A Zora Neale Hurston Trivia Lesson

A central figure of the Harlem Renaissance, author, anthropologist, and filmmaker Zora Neale Hurston was a trailblazer doing work decades ahead of her time. Want to know more about Zora? Then take the quiz!

1. Zora Neale Hurston was born on January 7, 1891, in _________.

1. New York, NY
2. Notasulga, AL
3. Eatonville, FL
4. Chicago, IL

2. In 1925, Zora was offered a scholarship to ________ where she was the only Black student and worked with noted anthropologists Ruth Benedict and Margaret Mead.

1. Harvard
2. Yale
3. Barnard
4. Wellesley

3. The most popular of Zora’s four novels, _______, was published in 1937.

1. Jonah’s Gourd Vine
2. Moses, Man of the Mountain
3. Seraph on the Suwanee
4. Their Eyes Were Watching God

4. Though her novels were largely ignored by the literary world while she was alive, 15 years after Zora’s death, author ______ wrote about her in Ms. magazine in 1975 and revived interest in her work.

1. Alice Walker
2. Toni Morrison
3. bell hooks
4. Audre Lorde

5. Complete the following Zora quote: “I have the nerve to walk my own way, however hard, in my search for ___, rather than climb upon the rattling wagon of wishful illusions.”

1. equality
2. reality
3. love
4. freedom

Answer key: 1.b, 2.c, 3.d, 4.a, 5.b