Birss Keynote Lecture presented in conjunction with the Mary Tefft White Endowment, Talking About Race Through Storytelling & Music, Monday, March 15, 2021, at 7:00pm. Click here to register for the event.
Caucasia by 
The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman by In honor of the 50th anniversary of Ernest J. Gaines, The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, a keynote panel, based on Gaines' practice and philosophy, will focus on talking about race through storytelling and music. Panelists include writer Danzy Senna (author of Caucasia); New Orleans jazz legend Dr. Michael White; and Cheylon Woods, archivist and the head of the Gaines Center at University of Louisiana, Lafayette.
The New York Times Book Review: Soul Mates
The New York Times Book Review: Revisions; Seeing Race as a Costume That Everyone Wears
The New Yorker: Danzy Senna's New Black Woman
Stanford Magazine: Her Father's People
Vogue: Danzy Senna Doesn't Mind If Her New Novel Makes You Uncomfortable
Basin Street Records: Dr. Micheal White
Hollywood Soap Box: Interview: Dr. Michael White, the musician who ventures into NOLA jazz history
The Journal of American History: Reflections of an Authentic Jazz Life in Pre-Katrina New Orleans
The Advocate: Ernest Gaines, acclaimed author and Louisianian, dies at 86: 'He loved Louisiana'
University of Louisiana at Lafayette Ernest J. Gaines Center: Our Staff
The Vermillion: Faculty, officials reflect on university icon Ernest Gaines