In 2018, I wrote an article on Dr. Pinkie Gordon Lane for LEH’s 64 Parish Magazine called: I Never Scream: The Quiet Poems and Powerful Legacy of Pinkie Gordon Lane.
Dr. Lane is the first Black Poet Laureate of the State of Louisiana.
In 2022, A book titled Black Women Writers of Louisiana: Telling Their Stories was published.
The book is a collection of biographical profiles of Black women writers including Dr. Lane, to Brenda Marie Osbey, Dr. Mona Lisa Saloy to Jesmyn Ward.
The entry on Dr. Pinkie Gordon Lane is called: Pinkie Gordon Lane: A Quiet Pioneer.
In December 2023, while researching something for another project, I stumbled upon this book that includes a profile on Dr. Lane. As I began reading, I was stunned by how much it sounded like my 2018 article for the Lousiana Endowment for Humanities.
In a 7-page legal document sent to History Press and Ann Dobie, my legal representation addresses multiple issues. See excerpts from my attorney below:
Note: I have not been compensated. There has been no public acknowledgment of what happened. This matter has been handled like a misunderstanding and could be cleared up if I "only reached out to Ann."
History Press/Arcadia Publishing has promised to clarify the entry in future printings, but the train has already left the station.
Imagine being in a Target store in Louisiana, looking at the book section, and seeing a book that includes your work without proper acknowledgment being suggested as a gift idea during the Christmas/Kwanzaa season.
One of the most frustrating things about all of this is that I wrote something three years prior to Black Women Writers of Louisiana: Telling Their Stories. Although I have clear proof and legal representation, the burden has been on me to prove it—to prove my work and my worth but the facts are clear.
I am standing in the light of the truth.
Kelly Harris-DeBerry
April 29, 2024
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