HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-041RESOLUTION NO. 03-41
A IqESOLUTION RECOGNIZING ZORA
NEA~E HURSTON FOR HER PROMINENT
POSITION AMONG THE GREATS OF
AMERICAN LITERATURE AND
PROCLAIMING FEBRUARY 28, 2003, AS
"ZOP~ NEALE HURSTON DAY" IN ST. LUCIE
COUNTY, FLORIDA
WHEREAS, the Board of County Commissioners of St. Lucie County, Florida, has made
the following determinations:
1. Zora Neale Hursto n, noted American author, anthropologist and key figure in the "Harlem
Renaissance" of the 1930's was born on January 7, 1891 in Notasulga, Alabama, the fifth surviving
child of eight born to John and Lucy Potts Hurston.
2. While Zora was being born, her father was away seeking more opportunity for his family
than the Notasulga life coulc offer him. His decision, to relocate the family to Eatonville, Florida,
was perhaps the single most important and auspicious decision he would ever make and one that
would be crucial to Zora's eventual development as a woman and as a writer.
3. Eatonville, Florida, founded in 1887, is America's oldest incorporated black township.
The nurturing atmosphere of Eatonville allowed Zora's father to reach his full potential as the
Reverend John Hurston, also known as "God's Battle-Axe," and inspired Zora's mother to encourage
her to "Jump at de stm.' "We might not land on the sun," she recalled, "but at least we would get
offthe ground." Eatonville's characters and folktales gave Zora the basis for much of the material
featured in her novels. In 1927, Zora began her fieldwork as an anthropologist, collecting black
folklore in the South. Wher asked by her Bamard College mentor, Franz Boas, where she wanted
to work, Zora did not hesitate. "Florida," she replied, reasoning that it drew people from all over the
country. "I realized that I was new myself, so it looked sensible for me to choose familiar ground."
This confirmed Zora's love lbr the South, in general, and for Florida, in particular.
4. During a long and vital career, Zora Neale Hurston wrote, and had published, numerous
short stories and plays, four novels, three collections of black folklore and her own autobiography.
Of these, the novel Their Eves Were Watching God, published in 1937, was praised by novelist Alice
Walker, author of The Color Purple, as the most important book that she had ever read. Noted
literaryj ournal The Saturday Review observed that "Their Eyes" belongs in the same category.., with
that of William Faulkner, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Emest Hemingway... of enduring American
literature."
5. In the twilight ofhsr career, in 1957, Zora Neale Hurston came to Fort Pieme at the behest
of C. E. Bolen, owner of the black weekly newspaper the Fort Pierce Chronicle. While in this
community, Zora wrote a ser_es of articles for the Chronicle, taught briefly at Lincoln Park Academy
and continued to work on h:r final novel-in-progress, The Story of Herod the Great. Living the
typically cloistered life of a writer, Zora was befriended by Doctor C. C. Benton who provided her
with shelter and intellectual stimulation. One evening, after a typically lively discussion, Dr. Benton
commented to Zora, "I wish had as much sense as you have." She countered, "You got more sense.
I'm a genius; I can do only one thing. You're smart. You can make a living."
6. On Thursday, January 28, 1960, the controversial, award-winning writer Zora Neale
Hurston was pronounced dead on arrival at Fort Pierce Memorial Hospital, having succumbed to one
of a series of strokes. Her body was interred in the segregated Genesee Memorial Gardens, now
known as the Garden of Heavenly Rest, in Fort Pierce. Her passing was picked up by the wire
services and numerous noteworthy publications, including the New York Times and Time magazine,
which published obituaries.
7. Zora Neale Hurston's work has enjoyed a tremendous rebirth since the time that Alice
Walker made her famous pilgrimage to Ft. Pierce in 1973 to place a marker on Zora's grave. At the
dawn of the twenty-first century, more than a million copies of Their Eyes Were Watching God are
in print. At last count, it was required reading for eighteen courses at Yale University. Her titles
also continue to sell in Spain, Brazil, Italy, Germany, France, Japan, the Netherlands and the United
Kingdom. Eatonville, Florida recently celebrated the fourteenth annual Zorafest. Zora is on the
verge of becoming apop-culture icon, with national magazines like Interview and Vibe introducing
younger readers to her as an i-repressibly hip blast from the past. Zora has deeply influenced at least
two generations of writers and readers of all colors and cultures.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of County Commissioners of St.
Lucie County, Florida:
1. This Board does hereby commend Zora Neale Hurston for bequeathing the priceless gift
of her work's creative excellence, endurance and continuing influence. By adopting this
Resolution, this Board celebrates her memory.
2. This Board does ~ereby proclaim February 28, 2003 as "ZORA NEALE ItURSTON
DAY" in St. Lucie County, i~lorida.
PASSED AND DULY ADOPTED this 18th day of February, 2003.
ATTEST:
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
ST. LUCIE COUNTY, FLORIDA
BY:
APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM AND
/~OUNTY A~ERRECTNESS:
/ Y