The Black Luminary Society is hosting an interactive event series to celebrate the life and legacy of literary luminary Zora Neale Hurston at the Brooklyn Public Library.
In celebration of Black History Month, the two-part series will begin on Sunday, February 17, with a focus on Zora Neale Hurston's Barracoon, The Story of the Last Black Cargo.
The 2018 New York Times bestseller is based on interviews Hurston conducted in 1927 with Cudjo Kazoola Lewis, the last living survivor of the Middle Passage, offers a nuanced literary framework for analyzing the Trans-Atlantic slave trade and its global implications. Attendees will engage in a discussion of Barracoon, followed by an interactive session focusing on the history of the Clotilda -- the last known U.S. slave ship to bring captives from Africa to the United States, -- Cudjo Lewis and the Benin/Alabama connection.
Two weeks later, in observation of Women's History Month, participants will have the opportunity to engage in a historical overview and celebration of Zora Neale Hurston's life and her many achievements as a folklorist, anthropologist, writer and independent artist on Sunday, March 3.
Cathleen Antoine-Abiala and Régine Romain, founders of the Black Luminary Society, will lead attendees in an interactive journey exploring literature, personal histories, music and folk traditions using multi-media technology and social media platforms. The two Haitian-American educators established The Black Luminary Society to celebrate and honor the brilliance and diversity abundant throughout the Black diaspora.
These gatherings are free and open to all Brooklyn Public Library patrons, but Antoine-Abiala and Romain particularly encourage educators, teaching artists and school administrators to join.
Zora Neale Hurston: Barracoon, The Story of the Last Black Cargo
When: Sunday, February 17, 2:00pm — 4:00pm
Where: Brooklyn Public Library, Commons Lab, 10 Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn, NY 11238
The Amazing Life of Zora Neale Hurston
When: Sunday, March 3, 2:00pm — 4:00pm
Where: Brooklyn Public Library, Commons Lab, 10 Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn, NY 11238
