Roland's column "Write Black At You" appears monthly in the international culture and music magazine PopMatters and he writes a daily column for Examiner.com. He is also a frequent contributor to TheGrio.com, the first video-centric news community site, produced through the cooperation of NBC and devoted to providing African Americans with stories and perspectives that appeal to them but are underrepresented in existing national news outlets.
He has been a guest speaker at such institutions as Brown University and Dominican College, and has been a writer-in-residence at Miami Dade College, was selected as a Winner-of-the-Week by Tavis Smiley, and in 2004, the US Mission to the United Nations recognized Roland as a global ambassador for his tireless devotion to his world community and heritage.
In February 2009, Roland re-released, Still I Rise: A Graphic History of African Americans, a critically acclaimed work co-authored with his wife Taneshia, with an impressive scope: the entire history of Black America told in an accessible 216 page graphic-novel form. Originally published in 1997, it was updated and now extends from the arrival of the first Africans in 1619 right through to Senator Barack Obama's groundbreaking presidential campaign. Compared by many to Art Spiegelman's Maus, Still I Rise is a breathtaking achievement that celebrates the collective African-American memory, imagination, and spirit and the book has been embraced by colleges and schools throughout the country.
In October 2008, at the height of the U.S. financial crisis, Roland left his position as a VP of Technology at a wholly-owned subsidiary of a Global Fortune 100 company to grow his near 20-year-old side business Posro Media into the country's leading convergent entertainment company specializing in African American culture. The purpose of Posro, an entertainment production company, is to explore African American history and culture in a variety of formats including comics, books, radio, video, and film. Posro projects' positive imagery is designed to stand in sharp contrast to the mass media's often unrealistic and misleading portraits of the African American community.
In the early 1990s Posro was one of the first black-owned independent comic book companies publishing the hip hop-infused series MC Squared. Based in Harlem, MC Squared chronicled the life of Earl Terrel, a brilliant young barber who designs computer games on the side. Three issues were published between 1991-94. Issue #3 was archived in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown for its focus on the Negro Leagues.
From 1993-1994, Posro syndicated the comic strip "The Griots" to black-owned newspapers. Offering insights about black history and culture with the use of witty lines and catch-phrases, "The Griots" received acclaimed from media outlets including The New York Times, The Source and Entertainment Weekly.
Today the company is a cultural consultancy and producer of projects in a variety of formats, including comics, books, video, and film. Posro projects' positive imagery is designed to stand in sharp counterpoint to the mass media's often unrealistic and misleading portraits of the African American community. The company's fresh, and historically accurate perspective on topics ranging from slavery, to sports, politics, Hip Hop and superheroes have garnered praise from many national media.
Adding to his many titles, Roland is also the co-founder and managing director of My Image Studios (MIST), a ten million dollar entertainment venue based in Harlem and scheduled to open in 2010. This multifaceted 20,000 square foot venue will feature the art and culture of the African, Latino Diaspora and include 3 screening rooms, a restaurant, cafe and post-production facility. MIST is located in the Kalahari Condominiums, a 250 unit mixed income LEED certified "green" building. MIST will be the first green convergent entertainment complex in the United States.
A graduate of Brown University, Roland co-founded the NY Chapter of Brown University's Inman Page Black Alumni Council and its affiliate the Ethel Tremaine Robinson Foundation. He was also the founding president of the board of the I Am Trenton (NJ) Community Foundation. An active advocate for his community, Roland has played many roles working on the behalf of the people of Trenton, Harlem, and other underserved neighborhoods.
Roland was born in Brooklyn to parents with Jamaican roots. His family moved to Hollis, Queens where he played pick-up basketball games with future rap impresario Russell Simmons and remembers future hip hop legends Joseph "Run" Simmons, Darryl "D.M.C." McDaniels, and Jason "Jam-Master Jay" Mizell as kids from the neighborhood
As a teen Roland excelled in math and science and attended New York City's top public magnet Stuyvesant High School where his English teacher was Pulitzer Prize-winner Frank McCourt who said Roland was a talented writer and wanted him to attend Vanderbilt and study English. Instead, Roland earned his bachelor’s in mathematics from Brown and a master’s in computer science from New York Institute of Technology.
His technology career highlights include writing the software that made 10-10-321 possible and profitable for MCI Worldcom in the 1990s and more recently devising a strategy that was critical for keeping his last employer profitable post 9/11, generating $40 million in revenue in 2007.
Roland lives in Trenton, NJ with his wife Taneshia Nash Laird and their daughter Imani Fasarah Laird.
He is available to speak on the following topics:
Leadership
Diversity
Education
Technology
Current events
Community service
Sports and the Black athlete
African-American culture (including Hip Hop culture)
Click here to use our booking request form or call Megan R. Smith at 1.888.809.2819 x103.
Roland's social media links are as follows:
http://www.myspace.com/posro
http://www.facebook.com/people/Roland_Laird/1011115
http://www.linkedin.com/in/rolandlaird
http://www.flickr.com/photos/posro
http://www.blackplanet.com/roland_laird
http://globalgrind.com/user/rolandlaird
http://www.youtube.com/posrodotcom
