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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. 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.… (more)
User reviews
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.