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You Don't Know Us Negroes and Other Essays
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.
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.
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.
465 pages, Hardcover
First published January 4, 2022
353 people are currently reading
8409 people want to read
About the author
Zora Neale Hurston
183 books5,477 followersNovels, including
Their Eyes Were Watching God
(1937), and nonfiction writings of American folklorist Zora Neale Hurston give detailed accounts of African American life in the South.
In 1925, Hurston, one of the leaders of the literary renaissance, happening in Harlem, produced the short-lived literary magazine Fire!! alongside Langston Hughes and Wallace Thurman shortly before she entered Barnard College. This literary movement developed into the Harlem renaissance.
Hurston applied her Barnard ethnographic training to document African American folklore in her critically acclaimed book Mules and Men alongside fiction Their Eyes Were Watching God . She also assembled a folk-based performance dance group that recreated her Southern tableau with one performance on Broadway.
People awarded a Guggenheim fellowship to Hurston to travel to Haiti and conduct research on conjure in 1937. Her significant work ably broke into the secret societies and exposed their use of drugs to create the Vodun trance, also a subject of study for fellow dancer-anthropologist Katherine Dunham, then at the University of Chicago.
In 1954, the Pittsburgh Courier assigned Hurston, unable to sell her fiction, to cover the small-town murder trial of Ruby McCollum, the prosperous black wife of the local lottery racketeer, who had killed a racist white doctor. Hurston also contributed to Woman in the Suwanee County Jail , a book by journalist and civil rights advocate William Bradford Huie.
In 1925, Hurston, one of the leaders of the literary renaissance, happening in Harlem, produced the short-lived literary magazine Fire!! alongside Langston Hughes and Wallace Thurman shortly before she entered Barnard College. This literary movement developed into the Harlem renaissance.
Hurston applied her Barnard ethnographic training to document African American folklore in her critically acclaimed book Mules and Men alongside fiction Their Eyes Were Watching God . She also assembled a folk-based performance dance group that recreated her Southern tableau with one performance on Broadway.
People awarded a Guggenheim fellowship to Hurston to travel to Haiti and conduct research on conjure in 1937. Her significant work ably broke into the secret societies and exposed their use of drugs to create the Vodun trance, also a subject of study for fellow dancer-anthropologist Katherine Dunham, then at the University of Chicago.
In 1954, the Pittsburgh Courier assigned Hurston, unable to sell her fiction, to cover the small-town murder trial of Ruby McCollum, the prosperous black wife of the local lottery racketeer, who had killed a racist white doctor. Hurston also contributed to Woman in the Suwanee County Jail , a book by journalist and civil rights advocate William Bradford Huie.
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January 29, 2024
This book is a collection of essays by Zora Neale Hurston covering a variety of topics including the trial of Ruby McCollum, a black woman sentenced to the electric chair for killing her lover, a white doctor.
These essays were very interesting, and I would have liked to see them juxtaposed with some modern day essays because sadly some thing haven't changed much. One of my favorite essays was "The Rise of the Begging Joints." These are private schools for blacks where the administration spends most of its time fundraising than providing quality education. Sadly, educational institutions still prey on the black population. ITT Tech, which had the same classes as community college but double the price (and with loan shark lending practices as well) had nearly double the black population as the community college. When will these "universities" be shut down? How can these institutions of higher education graduate 250 political science majors knowing full well that there are only 3 political science jobs that pay a living wage? Then, we blame the new graduate for not knowing better when they were teenagers, first generation college students, who should have somehow known better than the college?
Another essay that I found very interesting was "I Saw Negro Votes Peddled." One voter was convinced that the day after the election she would be driving a Cadillac. Now, let's talk about Detroit who has a black population of about 80% in 2021. The property taxes are some of the highest in the state with 69.6 mills. The City of Troy is 36.8 mills! So it costs twice as much to live in the City of Detroit. Copied from a 2021 report: "Council President Pro-Tem Mary Sheffield has observed that Detroit’s millage rate is a
hindrance to growth, home ownership, population retention and wealth generation for most
Detroiters. Detroit’s property tax millage rate is also more than twice the State average and puts
Detroit at a competitive disadvantage for retaining and attracting residents and competing for
new businesses."
The essays on the trial of Ruby McCollum were also very interesting, and I wasn't informed about this part of US history. Which made this book all the more compelling. The author makes a great point that "friends" of Ruby were extremely quick to turn on her.
*Thanks, NetGalley, for a free copy of this book in exchange for my fair and honest opinion.
2024 Reading Schedule
Jan Middlemarch
Feb The Grapes of Wrath
Mar Oliver Twist
Apr Madame Bovary
May A Clockwork Orange
Jun Possession
Jul The Folk of the Faraway Tree Collection
Aug Crime and Punishment
Sep Heart of Darkness
Oct Moby-Dick
Nov Far From the Madding Crowd
Dec A Tale of Two Cities
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These essays were very interesting, and I would have liked to see them juxtaposed with some modern day essays because sadly some thing haven't changed much. One of my favorite essays was "The Rise of the Begging Joints." These are private schools for blacks where the administration spends most of its time fundraising than providing quality education. Sadly, educational institutions still prey on the black population. ITT Tech, which had the same classes as community college but double the price (and with loan shark lending practices as well) had nearly double the black population as the community college. When will these "universities" be shut down? How can these institutions of higher education graduate 250 political science majors knowing full well that there are only 3 political science jobs that pay a living wage? Then, we blame the new graduate for not knowing better when they were teenagers, first generation college students, who should have somehow known better than the college?
