Demi Smalls 7th grade Zora Neale Hurston I believe Zora Neale Hurston was a very important African

American in history. I feel she was important because not only was she a woman she was an African American woman. In this time period it was hard for a human with dark skin and being a woman to have spoken how she felt on racism and to have succeeded in so many goals. Zora Neale Hurston was born on January 7th; 1891.She was the fifth of eight. Her father was a carpenter, sharecropper, Baptist preacher and her mother a former school teacher. Her father always favored her older sister over her; however her mother encouraged her to be an individual by being an independent and creative human being. She didnt have a lot of experience with racism in her early years until her mom died when she was thirteen. Her mothers death was a turning point for her. Zoras father remarried and sent her to live with many relatives. She ended up at her uncles house taking care of his children. Not wanting that to be what she was known for she joined a traveling theater at sixteen. Soon after she began working domestically in a white household. Her boss bought Zora her first book. Then her boss arranged for her to attend high school at Morgan Academy graduating at age twenty-six. After graduating high school she worked a few different jobs. Worked as a waitress and manicurist before she enrolled in Howard Prep School. She then attended Howard University for four years but only earned a two year associate degree. Zora spent majority of her time at Howard writing about current events. This was the beginning she had a paper published before

branching out into writing contests for magazines and newspapers, marking her career as an author. In 1925 she enrolled in Barnard College in New York to study under Franz Boas. Studying under Mr. Boas she earned degree anthropology. She published Fire, which included the short story Sweat. She also wrote a play called Color Struck which won the Opportunity award. A New Yorker Charlotte Mason finance Zoras folklore tradition to Florida, Alabama, New Orleans and the Bahamas. She interviews Cudjo Lewis; the oldest living slave, using the information to writeBarracoon and Folktales from the Gulf States. Wrote and published Hoodoo in America in Journal of American Folklore. Her play The Great Day had a two night run. The play showed what everyday life for African American in the south. Zora continued to write and publish oral works of art about racism and sexism around the world. In the 1948 Zora was accused of molesting a ten year old boy. She was acquitted of the charges because she was in Honduras at the time in question. Even though she was not guilty not a soul would publish her. Forcing her to work as a newspaper journalist, librarian and substitute teacher. Finally she died from a fatal stroke in 1959. A few quotes by Zora Neale Hurston Grab the broom of anger and drive off the beast of fear. Its no use of talking unless people understand what youre saying. Sometimes, I feel discriminated against, but it does not make me angry. It merely astonishes me. How can anyone deny themselves the pleasure of my company? Its beyond me. These all are Zoras point of view on how going the length will help you reach goals beyond the sun and the moon. I find that she overcame the toughest of challenges that anybody less than extraordinary would have given into the pressure of life that surrounds daily life. Zora learned early on in life that its not life if its easy or fair. When she realized the rules of life she was able to play and overcome all of the

pebbles in life learning nothing is too huge to overcome. This is why I find Zora Neale Hurston is an important part of African American history.