Dr. Henry Louis Gates to Receive Inaugural Founders Award at the Hurston/Wright Foundation's 2025 Legacy Awards
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Zora Neale Hurston/Richard Wright Foundation will present its inaugural Founders Award to Dr. Henry Louis Gates at its annual Legacy Awards Ceremony on Friday, October 17, 2025, at The Westin Washington, DC Downtown.
Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. is the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and Director of the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research at Harvard University. He is an Emmy, DuPont, and Peabody award-winning filmmaker, literary scholar, and cultural critic who has published numerous books and produced and hosted an array of documentary films. Dr. Gates is the creator of the acclaimed PBS series Finding Your Roots and author of The Black Box: Writing the Race (2024). A recipient of the National Humanities Medal and a MacArthur Fellowship, he continues to shape the cultural and intellectual landscape of our time. He is also known as an institution builder.
He was an early advisor to the foundation's founders Marita Golden and Clyde McElvene. “Dr. Gates’ support was crucial in gaining financial support for the Hurston/Wright College Awards from HarperCollins, the publisher of Zora Neale Hurston's work,” says Ms. Golden. She adds, “Over the years at crucial points of transition and change, Dr. Gates could be relied upon to offer advice, introductions and overall support that inspired the Foundation's growth.”
Clyde McElvene states, “The Hurston/Wright Foundation was established with practices for a specific purpose to support Black writers and with a pursuit toward permanence. Black institutions are places that can authentically and accurately present and preserve our cultural legacy. Institution building is a major component within this mission. And while we are building our institutions, we amplify the voice and presence of Black narratives, agency, life, and culture. Within this process we heal ourselves and we create new worlds and communities. That benefits everyone in our society.”
Marita Golden is a journalist, novelist, nonfiction writer, professor. She has written more than 20 works of fiction and nonfiction and has taught at many colleges and universities including schools in Israel, Nigeria, Turkey, and Spain. Clyde McElvene is a bibliophile and literary advocate based in Maryland. He along with Ms. Golden, co-founded the Hurston/Wright Foundation in 1990; both having served as in the roles of early executive director and CEO.
The Hurston/Wright Founders Award will be awarded periodically at the direction and instruction of our founders to those individuals or groups who have contributed a sustaining effort in support of the continual work of the foundation.
About the Legacy Awards
Established in 2001, the Legacy Awards are the first national literary honors presented to Black writers by a national organization of Black writers. Our annual gala will bring together Black writers, literary leaders, cultural influencers, and supporters of Black literature for an evening of celebration, inspiration, and recognition. The event will feature tributes to the honorees of various genres, spotlighting their extraordinary contributions to literature -- and subsequently to culture, community, education, and social justice. The event also serves as a fundraiser to support the Foundation’s year-round programs for emerging and established Black writers.
About the Hurston/Wright Foundation
Founded in 1990, the Zora Neale Hurston/Richard Wright Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to discovering, mentoring, and honoring Black writers. Through workshops, master classes, public readings, and awards, the Foundation fosters a vibrant literary community and promotes Black literary excellence in the United States and around the world.
For more information or to schedule interviews with the honorees, please contact HWF Executive Director Nichelle M. Hayes at info@hurstonwright.org.
###
