The Strength That Holds Us Together: Zora Neale Hurston

Some voices echo through history long after they are gone. Zora Neale Hurston is one of those voices.

Hurston was not only a brilliant writer but also an anthropologist who dedicated her life to preserving the stories, traditions, and culture of Black communities across the South and the Caribbean. Her work helped ensure that the voices of everyday Black people were recorded and respected at a time when many scholars ignored or dismissed those stories.

Born in Alabama in 1891, Hurston was raised in Eatonville, Florida, one of the first all Black incorporated towns in the United States. Growing up in a town governed entirely by Black leadership shaped the way she saw the world and the way she wrote about Black life.

Her writing celebrated Black culture in ways that were bold, honest, and unapologetic.

Today she is recognized as one of the most important writers of the Harlem Renaissance.

Did You Know: Zora Neale Hurston spent much of her life in Florida

She grew up in Eatonville, a small town near Orlando that was known for its independence and strong Black leadership. That town later became the inspiration for many of the communities she wrote about in her stories and novels.

Today Eatonville celebrates her legacy every year with the Zora Neale Hurston Festival of the Arts and Humanities, one of the longest running celebrations of Black literature and culture in the United States.

Did You Know: She Was More Than a Writer

Many people know Hurston for her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, but fewer people realize that she was also a trained anthropologist.

She studied under the famous anthropologist Franz Boas at Barnard College, becoming one of the first Black women to study anthropology in the United States.

Hurston traveled throughout the American South collecting oral histories, folklore, songs, and traditions from Black communities. She believed these stories were important historical records that deserved to be preserved.

Because of her work, many traditions that may have been forgotten are still remembered today.

Did You Know: Her Most Famous Book Was Once Criticized

Today Their Eyes Were Watching God is considered a masterpiece of American literature.

When it was first published in 1937, however, the book received mixed reviews. Some critics at the time believed Hurston’s focus on everyday Black life did not address racism directly enough.

Years later the novel was rediscovered and celebrated, especially after writer Alice Walker helped bring renewed attention to Hurston’s work in the 1970s.

Now the novel is taught in schools and universities around the world.

A Voice That Refused to Disappear

Despite her incredible contributions, Hurston died in 1960 in relative obscurity and was buried in an unmarked grave.

Years later, Alice Walker located her burial site and placed a headstone that read:

“A Genius of the South.”

That recognition helped spark a revival of Hurston’s work, ensuring that future generations would understand her impact on literature and cultural history.

The Strength That Holds Us Together

Zora Neale Hurston believed deeply in the beauty and value of Black culture. Through her writing and research she preserved stories that might otherwise have been lost.

Her work reminds us that the strength of a community is often found in its stories.

By capturing those stories and sharing them with the world, Zora Neale Hurston helped ensure that generations to come would understand the richness, humor, resilience, and wisdom that lived within Black communities.

Her voice still speaks to us today.

And it continues to remind us of the strength that holds us together.