Another essay that I found very interesting was "I Saw Negro Votes Peddled." One voter was convinced that the day after the election she would be driving a Cadillac. Now, let's talk about Detroit who has a black population of about 80% in 2021. The property taxes are some of the highest in the state with 69.6 mills. The City of Troy is 36.8 mills! So it costs twice as much to live in the City of Detroit. Copied from a 2021 report: "Council President Pro-Tem Mary Sheffield has observed that Detroit’s millage rate is a
hindrance to growth, home ownership, population retention and wealth generation for most
Detroiters. Detroit’s property tax millage rate is also more than twice the State average and puts
Detroit at a competitive disadvantage for retaining and attracting residents and competing for
new businesses."
The essays on the trial of Ruby McCollum were also very interesting, and I wasn't informed about this part of US history. Which made this book all the more compelling. The author makes a great point that "friends" of Ruby were extremely quick to turn on her.
*Thanks, NetGalley, for a free copy of this book in exchange for my fair and honest opinion.
2024 Reading Schedule
Jan Middlemarch
Feb The Grapes of Wrath
Mar Oliver Twist
Apr Madame Bovary
May A Clockwork Orange
Jun Possession
Jul The Folk of the Faraway Tree Collection
Aug Crime and Punishment
Sep Heart of Darkness
Oct Moby-Dick
Nov Far From the Madding Crowd
Dec A Tale of Two Cities
Connect With Me!
Blog Twitter BookTube Facebook Insta
January 12, 2022
A collection of Zora Neale Hurston’s non-fiction that spans almost forty years, including many pieces out of print since their original publication and others that never saw the light of day. It’s clear from reading these that Hurston was deeply invested in promoting Black agency, refusing/resisting the “white gaze” or what she considered a "victim" label that she saw as a particularly insidious form of racism. Here are news pieces, reviews, and opinion pieces. Many stemming from Hurston’s insistence on recognition for Black culture in all its forms from genres like jazz through to preaching from pulpits in Black churches - connecting to her attempts to build a case for a Black aesthetic in a variety of contexts, and art forms, focusing on language, literature and music from blues to spirituals. Hurston draws extensively on folklore, oral histories of the last years of slavery and a variety of Black cultural output including her own fiction, often mobilising her background in anthropology. The strongest entries showcase Hurston's skill and versatility, her voice ranging from deceptively direct, forceful, astute to warm, funny or wonderfully scathing.
It’s a fascinating collection, both in what it reveals about Hurston, and about the turbulent times she witnessed and chronicled. Some essays are surprisingly pertinent even now: her thoughts on cultural appropriation of Black art forms; her ideas about stereotyping; concerns about the limitations placed on Black authors by white publishers, all too often calling for work that highlighted themes of racial tension or sociological conflict from passing to Black characters whose struggles suggest “a forlorn pacing of a cage barred by racial hatred.” Although Hurston’s also taking a less-than-subtle dig at the critics and authors who responded negatively to her own fiction which didn’t fit with the rise of more socially conscious narratives from authors like Richard Wright and Ralph Ellison. Where Hurston wonders are the novels of everyday Black existence? The Black dentists and insurance officials, the average people striving to get on with their lives outside of the constraints of white society?
But some of these, her writing on “noses” for example, are less successful, disquieting even. And many highlight Hurston’s increasingly, sometimes deeply, conservative beliefs: her conventional perspectives on gender roles; her Republican politics, her scorn for so-called “Pinkos” and “Commies” that suggest a sympathy for elements of the McCarthyism of the time. She dislikes the NAACP, and rails against the desegregation of schools, partly because she sees no reason for mixing with white communities and all the prejudice and racism that may entail. Although, apparently, her segregationist stance attracted support from white political groups who resisted integration for rather more sinister reasons. After reading some of these, I had a much better understanding of why Hurston was frequently ostracised by many of her peers, marked out as contrary or just plain cantankerous. But, of course, her outspoken, opinionated stance on social, cultural, and political issues was also her trademark, what makes her work so compulsively readable. The selection’s rounded off with a series of news stories that showcases Hurston's talents, her reporting of the Ruby McCollum case from 1952, a Black woman who admitted to killing a prominent white physician, who may or may not have fathered one of her children. Hurston’s approach foreshadows elements of the “new journalism” to come: a tangled but highly effective mix of fact and personal reaction, interviews, observations and imaginative story-telling. These are cinematic, sometimes melodramatic, but never less than gripping.
The book’s meticulously edited by Henry Louis Gates Jr and Genevieve West, compiled after extensive archival searches and investigations, it comes with a comprehensive introduction, useful background notes and documentation – my only quibble is that I’d have liked the dates and publication details for each entry placed next to it, so I had a clearer idea of origins, date of publication without having to scrabble about in the endnotes.
Thanks to Netgalley and publisher HQ, imprint of HarperCollins for an arc
Rating: 3.5
It’s a fascinating collection, both in what it reveals about Hurston, and about the turbulent times she witnessed and chronicled. Some essays are surprisingly pertinent even now: her thoughts on cultural appropriation of Black art forms; her ideas about stereotyping; concerns about the limitations placed on Black authors by white publishers, all too often calling for work that highlighted themes of racial tension or sociological conflict from passing to Black characters whose struggles suggest “a forlorn pacing of a cage barred by racial hatred.” Although Hurston’s also taking a less-than-subtle dig at the critics and authors who responded negatively to her own fiction which didn’t fit with the rise of more socially conscious narratives from authors like Richard Wright and Ralph Ellison. Where Hurston wonders are the novels of everyday Black existence? The Black dentists and insurance officials, the average people striving to get on with their lives outside of the constraints of white society?
