A memorial service was held today for UL Lafayette's former writer in residence at the Ernest J. Gaines Center on UL's campus.
A recording was played of Dr. Gaines reading excerpts from "A Gathering of Old Men." The center also created a scrapbook of people's memories to give to the Gaines family.
Cheylon Woods, head of and archivist at the Ernest J. Gaines Center, explained, "His biggest legacy to me personally is he did a fantastic job kind of capturing what black southernness in Louisiana was. All of his characters are making moves, they are fighting towards something better."
Dr. Gaines passed away on November 5, 2019.
