Born to former slaves in 1891, Zora Neale Hurston attended various colleges and universities, including Barnard College with fellow anthropology student Margaret Mead, before embarking on a career as an anthropologist and folklorist. She earned her first degree from Howard University, before moving to New York’s Harlem district where she became a prominent contributor to the “Harlem Renaissance.”
A novelist and playwright, Hurston struggled personally and financially in later life. She died poor and alone in 1960 and was buried in an unmarked grave in Florida. Her work was revitalized when novelist Alice Walker (The Color Purple) wrote an essay titled “In search of Zora Neale Hurston” for Ms magazine.