But some of these, her writing on “noses” for example, are less successful, disquieting even. And many highlight Hurston’s increasingly, sometimes deeply, conservative beliefs: her conventional perspectives on gender roles; her Republican politics, her scorn for so-called “Pinkos” and “Commies” that suggest a sympathy for elements of the McCarthyism of the time. She dislikes the NAACP, and rails against the desegregation of schools, partly because she sees no reason for mixing with white communities and all the prejudice and racism that may entail. Although, apparently, her segregationist stance attracted support from white political groups who resisted integration for rather more sinister reasons. After reading some of these, I had a much better understanding of why Hurston was frequently ostracised by many of her peers, marked out as contrary or just plain cantankerous. But, of course, her outspoken, opinionated stance on social, cultural, and political issues was also her trademark, what makes her work so compulsively readable. The selection’s rounded off with a series of news stories that showcases Hurston's talents, her reporting of the Ruby McCollum case from 1952, a Black woman who admitted to killing a prominent white physician, who may or may not have fathered one of her children. Hurston’s approach foreshadows elements of the “new journalism” to come: a tangled but highly effective mix of fact and personal reaction, interviews, observations and imaginative story-telling. These are cinematic, sometimes melodramatic, but never less than gripping.
The book’s meticulously edited by Henry Louis Gates Jr and Genevieve West, compiled after extensive archival searches and investigations, it comes with a comprehensive introduction, useful background notes and documentation – my only quibble is that I’d have liked the dates and publication details for each entry placed next to it, so I had a clearer idea of origins, date of publication without having to scrabble about in the endnotes.
Thanks to Netgalley and publisher HQ, imprint of HarperCollins for an arc
Rating: 3.5
January 24, 2022
“Even in the helter-skelter skirmish that is my life, I have seen that the world is to the strong regardless of a little pigmentation more or less. No, I do not weep at the world – I am too busy sharpening my oyster knife.”
“Sometimes, I feel discriminated against, but it does not make me angry. It merely astonishes me. How can any deny themselves the pleasure of my company! It’s beyond me.”
This book is a collection of essays, book reviews and articles by Zora Neale Hurston. Some were never published before. Hurston was both an astute observer of life (and a trained anthropologist) and an expressive and skillful writer. The pieces in this book cover a broad range including an interview with the last survivor of the last slave ship, Negro representation in the arts, politics, spirituals, voodoo, corrupt voter registration, Communism, noses (2 essays) and the chronicle of a murder trial.
The author discusses stereotypes in literature and entertainment. “Whenever I pick up one of the popular magazines and read one of these mammy cut tales I often wonder whether the author actually believes that his tale is probable or whether he knows it is flapdoodle and is merely concerned about the check.” She makes her case for the inherent problem in excluding realistic, un-exaggerated portrayals of minorities in all aspects of the arts and entertainment, as well as in history lessons. Please just let minorities be simply as boring and unexceptional as everyone else, and stop being “other”. “But for the national welfare, it is urgent to realize that the minorities do think, and think about something other than the race problem. That they are very human and internally, according to natural endowment, are just like everybody else. So long as this is not conceived, there must remain that feeling of unsurmountable difference, and difference to the average man means something bad. If people were made right, they would be just like him.”
In her review of “Uncle Tom’s Children” by Richard Wright, she damns him with faint praise. After saying “not one act of understanding and sympathy comes to pass in the entire work.” She wrote : But some bright new lines to remember come flashing from the author’s pen. Some of his sentences have the shocking power of a forty-four. That means that he knows his way around among words. With his facility, one wonders what he would have done had he dealt with plots that touched the broader and more fundamental phases of Negro life instead of confining himself to the spectacular.” She was a tough critic generally. She found that race hatred was too often the central theme of works by Negro authors “just as how the stenographer or some other poor girl won the boss or the boss’s son is the favorite white theme”. She also criticizes Wright for having Communist leanings and for his poor use of dialect (“Certainly he does not write by ear unless he is tone-deaf.”) In addition , Hurston wrote a previously unpublished takedown of Dr. Alain Leroy Locke after he criticized “Their Eyes Were Watching God”. (“… he rushes at any chance to see his name in print, however foolish his offering”).
Hurston is a woman I would have liked to have known.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
“Sometimes, I feel discriminated against, but it does not make me angry. It merely astonishes me. How can any deny themselves the pleasure of my company! It’s beyond me.”
This book is a collection of essays, book reviews and articles by Zora Neale Hurston. Some were never published before. Hurston was both an astute observer of life (and a trained anthropologist) and an expressive and skillful writer. The pieces in this book cover a broad range including an interview with the last survivor of the last slave ship, Negro representation in the arts, politics, spirituals, voodoo, corrupt voter registration, Communism, noses (2 essays) and the chronicle of a murder trial.
The author discusses stereotypes in literature and entertainment. “Whenever I pick up one of the popular magazines and read one of these mammy cut tales I often wonder whether the author actually believes that his tale is probable or whether he knows it is flapdoodle and is merely concerned about the check.” She makes her case for the inherent problem in excluding realistic, un-exaggerated portrayals of minorities in all aspects of the arts and entertainment, as well as in history lessons. Please just let minorities be simply as boring and unexceptional as everyone else, and stop being “other”. “But for the national welfare, it is urgent to realize that the minorities do think, and think about something other than the race problem. That they are very human and internally, according to natural endowment, are just like everybody else. So long as this is not conceived, there must remain that feeling of unsurmountable difference, and difference to the average man means something bad. If people were made right, they would be just like him.”
