Zora Neale Hurston was an astounding Afro-American author who was recognized not for being the first Afro-American writer, but rather for her ability to bring forth her cultural language and imagery. If not for Zora's pioneering effort as a female black writer, the world of modern literature would have never seen the cultural insights of the African American culture in such a candid way. Zora's date of birth is said to be in January of 1891, …showed first 75 words of 1896 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1896 total…Zora had one of the most successful careers, yet one of the most troubled personal lives of any minority writer. As one writer put it, "At a time when most black writers wrote about racism, she largely ignored it in her writing. Being black was something she was proud of, But to be labeled by her color alone. As one friend put it, 'Zora would Have been Zora even if she was an Eskimo'." (Otfinoski 52)