Zora Neale Hurston: Folklore, Democracy, and the Art of Identity Construction

Written by: Chiara Atoyebi

Chiara Atoyebi. “Cooking Up A Storm.” Digital Collage, Washington, DC, 2023.

“I lay my burdens and my flowers down together 

mixing them quickly and quietly against my colander 

fixing coriander and culantro I serve for my nerves 

set under the Sirius

& this is where I’ll fix my problems

I’ll be cooking up good smells, and good trouble 

in the age of Aquarius

& quiet the problems that plague me.”– Lay It Down The Drum, Chiara Atoyebi”

On January 7, 1891 novelist, folklorist, anthropologist, and dramatist was born in Eatonville, Florida. Hurston spent a great deal of her creative life compiling ethnographic studies and chronicling the folklore and oral traditions of Black people in America’s rural south, the Caribbean, Jamaica, and Haiti. Those of us Black Womanist writers who’ve long placed our notebooks at the altars of the Hurston-Walker school of feminist writing understand the profound impact these women have had on feminist culture with their creation of dynamic female characters that challenge patriarchal social norms. 

Their works have not only highlighted the experiences of Black women but also provided a space for their voices to be heard and their stories to be told. From Zora Neale Hurston’s “Their Eyes Were Watching God” to Alice Walker’s “The Color Purple,” these writers have given us portrayals of Black women that are complex, multidimensional, and nuanced. They have shown us the strength, resilience, and beauty of Black womanhood, while also shedding light on the unique challenges faced by Black women in society. As Black Womanist writers, we continue to draw inspiration from the legacy of the Hurston-Walker school, as we strive to create works that not only empower Black women, but also challenge and disrupt dominant narratives about gender, race, and power.

Although Hurston’s work is revered today, during her lifetime she was considered an outcast by some of her Harlem Renaissance peers, like Richard Wright who accused Hurston’s work of perpetuating Black minstrelsy. In the 1937 October issue of The New Masses, Richard Wright, gave a tepid review of Their Eyes Were Watching God stating,” Miss Hurston can write, but her prose is cloaked in that facile sensuality that has dogged Negro expression since the days of Phillis Wheatley. Her dialogue manages to catch the psychological movements of the Negro folk-mind in their pure simplicity, but that’s as far as it goes.”  For Wright, Hurston’s desire to feature the colloquialisms of Southern Negro dialect and lifestyle that the New Negro Movement wanted to steer away from. 

Hurston, Zora Neale. Meet the Mamma: A Musical Play in Three Acts. Registered for copyright July, 1925. Manuscript/Mixed Material. 

Over the years Wright gained popularity while Hurston went into poverty and her books out of print. Wright was accused of delivering the same narrative of Black anger that America was used to Which brings about a deeper conversation of White guilt and Black anger conundrum that happens in literature. Ironically, literature has often been the vehicle used to usher in a new narrative for African American humanity. This is evident from the writings of 19th-century activists Mary Church Terrell and Francis Ellen Watkins Harper to the Harlem Renaissance, The Black Arts Movement of the 1960s, and the cultural inclusivity that occurred after George Floyd. However, with each movement and each juxtaposition of respectability politics and cultural preservationist narratives–the same outcome needs to be restarted. While Zora was attempting to capture the true nature and essence of Black culture, it was not the order of the day by the Harlem Renaissance elite who felt that it was most important to create the narrative of respectability.

The narrative of respectability in the eyes of White society has been a concerted effort of marginalized communities not only as a way to secure safety but to bring about equality in society by recognizing their humanity. The concept of respectability has been used as a tool for marginalized communities to gain acceptance and recognition in a society that often judges based on appearances and stereotypes. While it is important to acknowledge the progress that has been made, it is equally important to recognize that the fight for equality is far from over.

It is important to learn to live together under a culture of respect and acceptance, which includes colloquialisms, cultural norms, sexual inclusivity and the eradication of gender biases. The culture of respect and acceptance should follow the unbiased laws of the land. To achieve this, we must first rid ourselves of bias.

In order to move forward and become a more united society, we must continue to challenge the status quo and dismantle systemic barriers that prevent certain groups from accessing the same opportunities as others. This means actively engaging in conversations about privilege and power and taking action to create more inclusive and equitable environments for all. I believe that Hurston’s work accomplished that. Through her artwork, Zora advocated for radical acceptance, a concept that women artists continue to embrace today.