In her review of “Uncle Tom’s Children” by Richard Wright, she damns him with faint praise. After saying “not one act of understanding and sympathy comes to pass in the entire work.” She wrote : But some bright new lines to remember come flashing from the author’s pen. Some of his sentences have the shocking power of a forty-four. That means that he knows his way around among words. With his facility, one wonders what he would have done had he dealt with plots that touched the broader and more fundamental phases of Negro life instead of confining himself to the spectacular.” She was a tough critic generally. She found that race hatred was too often the central theme of works by Negro authors “just as how the stenographer or some other poor girl won the boss or the boss’s son is the favorite white theme”. She also criticizes Wright for having Communist leanings and for his poor use of dialect (“Certainly he does not write by ear unless he is tone-deaf.”) In addition , Hurston wrote a previously unpublished takedown of Dr. Alain Leroy Locke after he criticized “Their Eyes Were Watching God”. (“… he rushes at any chance to see his name in print, however foolish his offering”).
Hurston is a woman I would have liked to have known.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
April 3, 2022
You Don't Know Us Negroes is an excellent collection of essays by Zora Neale Hurston that spans across 35+ years (1922-1958). Seven of the essays were published in this book for the first time. In this collection you will see her anthropologist's work in her essays on Black expression (language, dancing, etc.), the Black church experience, and culture. One of my favorite and unforgettable essays was "The Chick with One Hen", in it Hurston writes a brutal critique of Dr. Alain Locke who had previously criticized her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. Hurston was adamant that Locke did not really know Black folks as well as she did, she even said that she would send her toenails to debate Locke on Black folks, that line made me laugh every time I read it.
My favorite section of the book was "On Politics", where Hurston write on various political issues, foreign and domestic. Hurston's views on race and civil rights were complex and in some cases more conservative than I believe most Black people were at the time. She was anti-Brown v. Board of Education not because she advocated for segregation but because she felt that all-Black schools were good as long as they were adequate or had the same resources as all-white schools. She was also an anticommunist and was not a fan of the NAACP. At times she shares opinions of the Reconstruction period that mirrors the racist Lost Cause and Dunning School's view. I enjoyed her analysis and wit in these essays, although there were parts where I disagreed with her politics.
The final section of the book covers her reporting of the 1950s Ruby McCollum trial. Readers get a detailed account of the trial and Ruby McCollum's life story. If you read closely enough you will even read some language that echoes language Hurston used in Their Eyes Were Watching God.
Overall, this was an excellent collection. In my opinion, some of the essays could have been left out and more context could have been given at the beginning of each essay, outside of the Introduction by Gates and West. When I finished this book, I came to the conclusion that I love Zora Neale Hurston as a writer and thinker and I can't wait to dive into her other books that I haven't read yet.
Thanks to NetGalley and Amistad Press for a free ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.
My favorite section of the book was "On Politics", where Hurston write on various political issues, foreign and domestic. Hurston's views on race and civil rights were complex and in some cases more conservative than I believe most Black people were at the time. She was anti-Brown v. Board of Education not because she advocated for segregation but because she felt that all-Black schools were good as long as they were adequate or had the same resources as all-white schools. She was also an anticommunist and was not a fan of the NAACP. At times she shares opinions of the Reconstruction period that mirrors the racist Lost Cause and Dunning School's view. I enjoyed her analysis and wit in these essays, although there were parts where I disagreed with her politics.
The final section of the book covers her reporting of the 1950s Ruby McCollum trial. Readers get a detailed account of the trial and Ruby McCollum's life story. If you read closely enough you will even read some language that echoes language Hurston used in Their Eyes Were Watching God.
Overall, this was an excellent collection. In my opinion, some of the essays could have been left out and more context could have been given at the beginning of each essay, outside of the Introduction by Gates and West. When I finished this book, I came to the conclusion that I love Zora Neale Hurston as a writer and thinker and I can't wait to dive into her other books that I haven't read yet.
Thanks to NetGalley and Amistad Press for a free ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.
February 6, 2025
Zora Neale Hurston writes with a verve and a spark that I find compelling. Reading this collection of essays, a few a day, this past month has been a thought provoking experience. Sometimes I laughed like at the delightfully satiric essay "The Emperor Effaces Himself" about Marcus Garvey and the tongue in cheek essay "The Lost Keys of Glory" on gender roles. Sometimes I was educated. From the essay "Conversions and Visions" I learned that the phrase "rimbones of nothing' means "that space in which creation itself enters our lives in ways too deep for words and only sounds and images roil our souls, challenges our vision." What a beautiful meaning conveyed with just 3 words. I gained a new lens through which to see African-American created art, including the poetry of church sermons, literature, folklore, and music. I came to understand Hurston's sometimes controversial conservative political opinions.
This collection asks the reader to stop frequently to consider the points Hurston is trying to make and frequently to determine if her points are valid and if they still hold true today.
This book is extensively footnoted, the editors leaving nothing to chance. I had to laugh when I read the footnote telling who Thomas Jefferson and Martha Washington are.
One minor quibble--it would have been helpful if the date of publication or writing would have been placed with the title of each essay rather that having to hunt in the back of the book for these dates.
As the GR book blurb states 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 time."
Publication 2022
This collection asks the reader to stop frequently to consider the points Hurston is trying to make and frequently to determine if her points are valid and if they still hold true today.
This book is extensively footnoted, the editors leaving nothing to chance. I had to laugh when I read the footnote telling who Thomas Jefferson and Martha Washington are.
One minor quibble--it would have been helpful if the date of publication or writing would have been placed with the title of each essay rather that having to hunt in the back of the book for these dates.
As the GR book blurb states 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 time."
