Raised in the small all-Black Florida town of Eatonville, ZoraNeale Hurston studied at Howard University before arriving inNew York in 1925. She would soon become a key figure of theHarlem Renaissance, best remembered for her novel, Their EyesWere Watching God. But even as she gained renown in the Harlemliterary circles, Hurston was also discovering anthropology atBarnard College with the renowned Franz Boas. She would makeseveral trips to the American South and the Caribbean,documenting the lives of rural Black people and collectingtheir stories. She studied her own people, an unusual practiceat the time, and during her lifetime, became known as theforemost authority on Black folklore. This episode is anin-depth biography of the influential author whosegroundbreaking anthropological work would challenge assumptionsabout race, gender, and cultural superiority that had longdefined the field in the 19th century.
