Reclaiming Humanity in Literature: A Dialectical Analysis of Zora Neale Hurston and Her Critics

Abstract The literary debate involving Hughes, Locke, Wright and Hurston was provocative not only because of the past relations between the authors, but also because of its implications as to what should constitute Black writing, which was making its first serious efforts to establish its Blackness and Americanness as two potentially harmonious entities. This article examines the Hurstonian mission to revitalize the humanity of the Black community in the eyes of both the dominant white culture and the Black community itself. Hurston achieves this by exploiting the rich tapestry of Black folklore and Black dialect – an effort that encapsulates the essence of the Harlem Renaissance. However, her literary detractors misapprehended this rehumanizing project, finding her writing lacking in relation to their ideals of Black expression, Black perfection, and New Negro identity. The article further explores the implications of Hurston’s rehumanizing project for both the Black communities of that time and future generations.