Publication 2022
February 10, 2022
A wonderful and absolutely necessary collection of essays and other writings from Zora Neale Hurston.
I don’t think Zora ever considered herself a race woman(at least not in the Marcus Garvey vein) but here she is as a fierce advocate and defender of black culture and language, and by extension Black people. It is that thought that illuminates for me the perfectness of the book’s title. You Don’t Know Us Negroes. And you don’t know Zora Neale Hurston. However, this essay collection goes a long way in improving your understanding of Ms. Hurston.
These essays run the subject gamut and Ms. Hurston is bold, brazen, sometimes humorous but at all times fearless! She gave zero f**#s. And when you consider the times of these writings, you must be thoroughly impressed with her bravery in some of her written expressions.
In the essay, The Chick with One Hen; she utterly eviserates Alain Locke for his comments on her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God.
“Dr. Locke wants to be a leader. He felt sure that his degrees would guarantee that much at least….Dr. Locke has not produced one single idea, or suggestion of an idea, that he can call his own…Dr. Locke is abstifically a fraud, both as a leader and as a critic.”
Damn! What does abstifically even mean? This essay was never published, but was sent to Opportunity magazine in response to Dr. Locke’s criticism. This brings me to my one small disappointment with the book. I believe the essays could have benefited with a small commentary or explanation to help contextualize each essay.
This is still a 5-star work which highlights Ms. Hurston’s intellectual heft and breadth. Hurston wasn’t afraid to put pen to paper to express her thoughts, even when she knew she was swimming against the tide. When the whole country, indeed the World was hailing the Supreme Court decision on ending segregation in public schools, Ms. Hurston asked, “How much satisfaction can I get from a court order for somebody to associate with me who does not wish me near them?”
No commentary here. Would have been great to know who stood with Zora Neale Hurston and who issued full throated denunciations. In other essays her takes may surprise you, but the reasoning is always solid. So even when you disagree, you’ll always be clear about where she is coming from. You simply must add this book to your library immediately!
February 6, 2022
Part 4 which focused on politics was somewhat interesting. Particularly Hurston's thoughts on why Black USians rejected the advances of the Red Soviets. 'Nationality trumping race' is something that boggles my mind to some degree.
The rest I cared little for.
Worth reading for a perspective/snapshot of the past but that's about all. :/
The rest I cared little for.
Worth reading for a perspective/snapshot of the past but that's about all. :/
January 30, 2022
5 stars for a much needed compilation of historical essays by the amazing Zora Neale Hurston.
Must read. Highly recommend. I can never review her work because it always ends up being the same praise. This compilation gives us an intimate look at her personal musings on many hot topics of her time (and our time). Her take on race and integration was not popular at the time, but is so very ZNH that I wasn't surprised. At all. That she wrote anamigos (my phone auto-corrected amicus to amigos and it means the same thing in different languages so I laughed) amicus curiae brief to the Supreme Court on Brown v Board of Education did surprise me. I had never heard of that, though it is commonly known that "friends of the court" will often write briefs on cases they have interest in and I even studied this case in school. I would have lost it to have read this then, but we never read amicus curiae against integration from either side of the argument. Her stance based solely on racial pride is admirable and unfortunately too early for her time. She was too early for her time and I admire her so much for just being herself.
She also tackles Taft as a politician who won't pander and whom she seemed to admire, folklore, reconstruction and so much more. Highly recommend for any fan of ZNH, but I'd really like to stress the historical contribution of this collection. It isn't often that we get to read from a point of view like hers, steeped in the political movements of her era.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-copy.
Must read. Highly recommend. I can never review her work because it always ends up being the same praise. This compilation gives us an intimate look at her personal musings on many hot topics of her time (and our time). Her take on race and integration was not popular at the time, but is so very ZNH that I wasn't surprised. At all. That she wrote an
She also tackles Taft as a politician who won't pander and whom she seemed to admire, folklore, reconstruction and so much more. Highly recommend for any fan of ZNH, but I'd really like to stress the historical contribution of this collection. It isn't often that we get to read from a point of view like hers, steeped in the political movements of her era.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-copy.
September 26, 2021
You Don't Know Us Negroes and Other Essays is a phenomenal collection of Zora Neale Hurston's nonfiction work. The introduction by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Genevieve West is an excellent overview of Hurston's place in the literary and cultural worlds both during her lifetime and more recently.
Even if you have read many of these works the bringing together of them into a thematically organized collection offers new perspective on each one individually as well as her body of work as a whole. While her thought developed over time she also maintained many core ideas and beliefs throughout her writing life. Her core values and her nuanced changes shine through here as one reads.
I think what the introduction does, in addition to giving the collection better context, is cue the reader to not read the essays too casually. You may not agree 100% with everything Hurston advocates for, you need to be careful not to dismiss her ideas too simplistically. Most of her reasons for why she took some of the stands she took show just how well she anticipated what was to come. It is hard to agree with her opposition to Brown v board of education until one understands what her concerns were. Then looking at how things have played out since then, she was far more correct than she was incorrect.
If, like me, you are familiar with most of her work but have rarely studied more than a couple things at a time, this collection brings many of her theories and ideas together nicely. If you have only read a couple of her fiction works, then this is an excellent introduction to her thought. If she is mostly just a name you know and have been meaning to read, I would highly recommend this collection along with some of her fiction and her memoir, Dust Tracks on a Road.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
Even if you have read many of these works the bringing together of them into a thematically organized collection offers new perspective on each one individually as well as her body of work as a whole. While her thought developed over time she also maintained many core ideas and beliefs throughout her writing life. Her core values and her nuanced changes shine through here as one reads.
