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By: Christopher Wolas
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Folklorist, thinker, and writer: Zora Neale Hurston wrote about the dignity of Black America and helped spark the Harlem renaissance. Most of her writings focused around Eatonville, Florida. Hurston continues to inspire a young generation looking back to help them see forward.
Strong and Vibrant, She Got It: Zora Neale Hurston Facing off on the divide of racism against the rest of America, Zora Neale Hurston -- a believer in self-help politics -- wrote about the dignity of Black America. With the backdrop of change, she, with Langston Hughes and Wallace Thurman, ignited the Harlem Renaissance with the literary magazine FIRE!
Hurston wrote with a proud, vivid style. She drew criticism for what – now – is considered one of the characteristics of her writing, representing speech the way she heard it.
With a degree in anthropology from Barnard College, she turned her artistry on the South; where – with a fellowship from the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History – she began writing about folklore. In 1935, her book “Mules and Men” continued her social interests and explored the world of voodoo practices in New Orleans and Florida.
Soon after, with a literary career blazing, she was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1937 to study voodoo in Haiti. There, she exposed the use of drugs in the ritualistic trances of voodoo practice. Also, this was the year she wrote her most important work, Their Eyes were Watching God, which was highly controversial, but recently, it has been acclaimed and listed in the “TIME 100 Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005”.
But Eatonville Florida, the first incorporated all black community five miles North of Orlando, stayed centered in her life. To Hurston, Eatonville represented freedom, and rejecting many social movements, she believed that black Americans could fight racism and become sovereign, as did her town of Eatonville. She drew criticism for not addressing racism in her work and for her conservative politics
. Hurston also rejected Brown v. The Board of Education, but this belief went with her fear of African Americans loosing their identity. She felt, without black schools, there would be no means of maintaining black history. It was with pride that Zora Neale Hurston lived her life, and it was with respect that she represented her culture. Hurston's message of self-help politics ignites interest and begs a new generation to move forward. Maybe more so than ever, her stories and ideas reach us.
As in her own words, “Those that don't got it, can't show it. Those that got it, can't hide it.”
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James Jabara (1923-1966)
Who? James “Jabby” Jabara, Lebanese American born in Muskogee, Oklahoma.
What? Korean War pilot.
Impact? First American jet ace and credited with 15 victories in Korea.
He received a Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star and an Oak Leaf Cluster. In World War II, he flew 108 missions. He quickly rose through the ranks to Colonel, and it was believed that he was going to be promoted to General. While moving to North Carolina, his daughter lost control of the car, and Jabara was pronounced dead at Delray Beach Hospital in Florida.
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John Brown (1800-1859)
Who? John Brown born in Torrington, Connecticut.
What? Abolitionist, Tannery Impact? He played a major role in starting the Civil War.
Brown believed that slavery could be abolished by violence and led the Pottawatomie Massacre and Harpers Ferry Raid. Brown grew up a deeply religious household, and believed that action had to be taken against Southern aggression. Brown remains controversial to this day. He was hanged in 1859.
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