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Thank you to that white man down in Florida: Lessons learned from reading a banned book
Thank you to that white man down in Florida: Lessons learned from reading a banned bookSalon, Melissa Bunni Elian, March 31, 2023
"They seemed to be staring at the dark, but their eyes were watching god."
It took 160 pages to reach that line. I eagerly waited for Zora Neale Hurston to reveal to me the titular meaning of her widely celebrated, but now banned book. For so long I had wanted to read great Black women authors, but had put it off. That is until a man from Florida had told me that it was not worth anything, let alone my time, to rest my eyes the profundity dripping from every sentence of the 1937 novel.
The book was a gift from the African American Policy Forum given out ahead of a panel discussion, "Whitewashing Black Studies: The Fight for African American Studies in the Era of Racial Backlash" headlined by its Executive Director Kimberlé Crenshaw and hosted by Columbia Law School. I decided to relive my grad school days with a study session at the university's main library. But long COVID fatigue made it a struggle. I contemplated heading home when an event reminder email buzzed on my smartphone. "The first 50 people to arrive at the event will receive a free book from our Books Unbanned: From Freedom Riders to Freedom Readers campaign." Energy from the chance at a free book had suddenly made light of my load and I sauntered over to the law school building.
...
We were able to choose two titles, but my eyes were arrested by an image of a crowned black woman surrounded by gold, chin tilted ever so slightly toward the collaged heaven artfully crafted on the cover. "Their Eyes Were Watching God" scribbled beneath her in white permanent marker. I immediately snatched up my opportunity before someone in line behind me made up their mind.
It took 160 pages to reach that line. I eagerly waited for Zora Neale Hurston to reveal to me the titular meaning of her widely celebrated, but now banned book. For so long I had wanted to read great Black women authors, but had put it off. That is until a man from Florida had told me that it was not worth anything, let alone my time, to rest my eyes the profundity dripping from every sentence of the 1937 novel.
The book was a gift from the African American Policy Forum given out ahead of a panel discussion, "Whitewashing Black Studies: The Fight for African American Studies in the Era of Racial Backlash" headlined by its Executive Director Kimberlé Crenshaw and hosted by Columbia Law School. I decided to relive my grad school days with a study session at the university's main library. But long COVID fatigue made it a struggle. I contemplated heading home when an event reminder email buzzed on my smartphone. "The first 50 people to arrive at the event will receive a free book from our Books Unbanned: From Freedom Riders to Freedom Readers campaign." Energy from the chance at a free book had suddenly made light of my load and I sauntered over to the law school building.
...
We were able to choose two titles, but my eyes were arrested by an image of a crowned black woman surrounded by gold, chin tilted ever so slightly toward the collaged heaven artfully crafted on the cover. "Their Eyes Were Watching God" scribbled beneath her in white permanent marker. I immediately snatched up my opportunity before someone in line behind me made up their mind.
https://www.salon.com/2023/03/31/book-ban-florida-zora-neale-hurston/
1 replies
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