I think what the introduction does, in addition to giving the collection better context, is cue the reader to not read the essays too casually. You may not agree 100% with everything Hurston advocates for, you need to be careful not to dismiss her ideas too simplistically. Most of her reasons for why she took some of the stands she took show just how well she anticipated what was to come. It is hard to agree with her opposition to Brown v board of education until one understands what her concerns were. Then looking at how things have played out since then, she was far more correct than she was incorrect.
If, like me, you are familiar with most of her work but have rarely studied more than a couple things at a time, this collection brings many of her theories and ideas together nicely. If you have only read a couple of her fiction works, then this is an excellent introduction to her thought. If she is mostly just a name you know and have been meaning to read, I would highly recommend this collection along with some of her fiction and her memoir, Dust Tracks on a Road.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
June 12, 2022
Jacksonville's own, Miss Zora Neale Hurston !!! <3 She was so absolutely & stunningly brilliant and I will forever direct my wrath towards her male contemporaries who didn't appreciate her genius. The authenticity & Black pride she had was simply.... unmatched... unheard of.
"The human face has its phases like the moon. There is the high flame of a revealed soul on occasion, at other times a waning... and even complete absence... of light." (pg. 322)
"The human face has its phases like the moon. There is the high flame of a revealed soul on occasion, at other times a waning... and even complete absence... of light." (pg. 322)
May 11, 2023
This was a fascinating and thought provoking read. I definitely want to read more of Zora Neale Hurston's writing. I would have appreciated if more context had been provided for each essay along with the date it was written. But this book is a gift and I am grateful to the editors.
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June 20, 2024
2.5 stars.
Very strange book. I liked a few essays but didn't like the majority. The audiobook did not do it for me, which has never happened before. The structure of the book still has me at a loss. I was constantly having to go back a few seconds because of the change of topics.
Very strange book. I liked a few essays but didn't like the majority. The audiobook did not do it for me, which has never happened before. The structure of the book still has me at a loss. I was constantly having to go back a few seconds because of the change of topics.
May 5, 2023
This collection of nonfiction writings was the perfect chaser to Hurston’s autobiography, Dust Tracks on the Road. Although less enchanting than the memoir, these writings nevertheless provide additional insights into African American intellectual history. Not a coherent body of work, but always original, smart, tenacious, confident, well-written.
February 13, 2023
I liked some of these essays, especially the ones that focused more on folklore and culture, but this book of essays also made me take Hurston down from the pedestal she was on in my mind a bit. In particular, her essay on women and careers (something about keys, I returned the book to the library and can't remember the title) left a terrible taste in my mouth. It was incredibly sexist - saying that women who were successful only had careers because they were attractive and men helped them, for example, and that they should maintain their focus on getting married and raising children because that's where they really succeeded, and if they deviated from that and tried to have a career, they would realize later in life, when they were no longer attractive, that they had failed, and nobody would want to marry them anymore because they would be too old. I found that essay especially odd because Hurston herself had a career, was married and divorced a few times, each marriage only lasted briefly, and she never had any children. I never trust people whose advice is contradicted by how they live their lives.
Hurston also said some things which today I would expect to hear from a zealous conservative, such as saying she was grateful to be "civilized" due to her family's history (of being enslaved), that segregation in Florida was a good thing for maintaining education standards for African-American schools, and that the communist party only got Blacks to join by offering them white spouses and that they wanted them to be cannon fodder in the revolution, essentially.
The last portion of the book was a collection of news stories about a woman named Ruby McCollum, a Black woman who had killed a respected white doctor after they'd been having an affair for a few years and she was pregnant with their second child (she had three other children with her husband). After the articles, there is a longer piece where Hurston examines Ruby's background and upbringing, but she does so in a very sensationalist way, implying that her whole life was leading up to her becoming a murderer. She does mention that Ruby was prevented from speaking about the relationship and that a lot of testimony was censored by the judge, so that the defense hardly had any say in the trial, but also implies that Ruby enjoyed this relationship, when to me it seemed that the doctor had totally coerced and threatened her into having a sexual relationship with him and that it was not an enjoyable situation for her, especially as she didn't want to get pregnant and he refused to prevent it. I also wish the editors had put in some kind of explanation after that section, because it ends with Ruby being sentenced to death - her conviction was actually overturned by the state Supreme Court, she spent time in a mental institution, and was eventually released.
I enjoyed some essays, especially the one about High John de Conquer and the one about the last living person to have been kidnapped and sold into slavery from Africa to the US (which the whole book "Barracoon" is about). It was also interesting to get a better idea of the divisions between Black intellectuals at the time, politically and artistically, and to see historical figures such as Hurston, Richard Wright, W.E.B. du Bois, and Booker T. Washington in greater context, with negative criticism of the time as well as positive.
Overall, I'm glad I read the book, and even the parts which I strongly disagreed with helped me see Hurston as a person with flaws and not simply a heroic figure from the past.
Hurston also said some things which today I would expect to hear from a zealous conservative, such as saying she was grateful to be "civilized" due to her family's history (of being enslaved), that segregation in Florida was a good thing for maintaining education standards for African-American schools, and that the communist party only got Blacks to join by offering them white spouses and that they wanted them to be cannon fodder in the revolution, essentially.
