Zora Neale Hurston Research Paper

Biography of Zora Neale Hurston African American author, folklorist, anthropologist, and Harlem Renaissance figure, her works and contributions to the world of literature acknowledge her as one of the great writers of our American history. Zora Neale Hurston, born in Notasulga, Alabama on January 7, 1891 to former slaves John and Lucy Potts Hurston, was the fifth child and second girl out of eight children. Her birth records have never been found, so the singular year of her birth has long been a dispute (Bloom 7). In the family bible, according to Hurston’s biographers, her name is recorded as Zora Neal Lee Hurston; at some point an “e” was added to Neal and “Lee” was dropped (King 1). In 1893, Lucy, along with Hurston and her siblings, moved to an

From her sheltered beginnings in Eatonville, Florida it seemed that her obstacle was being free to be who she was unapologetically. The woman who had appeared on the cover of the Saturday Review and who during her lifetime had been the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including the Rosenwald Foundation Fellowship, two Guggenheims, and Honorary Doctor of Letters Degree from Morgan State College, an Anisfeld-Wolf Book Award in Race Relations, the Howard University Distinguished Alumni Award, Bethune-Cookman College’s Award for Education and Human Relations, was buried in an unmarked grave at Fort Pierce’s segregated cemetery, the Garden of Heavenly Rest (King 11). Nearly forgotten, Hurston would not be properly honored and revered for her works and contributions until years after her death. Although, at the time of her death in 1960, Hurston has published more books than any other black woman in America (History.com). Leading a full life, her pain and struggles never filtered into her works. Despite every trial, Zora Neale Hurston became an author, anthropologist, folklorist, Harlem Renaissance figure, and a true symbol of greatness in