How Did Zora Neale Hurston Influence The Harlem Renaissance

The Harlem Renaissance, a movement that took place in the 1920s and 1930s, produced many great African Americans that both influenced the movement, and even the greater whole of American society. Among these great people stood one of the most prolific writers of the Harlem Renaissance, Zora Neale Hurston. Zora Neale Hurston was an African-American author, anthropologist, and filmmaker famous for her portrayal of the struggles of women and people of color, with this being the exact focus of her most iconic work, Their Eyes Were Watching God. Despite eventually becoming one of the most famous African American authors, she had a modest upbringing, born to two former slaves. Her childhood helped Hurston grow into a self-reliant person, as well

Through ideals she gained while growing up in an resilient colored community, Zora Neale Hurston was able to influence and make monumental efforts to the Harlem Renaissance through amazing works that are still relevant to society today. Zora Neale Hurston was born in Notasulga, Alabama in 1891 to former slaves (2), before quickly moving to the growing town of Eatonville in 1894 (6). Eatonville was known as one of the first major majority African American towns in the US, and its success inspired Hurston and made her think of what the African American Community/Population in America could do. Hurston’s family flourished in Eatonville, with her father eventually becoming the mayor of the

This essay brought Hurston’s name back into the public eye, and with hindsight the public found her work, their underlying themes, and even her work outside of writing truly a monument of the Harlem Renaissance. Hurston’s accolades include using the Harlem Renaissance to lead a successful feminist movement ahead of its time (5), and writing with both creativity and anthropology in mind to make her work have “life in it” to better portray literary elements (5). She was an activist to her final breath, fighting the Brown v Board decision in the 1950s, past both her and the Harlem Renaissance’s haydays. Hurston’s writing was able to portray black people with a soul, diverging from the norms and stereotypes the public had of African Americans, something very few could do. All of her wit and expertise allows her to be known today as one of the forefathers (mothers?) of the Harlem Renaissance, and embodies the cultural expression the Renaissance worked to