GEM CORPS
  • Home
  • About
    • Board of Directors and Officers
    • Meet our GEM Corps Team
    • Philanthropy
    • Contract Work
    • Our Sponsors
    • Contact
  • Apply Today!
    • GEM Corps Job Board
    • GEM Corps positions >
      • 1100 NM AML GIS Analyst
      • 1103 NM AML Technician
      • 1104 NM AML RHT Geographer's Assistant
      • 1105 NM AML QT Geographer's Assistant
      • 1106 NM Campus Ambassador
    • Volunteer Board Member Positions >
      • Board Member
      • Board Member - Advisory
      • Board Officer - Treasurer
      • Board Officer - Secretary
  • Our Programs
    • GEM Corps
    • Field Experience
  • Blog
  • Outreach
    • Events
    • Community Displays >
      • Women in STEM
      • Erupt Your Career in Volcanology
  • Donate
    • Make A Donation
    • Show Your Supppot
    • Wish List
  • Charity Rocks Gallery
  • Public Documents

Blog

Black History Month- Zora Neale Hurston

2/27/2021

Comments

 
Picture
“I have the nerve to walk my own way, however hard, in my search for reality, rather than climb upon the rattling wagon of wishful illusions."
- Zora Neale Hurston
Zora Neale Hurston was an incredibly accomplished author who showed just how inspiring people could truly be. Despite being fairly unnoticed for a time, she was always destined for greatness. Hurston’s unfavorable position as an African American woman living in the south only encouraged her to work harder to spread her literary wonders. Likewise, Hurston’s perseverance is best exemplified through her academic integrity.
Both of Hurston’s parents were enslaved, but they didn’t let that hold them back. After Hurston’s family relocated to Eatonville, Florida, her dad eventually became one of the first mayors there. She lied about her age to go to high school at Morgan College as she was actually in her twenties at the time. With a stunning personality and a youthful appearance, Hurston was able to fully convince others of her exaggerated age. 
After completing her high school education, she earned an associate’s degree at Howard University in 1920. While at Howard, she co-founded The Hilltop, which later ended up as the school’s acclaimed newspaper. After completing her associate’s degree, Hurston earned a scholarship at Barnard College, where she earned a BA in anthropology after only three years. 
Hurston’s time in New York allowed her to meet other remarkable writers such as Langton Hughes and Countee Cullen. At the same time, Hurston and many others were beginning to voice their concerns about discrimination through the Harlem Renaissance. However, she didn’t stop there. Throughout her life, she continuously gave prominence to the black community. To gain a better understanding of black culture, she traveled to places such as Jamaica and Haiti where she studied the various religions present there and later used her various findings as inspiration for her writing. 
Unfortunately, her stories didn’t achieve much of an impact throughout her early career, and it took nearly two decades for Hurston to gain the recognition she deserved. It wasn’t until the mid-30s when she started producing more novels, each with significant effects. Her most renowned work, Their Eyes Were Watching God, was published in 1937 and featured a remarkable tale of a black woman named Janie Crawford. 
In addition to her skills as a writer, Hurston was also taught others to follow in her footsteps. For example, Hurston was instrumental in the founding of the dramatic arts program at Bethune-Cookman College. More importantly, she was a drama teacher for five years at North Carolina College for Negroes in Durham (now North Carolina Central University). 
For all her astounding accomplishments, Hurston never received the praise she deserved. Due to her status as a minority, she was underpaid despite overwhelming acclaim for her works, with the largest sum she ever earned for one of her stories being only $943.75. After she died in 1960, Hurston faded into irrelevance for some time. However, due to the sudden resurgence of her writings in the late 20th century, her legacy of triumph and perseverance is preserved.

Sources


Boyd, Valerie. “About Zora Neale Hurston.” Zora Neale Hurston, The New Dynamic, www.zoranealehurston.com/about/.
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Zora Neale Hurston". Encyclopedia Britannica, 24 Jan. 2021, www.britannica.com/biography/Zora-Neale-Hurston.
Norwood, Arlisha. "Zora Hurston." National Women's History Museum. National Women's History Museum, 2017, www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/zora-hurston.

Comments

    Categories

    All
    Annette's Adventures
    Black History Month
    Events
    Explore STEM
    Field Program
    Internships
    Keep America Beautiful Month
    News
    Philanthropy
    Scholarships
    Scholarship Success Spotlight
    Science Stories
    Team Spotlight
    Women's History Month


    Archives

    June 2024
    March 2024
    January 2024
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    June 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018


    RSS Feed

G.E.M. Environmental NFP
Geology  -  Engineering  -  Minerals  -  Environmental - Not for Profit
Picture

Community Partners

Programs

Field Program
Internships
Scholarships

Get Involved

Contact
Donate
Philanthropy
Sponsorship
Volunteer

About

Public Reports
Blog
Mission
Our Team
Sponsors

Follow Us

Facebook
Instagram
Newsletter
Twitter
You Tube

Sponsors & Donors

© COPYRIGHT 2017 - 2023.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  G.E.M. Environmental NFP
GEM Environmental, GEM4STEM, GEM Corps, and Charity Rocks are all Registered Trademarks of G.E.M. Environmental NFP.
Any and all use of Trademarks or Copyrights must be authorized.

Picture
Picture

Our New Mexico AML Inventory Team is proudly paid for in partnership through funding from
NM YCC and the
NM EMNRD AML Program.

Picture
Picture

  • Home
  • About
    • Board of Directors and Officers
    • Meet our GEM Corps Team
    • Philanthropy
    • Contract Work
    • Our Sponsors
    • Contact
  • Apply Today!
    • GEM Corps Job Board
    • GEM Corps positions >
      • 1100 NM AML GIS Analyst
      • 1103 NM AML Technician
      • 1104 NM AML RHT Geographer's Assistant
      • 1105 NM AML QT Geographer's Assistant
      • 1106 NM Campus Ambassador
    • Volunteer Board Member Positions >
      • Board Member
      • Board Member - Advisory
      • Board Officer - Treasurer
      • Board Officer - Secretary
  • Our Programs
    • GEM Corps
    • Field Experience
  • Blog
  • Outreach
    • Events
    • Community Displays >
      • Women in STEM
      • Erupt Your Career in Volcanology
  • Donate
    • Make A Donation
    • Show Your Supppot
    • Wish List
  • Charity Rocks Gallery
  • Public Documents