Hurston graduated in 1918 and enrolled at Howard University. At 26, she subtracted 10 years off her age in order to attend Morgan Academy in Baltimore for free. Play icon The triangle icon that indicates to playģ. Hurston was passed from relative to relative, working odd jobs until she secured employment as maid for a singer in a Gilbert and Sullivan troupe, eventually landing in Maryland. She attended boarding school but was forced to leave when her father ceased tuition payments. Hurston, who had tumultuous relationship with her step-mother, joined siblings in Jacksonville, Florida. The writer’s mother died in 1904, when Hurston was 13, and John promptly remarried. John Hurston served three terms as mayor of the town.Ģ. Established in 1887, it was the only all Black-incorporated town founded by freedmen. When she was 3 years old, her Baptist preacher father moved the family to Eatonville, Florida. Hurston was born in Notasulga, Alabama, in 1891, the fifth of eight children. Most readers know her famous books Their Eyes Were Watching God, Dust Tracks on a Road, Barracoon, and Mules and Men, but here are a few surprising facts about this Guggenheim-winning author.ġ. “If you are silent about your pain, they’ll kill you and say you enjoyed it,” said Hurston. The more you learn about Hurston, the more you realize how enigmatic and exceptional she was, succeeding at a time when options for poor Black women were limited.

In commemoration, PBS is airing a documentary called Zora Neale Hurston: Claiming a Space. Sixty-three years ago, the world lost an indomitable force whose career is enviable and impact undeniable.

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