving public education, she
founded and directed Men on A Mission, a club designed to help raise the level
of consciousness among young African American males. She later founded and
directed The Shule (shoe-lay) Society, a rite of passage for young Black women
intended to help them navigate the challenges of life while maintaining peace
and harmony in their lives. Around the same time, she organized and served as
Facilitator of the Family Council at The Cedars Nursing Home, which was a
support group for nursing home residents and their families. More recently, she
helped to organize the Veterans Committee of Central Virginia and serves as
Director. Their mission is to more fully contextualize and honor through
education and telling the untold true stories of the African American
participation in the United States Military- past and present.
In 2001, she helped Mrs. Tamyra Turner plan and organize Juneteenth
celebrations. Over the years, Ms. Maxine Holland has been adamant about
maintaining the historical significance and integrity of Juneteenth. Furthermore,
she believes that many of the problems that plague the Black community can be
countered by educators and leaders who have a clear sense of history, culture,
identity, group unity, and self-determination. She consistently encourages Black
people to study their history. Ms. Holland agrees with Carter G. Woodson’s,
Father of Black History, statement- “If a people had no recorded history, its
achievements would be forgotten or ignored and eventually claimed by others.”
Therefore, it is essential that you know your history and not allow it to be
destroyed. She continues, “If you destroy the history, you destroy the evidence.
Do not let that happen.”
BLACK HISTORY MONTH
ON FEBRUARY 6, 2026