Wichita ? Wichita and Fort Scott are working to honor Gordon Parks, the legendary writer, photographer and filmmaker who once attributed his creativity to his childhood growing up in extreme poverty and segregation in Kansas.

Wichita State University was marking the first anniversary of Parks’ death Wednesday with showings of two films and poetry readings.

The university also has proposed becoming a hub of Parks activities for other universities and cities. The plan includes a Gordon Parks Center for the Creative Arts, a lecture series, workshops in photography and creative writing, and professional curatorial skills for the care of Parks’ work.

Parks chose to be buried in Fort Scott’s Evergreen Cemetery, next to his parents. This spring, Fort Scott residents will install a 6-foot-tall granite memorial near his grave with a picture of him and his poem “Homecoming” on one side, and his poem “A Sign by the Road” on the other.

Parks gave some works to Kansas groups before his death. The Sara and Andrew Parks Exhibit at Mercy Health Center in Fort Scott houses one of the largest collections of his photos and poems, as does the Center for Culture and Diversity in Fort Scott.

Wichita has four sites that display his works, including the Kansas African American Museum.

The majority of Parks’ estate was given to the Meserve-Kunhardt Foundation, based in New York, said Genevieve Young, his ex-wife and the executor of his estate.

Parks and foundation founder Philip Kunhardt, a co-worker at Life Magazine, remained friends and died two weeks apart in March 2006.

Young, who serves on the foundation’s board, said the family is giving the originals of Parks’ works to the foundation. The foundation will make his work available for exhibits, for publications and for education.

Parks’ estate should be settled within the next six months, she said.