As a child Zora Neale Hurston’s imagination ran wild, full from her love of folklore.
As an adult she grew tired of anti-Blackness erasing our culture. Determined to share authentic Black stories, she started writing. And never stopped.
Hurston created realistic, flawed characters who painted the range of Blackness she’d been enthralled with since childhood. Her works preserved our rhythm, vernacular, style, relationships, and got to the root of Blackness.
Hurston received pushback but she continued writing. Even after death, Hurston found a way to shake us to our cores.
Published posthumously, her work “Barracoon: The Story of the Last ‘Black Cargo” unearthed the lost narrative of Cudjo Lewis, a survivor of the Clotilda slave ship and founder of the freedman community, Africatown.
Hurston used her gift to preserve our culture in a way that laid the foundation for us.
Her legacy reminds us that it is our responsibility to use our talents to preserve and pass down our customs to future generations.
Who were your ancestors? How does knowing their stories help you better understand yourself?
We are all living history. How can you use your talents to document and preserve current Black culture for future generations?