Zora Neale Hurston is considered one of the most significant African-America authors of the 20th century. Born Jan. 7, 1891, in Notasulga, Ala., she published her first story in 1921 in the Howard University literary society's magazine. She would later become one of the leading figures in the Harlem Renaissance.
In 1892, her family moved to Eatonville, Fla., near Maitland. Her father, John Hurston, was one of the pioneers of the town and served three terms as its mayor and as pastor of the Macedonia Baptist Church.
Two weeks after her mother's death in 1904, Hurston moved to Jacksonville, where she lived in LaVilla with her brother and sister, who were attending school at the Florida Baptist Academy.
Hurston entered the Harlem Renaissance in 1924, when she submitted a story, "Drenched in Light," to the official publication of the National Urban League. The story was published and a year later, Hurston moved to New York City and continued her literary career writing novels and plays.
Contemporary images of Eatonville are the subject of an exhibit of photographs at the Main Library. The exhibit is part of "Project Mosaic," sponsored by the Africa and African-American Studies program at Rollins College.
In addition to the exhibit, Susan Libby, professor of art history at Rollins College, is scheduled to visit the library Saturday to discuss the links between Hurston's writing and the works of her visual artist counterparts during the Harlem Renaissance. Rollins College Assistant Professor of Art Dawn Roe is scheduled to discuss the photographic exhibit Jan. 19.
Both presentations are scheduled at 1 p.m. in the Hicks Auditorium in the Main Library's Conference Center.
The exhibit is on display through Jan. 23 on the second and third floors of the library.
Also on the schedule at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the auditorium is "Champions of the Future: Mid-Century Modern Architecture in Northeast Florida," a 30-minute documentary film sponsored by the local chapter of the American Institute of Architects.
The library will unveil its 2013 Black History Month calendar, "At the Crossroads of Freedom and Equality: The Emancipation Proclamation and the March on Washington," at 4 p.m. Jan. 17.
For more information on events at the Main Library, call 630-2665 or visit jpl.coj.net.
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