Gay History Month: Zora Neale Hurston
Zora Neale Hurston, a folklorist, novelist and anthropologist, was a staple figure during the Harlem Renaissance. She was a feminist and some scholars believe she was also a lesbian.
Hurston, an African-American woman from Eatonville, Fla., moved to New York City during the era of “The New Negro.” Her 1928 essay, “How it Feels To Be Colored Me,” based on her life in Eatonville, inspired contemporary and conceptual artists such as Glenn Ligon, whose work is rooted in his experiences as an African-American and gay man living in the United States.
Hurston’s most famous novel is Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937) and her literary successors include Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison and Alice Walker.
