Editing Zora Neale Hurston (section)

==Academic Appointments==
In 1934, Hurston established a school of dramatic arts "based on pure Negro expression" at Bethune-Cookman College, a [[historically black college]] in [[Daytona Beach, Florida]] later to be known as [[Bethune-Cookman University]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Porter|first=A. P.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vZ-1dEMZBggC&pg=PA66|title=Jump at de sun : the story of Zora Neale Hurston|date=1992|publisher=Carolrhoda Books|isbn=0-87614-667-1|location=Minneapolis|page=66|access-date=May 9, 2020|archive-date=January 7, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240107181045/https://books.google.com/books?id=vZ-1dEMZBggC&pg=PA66#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1956, Hurston received the Bethune-Cookman College Award for Education and Human Relations in recognition of her achievements. The English Department at Bethune-Cookman College remains dedicated to preserving her cultural legacy.<ref name="Timeline">{{cite web|url=http://zoranealehurston.com/about/timeline/|title=Zora Neale Hurston|first=The Estate of Zora Neale|last=Hurston|access-date=February 3, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130306000924/http://zoranealehurston.com/about/timeline|archive-date=March 6, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>

For the 1939–1940 academic year, Hurston joined the Drama Department of the North Carolina College for Negroes (now known as [[North Carolina Central University]]) in [[Durham, North Carolina|Durham]].<ref name=":02">{{Cite web |last=Hurston |first=Zora Neale |date=October 12, 1939 |title=Letter to Edwin Osgood Grover |url=https://original-ufdc.uflib.ufl.edu/AA00009755/00076 |access-date=October 1, 2024 |website=University of Florida Archives}}</ref> At the beginning of her tenure, Hurston published a new book, ''[[Moses, Man of the Mountain]]''. She also separated from her second husband, Albert Price, at this time, although their divorce would not be finalized until 1943 (see Marriages section).

During her time in the Durham area, Hurston primarily participated in a variety of thespian activities, marking her lasting interest in Black folkloric theater and drama. On October 7, 1939, Hurston addressed the Carolina Dramatic Association, remarking that "our drama must be like us or it doesn't exist... I want to build the drama of North Carolina out of ourselves."<ref name=":12">{{Cite news |date=October 8, 1939 |title=Drama Group Concludes Meet; Zora Neale Hurston Featured |url=https://newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn92073228/1939-10-08/ed-1/seq-1/ |access-date=October 11, 2024 |work=The Daily Tar Heel |pages=1–2}}</ref> She noted that her students were largely supportive of this endeavor because many of the plays performed and viewed by them previously were not relatable to their own experiences and instead prioritized a "highbrow" view of society.<ref name=":12" />

She taught various courses at NCCU, but she also studied informally at the [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]] with Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright [[Paul Green (playwright)|Paul Green]]. She was also mentored by [[Frederick Henry Koch|Frederick H. Koch]], another faculty member at UNC and the founder of the [[Carolina Playmakers]]. She initially met both writers at the inaugural 1934 [[National Folk Festival (United States)|National Folk Festival]] in [[St. Louis|St. Louis, Missouri]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Moore |first=Cecilia |title=THE SOUTH AS A FOLK PLAY: THE CAROLINA PLAYMAKERS, REGIONAL THEATRE AND THE FEDERAL THEATRE PROJECT |date=March 22, 2019 |publisher=University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |location=Chapel Hill, NC |pages=154}}</ref> She was persuaded by them to move to North Carolina for the prospect of collaboration with UNC faculty and students,<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":2" /> despite the fact that UNC was still segregated and did not begin formally admitting Black students until 1951.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Black History Month at Carolina {{!}} UNC-Chapel Hill |url=https://www.unc.edu/story/bhm2024/ |access-date=2024-10-11 |website=The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |language=en-US}}</ref> Because her formal participation was limited, Hurston became a "secret student", participating in coursework and theater groups without enrolling in UNC.<ref name=":02" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-04-16 |title="Proving a Secret is Difficult": Zora Neale Hurston at UNC – For the Record |url=https://blogs.lib.unc.edu/uarms/2019/04/16/proving-a-secret-is-difficult-zora-neale-hurston-at-unc/ |access-date=2024-10-11 |language=en-US}}</ref> ''[[The Daily Tar Heel]]'', UNC'S student newspaper, even named Hurston as a student in one such course, which focused on radio production.<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 30, 1940 |title=Sunday Night Radio Group to Outline Spring Program |url=https://newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn92073228/1940-03-30/ed-1/seq-1/ |access-date=October 1, 2024 |work=The Daily Tar Heel |pages=1–2}}</ref>

Hurston left NCCU after one year to pursue a new fieldwork project in South Carolina. It is likely that her departure was partially due to her poor relationship with NCCU's president, [[James E. Shepard]], to which she briefly alluded in her 1942 autobiography, ''[[Dust Tracks on a Road]]''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hurston |first=Zora Neale |title=Folklore, Memoirs and Other Writings |publisher=Library of America |year=1995 |pages=847}}</ref> To Shepard, Hurston's attire and lifestyle choices were inappropriate for an unmarried woman, leading to many disagreements; her severance was rumored to be "the only thing that [they] could apparently agree upon."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Eubanks |first=Georgann |date=2010-09-10 |title=Women Writers of Hayti |url=https://www.ourstate.com/hayti/ |access-date=2024-10-12 |website=Our State |language=en-US}}</ref>

In 2015, UNC students called for Saunders Hall (named after former [[Ku Klux Klan]] leader [[William L. Saunders]]) to be renamed "Hurston Hall" in recognition of Hurston's contributions to academic life in the Durham-Chapel Hill area.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Svrluga |first=Susan |date=May 28, 2015 |title=UNC takes on its past, renaming hall that has long honored a KKK leader |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2015/05/28/unc-takes-on-its-past-renaming-hall-that-has-long-honored-a-kkk-leader/ |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> UNC Trustees controversially voted to name the building [[Carolina Hall (Chapel Hill, North Carolina)|Carolina Hall]] instead, but it is still known informally by many students as Hurston Hall.<ref>{{Cite web |last=uncofthepeople |date=2018-05-02 |title=Omololu Babatunde on the invocation of Zora Neale Hurston Hall |url=https://uncofthepeople.com/2018/05/02/omololu-babatunde-on-the-invocation-of-zora-neale-hurston-hall/ |access-date=2024-10-12 |website=Reclaiming the University of the People |language=en-US}}</ref> Despite the brief nature of her residency in North Carolina, Hurston is still honored at a variety of events in the area, including readings of her work.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Celebratory Evening of the Lives and Legacies of Zora Neale Hurston and Toni Morrison {{!}} North Carolina Central University |url=https://www.nccu.edu/events/celebratory-evening-lives-and-legacies-zora-neale-hurston-and-toni-morrison |access-date=2024-10-12 |website=www.nccu.edu}}</ref> In 2024, Bree L. Davis received funding from the Southern Documentary Fund to produce a podcast documenting Hurston's experiences in the Durham-Chapel Hill area (forthcoming).<ref>{{Cite web |title=QUEEN OF THE NIGGERATI: ZORA NEALE HURSTON'S CONJURING IN DURHAM, NC – Southern Documentary Fund |url=https://southerndocumentaryfund.org/queen-of-the-niggerati-zora-neale-hurstons-conjuring-in-durham-nc/ |access-date=2024-10-12 |website=southerndocumentaryfund.org}}</ref>