Zora Neale Hurston's Legacy: A Month of Reflection, Gratitude, and Restoration

January belongs to Zora.

Zora Neale Hurston was born on January 7, 1891, and she transitioned on January 28, 1960, entering the world and leaving it in the same month. That is so Zora.

Zora means dawn, a new light, a fitting name for a woman who continues to shine 135 years later. Throughout this month, I have been reflecting on my mid-December visit to her grave at Heavenly Rest Cemetery, standing there filled with gratitude. Thinking about how her light refuses to dim.

Once, this place was an abandoned, overgrown Colored-Only cemetery...forgotten, neglected, and swallowed by weeds. I likely walked the same path that Pulitzer Prize–winning author Alice Walker once walked when she searched for Zora’s grave. This time, I did not have to search through the overgrown weeds. Alice did that work for me. For us.

Now the cemetery is cared for. The paths are clear. The resting places are visible. Zora’s grave stands marked, not hidden anymore.

Her plot was decorated with the fading flowers of well-wishers. Others leaving pennies, dimes and quarters. Someone else secured a dollar bill to a medal loop attached to the top of the covering. Quiet offerings that might be considered small gestures. For me these offerings are evidence that people still stop by. They still remember.

We can visit Zora’s final resting place because Alice Walker made it her mission to find her grave and purchase a headstone that reads:

Zora Neale Hurston 1891–1960 Genius of the South Novelist, Folklorist Anthropologist

Zora's Gravesite

Reflections at Zora's Grave: Honoring the Zora Neale Hurston Legacy

Zora’s end-of-life story tells us that she died penniless. As I stood there, looking around the cemetery, I spoke out loud and said, “Zora, now you have as much money as everybody else out here.” And then I smiled, because I knew the truth.

I continued my conversation with the wind, “Zora but it is your resting place that thousands of people come to see. You know why that is, Zora. Because it is not what we take to our graves that matters. What matters is the richness of our kindness and seeds we plant through the words we leave behind. What matters is the courage to tell the truth and live it out loud and Zora, you did all of that and more.”

“Zora, I came just to say thank you," I continued, “Thank you for not giving up. Thank you for helping me remember my name, and encouraging me to hear and obey the gifts of my calling.”

“Oh my goodness Zora, you have really inspired me: to write a play and a book about you at the same time, while memorizing lines, while creating a set, creating costumes, developing a brand, reigniting a podcast, and still choosing the pen over doubt and fear? Thank you my sister.”

Before I left, I also placed a small gift at her grave. I left her some of my pearls. Just a simple pearl stretch-band hair tie I use for my Sisterlocks. Because every girl needs some pearls.

What Zora left behind is richer than money. As I walked away, I thought: If we were as concerned about enriching other people’s lives as we are about gathering riches, what a wonderful planet this would be.

Before leaving Fort Pierce, I visited the last house Zora lived in before her death. The house sits across the street from the school where she once taught. The home had been opened as a museum, but now it is closed. The roof had been leaking and the structure needed repairs.

Standing there, I made a decision. I would use Zora’s money to help fix her home so it can reopen. You might be questioning, “But you just told us she died penniless.” Yes. She did. But the richness of her life gave me a one-woman show, Passion Dey Couldn’t Steal. And it gave me a book, When Zora Spoke, I Remembered My Name. And this book...well you gotta read it for yourself.

So I have decided to donate a portion of the proceeds from both the play and the book to the restoration of Zora’s home. That’s the least I can do. Because Zora Neale Hurston left us greater riches than she ever imagined.

The Practice of Acceptance

These past two weeks have been challenging. The flu caught me and, like most things we don’t invite, it insisted on staying until it was finished. While waiting for it to run its course in my body, there were moments I found myself asking, When is this going to end?

At one point I told Scott, my husband, “Get ready, you might have to deliver my Zora script in my play Passion Dey Couldn’t Steal.” All I truly had in that moment was acceptance and a quiet prayer for strength to return to my body so I could continue preparing. I knew stressing would only make me sicker, maybe even slow my healing. So I chose acceptance, and every home remedy I could think of including Water Fasting.

This week's Acceptance Practice:

• Notice where your body or your life is asking for patience instead of pressure.

• Resist the urge to rush the ending.

• Let acceptance become cooperation, by accepting the gift of grace and Peace.
  

In honor of Zora Neale Hurston, I am donating a portion of the proceeds from my one-woman show "Passion Dey Couldn’t Steal" and my book "When Zora Spoke, I Remembered My Name" toward the restoration of Zora’s final home in Fort Pierce, FL.

BUY BOOK

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kv_Z2nYPUOY

Preview of My Performance: Passion Dey Couldn’t Steal

Catch My Next Performance

Thank you for reading, remembering, and helping keep her legacy alive. Supporting the book and the play helps restore Zora's home and reopening it as a museum.

Experience Zora's voice. Reclaim your own. "History tried to bury her. Literature tried to rename her. But Zora rose anyway...with a hat, a pen, and a laugh that shook the dust off generations."

Our Circle

This morning on our prayer call, a mother asked us to pray for her son who is serving in the military. Before she could say much more, she shared his words. 'Mom,' he told her, 'I am afraid.' Just honest words to a praying mother from her son.

We paused together. Because fear spoken aloud is not weakness. It is the truth asking to be held. What a wonderful testimony about his mother. He knew his mom had a relationship with the One who casts out all fears including the uncertainty of deployment.

We prayed with her for her son and for mom. We prayed for protection, clarity, and Peace...Peace that holds us when the mind cannot see what lies ahead.

We extended that prayer to all of our military forces who are serving, standing watch, and carrying the weight of uncertainty far from home. Today, will you join me in holding them in our collective prayers?

If this message stirs something deep within you, I invite you to embrace the Go Thru It movement. Whether it's honoring the Zora Neale Hurston legacy, healing from personal challenges like illness, or finding peace through gratitude and reflection, there is a sacred path thru it all. And on the other side? True resilience. Deep peace. Profound healing. Lasting freedom.

Uncover resources to guide your own journey toward peace:

• Dive into my latest Zora-inspired book, When Zora Spoke, I Remembered My Name.

• Become part of the Go Thru It community for uplifting stories of resilience and ongoing inspiration. Sign up here.

• Schedule a speaking engagement or transformative workshop for your group or organization.

Remember, you're not walking this path alone. Let's go thru it together, forgiveness awaits, and peace is your birthright.