The last portion of the book was a collection of news stories about a woman named Ruby McCollum, a Black woman who had killed a respected white doctor after they'd been having an affair for a few years and she was pregnant with their second child (she had three other children with her husband). After the articles, there is a longer piece where Hurston examines Ruby's background and upbringing, but she does so in a very sensationalist way, implying that her whole life was leading up to her becoming a murderer. She does mention that Ruby was prevented from speaking about the relationship and that a lot of testimony was censored by the judge, so that the defense hardly had any say in the trial, but also implies that Ruby enjoyed this relationship, when to me it seemed that the doctor had totally coerced and threatened her into having a sexual relationship with him and that it was not an enjoyable situation for her, especially as she didn't want to get pregnant and he refused to prevent it. I also wish the editors had put in some kind of explanation after that section, because it ends with Ruby being sentenced to death - her conviction was actually overturned by the state Supreme Court, she spent time in a mental institution, and was eventually released.
I enjoyed some essays, especially the one about High John de Conquer and the one about the last living person to have been kidnapped and sold into slavery from Africa to the US (which the whole book "Barracoon" is about). It was also interesting to get a better idea of the divisions between Black intellectuals at the time, politically and artistically, and to see historical figures such as Hurston, Richard Wright, W.E.B. du Bois, and Booker T. Washington in greater context, with negative criticism of the time as well as positive.
Overall, I'm glad I read the book, and even the parts which I strongly disagreed with helped me see Hurston as a person with flaws and not simply a heroic figure from the past.
September 16, 2025
This was a great read. Her essays are funny, fearless, and full of truth. It feels like sitting down with a friend who always makes you think. Her voice is just as fresh and necessary today as ever.
October 31, 2023
The more I read of Zora Neale Hurston's thoughts on gender/race/politics, the more Alice Walker (notorious TERF and antisemite) being the one who (re)introduced her to a new and broader audience takes shape and becomes funnier and funnier.
January 3, 2022
Incredible. Read this one slowly and intentionally with the magnificent introduction of Dr Gates and Ms West to provide context and synthesis. This is an extraordinary collection of Zora Neale Hurston’s work and an important read for all. I’m so grateful I was given an advanced copy. I’ll treasure it and loan it to others.
August 15, 2022
Although I admire Hurston’s literary talent, I don’t care much for her politics and social commentary. She was like a right wing Republican with her anti feminist stance, hatred of communism, support of tokenism, badmouthing Howard U, and finger wagging at progressive folks.
These were her unpublished essays and there is a reason why. They are just not that appealing. Focus more on her acclaimed novels, which were groundbreaking works of art.
These were her unpublished essays and there is a reason why. They are just not that appealing. Focus more on her acclaimed novels, which were groundbreaking works of art.
July 24, 2022
A couple of really strong, interesting pieces tossed together with everything else and the kitchen sink. This book would have been a lot more interesting to read if some thought had gone into adding historical context to some of the pieces, if it could have been interspersed with some information about the sort of writing Hurston was doing at the time and why, etc. It feels slapdash like it was thrown together with not much thought or consideration to grouping the pieces in a way that felt meaningful. Some of the pieces I did not care for at all, especially The Lost Keys of Glory in which Hurston essentially says that women are intellectually inferior to men, particularly in what we would now call STEM related fields. Even back when this was written, I would expect a person as well-educated as Hurston was to know that saying that no woman has ever outshone male contemporaries in those fields was simply factually inaccurate. Between that and the bit about how a Jewish nose will lead you straight to the bank, I felt myself increasingly uncompelled to continue with the book, though the strongest section is definitely the collection of her reporting on the Ruby McCollum trial, so I'm glad I got there.
December 13, 2021
I am honored, y'all. So very honored to read an advance copy of this collection of essays by one of the best essayists of our lifetime, Zora Neale Hurston. This anthology spans over 35 years of her work. It includes essays, criticisms and articles that give us a look into her world and time.
Among my favorites are essays about High John de Conquer, the Clotilda, shouting during sermons, our contribution to language, the customary three days for seeking a vision and how whites don't know us negroes other than what is seen on our shows. I took my time reading this book, frequently saying "Preach, Zora!" and nodding my head in strong agreement.
Thank you to all those that make it possible for fans to read the last prose Zora Neale Hurston wrote. For allowing her words into print for our consumption. Even if you've read all of her published work, it's just something different about it organized into this one collection. Need I say more? ~LiteraryMarie
Among my favorites are essays about High John de Conquer, the Clotilda, shouting during sermons, our contribution to language, the customary three days for seeking a vision and how whites don't know us negroes other than what is seen on our shows. I took my time reading this book, frequently saying "Preach, Zora!" and nodding my head in strong agreement.
Thank you to all those that make it possible for fans to read the last prose Zora Neale Hurston wrote. For allowing her words into print for our consumption. Even if you've read all of her published work, it's just something different about it organized into this one collection. Need I say more? ~LiteraryMarie
April 3, 2022
You don't know us Negroes and other essays is a brilliant and informative essay collection on the Black experience (Culture, Black Church and Black Expression). Hurston’s frustration and anger at the racist and demeaning way America has treated Black culture. Hurston artfully expresses herself in each of these essays. One of the most insightful essays in the book was about the trial and conviction of Ruby McCollum who murdered a prominent white doctor in 1952. This extensive essay collection spans over 35 years.
June 15, 2023
the essays themselves were interesting, and there was a very wide range of subjects, which i liked. however, my main problem with this collection was the lack of context going into each essay, especially ones that focused on specific events or decisions that were popular enough at the time that they were not explained within zora’s essays. i feel like the editors of this collection could have made the necessary context accessible in this book format, which would have led to a deeper understanding of the essays themselves
April 23, 2022
The Ruby McCollum stories and the essay where she read Alain Locke for FILFTH were my fave parts. She really was amazing and her voice and experiences were so necessary. I especially the love the way she complicates and highlights nuances in ideas related to white supremacy, “Black excellence”, the and the “talented tenth”.
