Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History honoring local famous novelist and writer Frank Yerby

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) – A Famous Novelist is being remembered and recognized in Augusta in a few ways this week, just in time for his birthday.

Frank Yerby was born in Augusta, Georgia September 5th, 1916, and died in 1991 in Madrid Spain. He had many accomplishments in his lifetime that are now being recognized by his hometown with a dedicated bench at the Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History.

“You’re talking about an author that pinned 33 novels and became perhaps the first black writer to become a millionaire just from writing,” said Leon Maben, Vice President of the Augusta Public Art Advisory Panel. “And then the most and intriguing thing of all is three of his novels got picked up from by Hollywood and turned into motion pictures during a time that our society of Jim Crow and Segregation.”

An author from Augusta who was a part of the Augusta Literary Festival has always been inspired by Yerby and is glad that the Garden City is shining a light on everything he accomplished.

“It’s great to see all of these recent accolades, attention, and interest that he’s getting in the city. I finally feel like he’s getting his just do,” said Corey Washington, an Augusta Author.

The museum is not only dedicating a bench to Yerby but also honoring him near where he grew up in Augusta.

“Yerby was born and grew up near Hall Street off of Laney Walker, and so tomorrow we’ll have the honorary street naming, of Hall Street as Frank Yerby Street, and so we just thought it would be appropriate to name the street even in an honorary capacity after him,” said Corey Rogers, Executive Director of Museum.

After the unveiling, they also showed one of the three movies based on his books, The Foxes of the Harrow.

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