Stamped from the Beginning

Stamped from the Beginning

by

Ibram X. Kendi

Zora Neale Hurston Character Analysis

Zora Neale Hurston was a Black author and anthropologist who was also an anti-assimitationalist. Consistently and defiantly antiracist, Hurston criticized other Black leaders—such as Du Bois—for their elitist tendencies and tendency to think badly of poor, Southern Black people. Hurston’s talent and political outlook were ahead of their time and she did not receive sufficient recognition or money during her life. After her death, however, her work became widely read and celebrated. Many consider her book Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937) to be one of the best American novels of all time.
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Zora Neale Hurston Character Timeline in Stamped from the Beginning

The timeline below shows where the character Zora Neale Hurston appears in Stamped from the Beginning. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 26: Media Suasion
Discrimination, Racist Ideas, and Ignorance Theme Icon
Segregationists and Assimilationists vs. Antiracists  Theme Icon
Media, Institutions, and the Transmission of Knowledge Theme Icon
...Du Bois and his ideas. Calling themselves the “Niggerati,” this group includes Wallace Thurman and Zora Neale Hurston , who at one time is a student of Franz Boas. This group may be... (full context)
Chapter 27: Old Deal
Discrimination, Racist Ideas, and Ignorance Theme Icon
Segregationists and Assimilationists vs. Antiracists  Theme Icon
Media, Institutions, and the Transmission of Knowledge Theme Icon
Zora Neale Hurston is singular in her steadfast antiracism. Yet she struggles to make a living, despite writing... (full context)
Chapter 28: Freedom Brand
Discrimination, Racist Ideas, and Ignorance Theme Icon
Segregationists and Assimilationists vs. Antiracists  Theme Icon
Media, Institutions, and the Transmission of Knowledge Theme Icon
The Illogic of Racism Theme Icon
...of public education, the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place.” At age 64, Zora Neale Hurston is one of few voices to acknowledge the problem with assuming that Black schools could... (full context)