March 28, 2022
I have read Zora Neale Hurston's fiction and some of her essays before, and her work is especially relevant in today's times. I can not know the experience of living as an African American. I highly recommend listening, reading, and talking to African Americans about their experiences. We are so divided in our country today and we need to encourage and protect each other.
October 5, 2022
Hurston was a very prolific writer as seen with this collection of essays. It serves as a unique collection that looks at the mindset of her and the people she interviewed during the time she was alive and actively writing.
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to dissect it the way I want to. This collection deserves an entire class devoted to it due the analysis it gives on Black literature and life. I was especially fascinated by part 4 (On Politics) and part 5 (The Case of Ruby McCollum.
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to dissect it the way I want to. This collection deserves an entire class devoted to it due the analysis it gives on Black literature and life. I was especially fascinated by part 4 (On Politics) and part 5 (The Case of Ruby McCollum.
December 15, 2021
I am honored, y'all. So very honored to read an advance copy of this collection of essays by one of the best essayists of our lifetime, Zora Neale Hurston. This anthology spans over 35 years of her work. It includes essays, criticisms and articles that give us a look into her world and time.
Among my favorites are essays about High John de Conquer, the Clotilda, shouting during sermons, our contribution to language, the customary three days for seeking a vision and how whites don't know us negroes other than what is seen on our shows. I took my time reading this book, frequently saying "Preach, Zora!" and nodding my head in strong agreement.
"Biddy, biddy, bend, my story is end." ~ 2%
Thank you to all those that make it possible for fans to read the last prose Zora Neale Hurston wrote. For allowing her words into print for our consumption. Even if you've read all of her published work, it's just something different about it organized into this one collection. Need I say more?
Happy Early Pub Day! You Don't Know Us Negroes and Other Essays will be available Tuesday, January 4, 2022. ~LiteraryMarie
Among my favorites are essays about High John de Conquer, the Clotilda, shouting during sermons, our contribution to language, the customary three days for seeking a vision and how whites don't know us negroes other than what is seen on our shows. I took my time reading this book, frequently saying "Preach, Zora!" and nodding my head in strong agreement.
"Biddy, biddy, bend, my story is end." ~ 2%
Thank you to all those that make it possible for fans to read the last prose Zora Neale Hurston wrote. For allowing her words into print for our consumption. Even if you've read all of her published work, it's just something different about it organized into this one collection. Need I say more?
Happy Early Pub Day! You Don't Know Us Negroes and Other Essays will be available Tuesday, January 4, 2022. ~LiteraryMarie
January 28, 2022
Solid writing, but I didn’t feel I had enough context for each individual essay. Stars based more on me than Hurston.
April 12, 2022
DNF. I got 70% through and feel like I read what I wanted to read.
March 20, 2022
I'm going to be up-front here at the top: I haven't read every essay in this book. I'm not even really "finished" with the book, per se. I'm going to skip around a bit and read through some of the shorter essays and call it a day with this one because, by virtue of other books distracting me and so on, I haven't given this book the attention that it deserves but I also don't think that it's necessary to read every single essay in an essay collection to get a feel for the author. And in this case, the author is Zora Neale Hurston, one of the most important and divisive figures in African-American literature (and in overall American literature). As such, this is an essential collection that also feels like a book one should dip into only in places; I'm not sure that it works as a book to be read back to back, all of the pieces. But the ones that work, they work, because Hurston was one of the best writers in her generation(s) (she famously fudged her original birth date in many instances, so it's fair to say that she might belong to more than one generation of American writers in a sense). Her work as a novelist is great (I've read "Their Eyes Were Watching God" and "Jonah's Gourd Vine" and plan to read more), but her essays bear the mark of her voice just as well. I think if circumstances had been different, I might've engaged with the book as a whole a lot more than I have so far (and I'm guessing that my efforts to finish it today or the next day might bear more fruit), but I'm going to go ahead and call this one. It's an essential collection nonetheless, and worth your time.
April 6, 2022
Reading this collection of essays, allowed me to learn not only about the history of black people over the past 150 years as told by one of them, but also to understand how often, racism and prejudice shroud even the best intentions.
In addition, Zola Neale Hurston remains an incomparable writer, and although, mainly because of the format, this book did not reach the heights of TEWWG, there are some absolutely sublime passages in her writing, not to mention the irony....
Leggere questa raccolta di saggi, mi ha permesso di conoscere non solo la storia dei neri negli ultimi 150 anni raccontata da uno di loro, ma anche di capire quanto spesso, il razzismo ed il pregiudizio avvolgono anche le intenzioni migliori.
Inoltre Zola Neale Hurston resta una scrittrice incomparabile e, anche se, soprattutto per via del formato, questo libro non ha raggiunto le vette di TEWWG, ci sono dei passaggi assolutamente sublimi nei suoi scritti, per non parlare dell'ironia....
In addition, Zola Neale Hurston remains an incomparable writer, and although, mainly because of the format, this book did not reach the heights of TEWWG, there are some absolutely sublime passages in her writing, not to mention the irony....
Leggere questa raccolta di saggi, mi ha permesso di conoscere non solo la storia dei neri negli ultimi 150 anni raccontata da uno di loro, ma anche di capire quanto spesso, il razzismo ed il pregiudizio avvolgono anche le intenzioni migliori.
Inoltre Zola Neale Hurston resta una scrittrice incomparabile e, anche se, soprattutto per via del formato, questo libro non ha raggiunto le vette di TEWWG, ci sono dei passaggi assolutamente sublimi nei suoi scritti, per non parlare dell'ironia....
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