Zora Neale Hurston Zora Neale Hurston was born on January 7, 1891 in Notasulga, Alabama. She was the fifth of eight children. When Zorawas three years old, she and her family moved from Alabama to Eatonville, Florida. In Eatonville, her father became the town minister and mayor. Zorawas very strong-willed and was often at odds with her father. When she was thirteen, her mother died and her father remarried. Zoradid not get along with her stepmother. She decided to leave home. Zorafound a job as a maid for a singer named Miss M. Zoratoured with Miss M and the Gilbert and Sullivan repertoire company for a year and a half. Miss M helped encourage to quit her job and go back to school (Reuben). In 1917, Zorasettled in Baltimore, Maryland. The Maryland Code allowed colored youth between the ages of six and twenty free admission into public schools. At this time Zorawas twenty-six years old, so she lied to the education board telling them that she was born in 1901. Zoraenrolled in Morgan Academy but switched to Howard Academy to take college prep courses for Howard University. Zorareceived her high school diploma in 1919 and began attending Howard University (Birdwell-Beckham 2). While attending Howard, she became a member of the school magazine, The Stylus. She published a short story called “John Redding Goes to Sea” for the magazine (Reuben). The story caught the eye of the editor of Opportunity Magazine, Dr. Charles S. Johnson. Johnson encouraged Zorato move to New York. Zorasettled in Harlem, New York. She attended a banquet hosted by Opportunity Magazine. She won two 2ndplace awards and two honorable mentions for her work. While staying New York, she took a job as an assistant to writer Fanny Hurst and enrolled at Barnard College. She studied anthropology under Franz Boas. Zorapublished short stories and essays for magazines. She made very little money from her work (Woman in History).Zora met an elderly woman named Charlotte Mason who liked “Primitive art”,...