Donate to the fund for thE Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence
A small bit of chance: Ernest J. Gaines’ first novel, Catherine Carmier, was published in 1964. In that same year, the Baton Rouge Area Foundation was born.
Four decades later, more than fate brought us together. Fund donors of the Foundation asked us to create the Ernest. J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence. In doing so, they wanted to honor Mr. Gaines for the stories he has told the world and to make sure that African-American writers can continue to share the voices that inspire their own stories.
You can help Baton Rouge Area Foundation underwrite the Gaines Award by donating at the link below or by 225-387-6126. Donations to the Gaines Fund are tax deductible.
“I hate to see him come there,” she said. “But that pen can kill a man. There ain’t much left to you when they let you go. That plantation can do the same to some people,” I said. “Yes, that’s true,” she said thoughtfully. “But you got the open air and you got people who care round you.”