A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK FROM: Oprah Daily Business Insider Marie Claire The Seattle Times
Lit Hub Bustle and New York Magazine's Vulture Introduction by New York Times bestselling
author Henry Louis Gates Jr. Spanning more than 35 years of work the first comprehensive
collection of essays criticism and articles by the legendary author of the Harlem Renaissance
Zora Neale Hurston showcasing the evolution of her distinctive style as an archivist and
author. ?One of the greatest writers of our time.??Toni Morrison You Don't Know Us Negroes is
the quintessential gathering of provocative essays from one of the world's most celebrated
writers Zora Neale Hurston. Spanning more than three decades and penned during the backdrop of
the birth of the Harlem Renaissance Montgomery bus boycott desegregation of the military and
school integration Hurston's writing articulates the beauty and authenticity of Black life as
only she could. Collectively these essays showcase the roles enslavement and Jim Crow have
played in intensifying Black people's inner lives and culture rather than destroying it. She
argues that in the process of surviving Black people re-interpreted every aspect of American
culture?modif[ying] the language mode of food preparation practice of medicine and most
certainly religion.? White supremacy prevents the world from seeing or completely recognizing
Black people in their full humanity and Hurston made it her job to lift the veil and reveal the
heart and soul of the race. These pages reflect Hurston as the controversial figure she
was?someone who stated that feminism is a mirage and that the integration of schools did not
necessarily improve the education of Black students. Also covered is the sensational trial of
Ruby McCollum a wealthy Black woman convicted in 1952 for killing her lover a white doctor.
Demonstrating the breadth of this revered and influential writer's work You Don't Know Us
Negroes and Other Essays is an invaluable chronicle of a writer's development and a window into
her world and mind.
