You Don’t Know Us Negroes and Other Essays audiobook

This book is a collection of essays by Zora Neale Hurston covering a variety of topics including the trial of Ruby McCollum, a black woman sentenced to the electric chair for killing her lover, a white doctor.These essays were very interesting, and I would have liked to see them juxtaposed with some modern day essays because sadly some thing haven't changed much. One of my favorite essays was "The Rise of the Begging Joints." These are private schools for blacks where the administration spends most of its time fundraising than providing quality education. Sadly, educational institutions still prey on the black population. ITT Tech, which had the same classes as community college but double the price (and with loan shark lending practices as well) had nearly double the black population as the community college. When will these "universities" be shut down? How can these institutions of higher education graduate 250 political science majors knowing full well that there are only 3 political science jobs that pay a living wage? Then, we blame the new graduate for not knowing better when they were teenagers, first generation college students, who should have somehow known better than the college? Another essay that I found very interesting was "I Saw Negro Votes Peddled." One voter was convinced that the day after the election she would be driving a Cadillac. Now, let's talk about Detroit who has a black population of about 80% in 2021. The property taxes are some of the highest in the state with 69.6 mills. The City of Troy is 36.8 mills! So it costs twice as much to live in the City of Detroit. Copied from a 2021 report: "Council President Pro-Tem Mary Sheffield has observed that Detroit’s millage rate is ahindrance to growth, home ownership, population retention and wealth generation for mostDetroiters. Detroit’s property tax millage rate is also more than twice the State average and putsDetroit at a competitive disadvantage for retaining and attracting residents and competing fornew businesses."The essays on the trial of Ruby McCollum were also very interesting, and I wasn't informed about this part of US history. Which made this book all the more compelling. The author makes a great point that "friends" of Ruby were extremely quick to turn on her.*Thanks, NetGalley, for a free copy of this book in exchange for my fair and honest opinion.2023 Reading ScheduleJan Alice in WonderlandFeb Notes from a Small IslandMar Cloud AtlasApr On the RoadMay The Color PurpleJun Bleak HouseJul Bridget Jones’s DiaryAug Anna KareninaSep The Secret HistoryOct Brave New WorldNov A Confederacy of DuncesDec The Count of Monte CristoConnect With Me!Blog Twitter BookTube Facebook Insta

You Don't Know Us Negroes is an excellent collection of essays by Zora Neale Hurston that spans across 35+ years (1922-1958). Seven of the essays were published in this book for the first time. In this collection you will see her anthropologist's work in her essays on Black expression (language, dancing, etc.), the Black church experience, and culture. One of my favorite and unforgettable essays was "The Chick with One Hen", in it Hurston writes a brutal critique of Dr. Alain Locke who had previously criticized her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. Hurston was adamant that Locke did not really know Black folks as well as she did, she even said that she would send her toenails to debate Locke on Black folks, that line made me laugh every time I read it. My favorite section of the book was "On Politics", where Hurston write on various political issues, foreign and domestic. Hurston's views on race and civil rights were complex and in some cases more conservative than I believe most Black people were at the time. She was anti-Brown v. Board of Education not because she advocated for segregation but because she felt that all-Black schools were good as long as they were adequate or had the same resources as all-white schools. She was also an anticommunist and was not a fan of the NAACP. At times she shares opinions of the Reconstruction period that mirrors the racist Lost Cause and Dunning School's view. I enjoyed her analysis and wit in these essays, although there were parts where I disagreed with her politics. The final section of the book covers her reporting of the 1950s Ruby McCollum trial. Readers get a detailed account of the trial and Ruby McCollum's life story. If you read closely enough you will even read some language that echoes language Hurston used in Their Eyes Were Watching God. Overall, this was an excellent collection. In my opinion, some of the essays could have been left out and more context could have been given at the beginning of each essay, outside of the Introduction by Gates and West. When I finished this book, I came to the conclusion that I love Zora Neale Hurston as a writer and thinker and I can't wait to dive into her other books that I haven't read yet. Thanks to NetGalley and Amistad Press for a free ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

Zora Neale Hurston writes with a verve and a spark that I find compelling. Reading this collection of essays, a few a day, this past month has been a thought provoking experience. Sometimes I laughed like at the delightfully satiric essay "The Emperor Effaces Himself" about Marcus Garvey and the tongue in cheek essay "The Lost Keys of Glory" on gender roles. Sometimes I was educated. From the essay "Conversions and Visions" I learned that the phrase "rimbones of nothing' means "that space in which creation itself enters our lives in ways too deep for words and only sounds and images roil our souls, challenges our vision." What a beautiful meaning conveyed with just 3 words. I gained a new lens through which to see African-American created art, including the poetry of church sermons, literature, folklore, and music. I came to understand Hurston's sometimes controversial conservative political opinions.This collection asks the reader to stop frequently to consider the points Hurston is trying to make and frequently to determine if her points are valid and if they still hold true today.This book is extensively footnoted, the editors leaving nothing to chance. I had to laugh when I read the footnote telling who Thomas Jefferson and Martha Washington are.One minor quibble--it would have been helpful if the date of publication or writing would have been placed with the title of each essay rather that having to hunt in the back of the book for these dates.As the GR book blurb states You Don't Know Us Negroes and Other Essays "is an invaluable chronicle of a writer’s development and a window into her world and time."

A wonderful and absolutely necessary collection of essays and other writings from Zora Neale Hurston. I don’t think Zora ever considered herself a race woman(at least not in the Marcus Garvey vein) but here she is as a fierce advocate and defender of black culture and language, and by extension Black people. It is that thought that illuminates for me the perfectness of the book’s title. You Don’t Know Us Negroes. And you don’t know Zora Neale Hurston. However, this essay collection goes a long way in improving your understanding of Ms. Hurston.These essays run the subject gamut and Ms. Hurston is bold, brazen, sometimes humorous but at all times fearless! She gave zero f**#s. And when you consider the times of these writings, you must be thoroughly impressed with her bravery in some of her written expressions. In the essay, The Chick with One Hen; she utterly eviserates Alain Locke for his comments on her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. “Dr. Locke wants to be a leader. He felt sure that his degrees would guarantee that much at least….Dr. Locke has not produced one single idea, or suggestion of an idea, that he can call his own…Dr. Locke is abstifically a fraud, both as a leader and as a critic.” Damn! What does abstifically even mean? This essay was never published, but was sent to Opportunity magazine in response to Dr. Locke’s criticism. This brings me to my one small disappointment with the book. I believe the essays could have benefited with a small commentary or explanation to help contextualize each essay. This is still a 5-star work which highlights Ms. Hurston’s intellectual heft and breadth. Hurston wasn’t afraid to put pen to paper to express her thoughts, even when she knew she was swimming against the tide. When the whole country, indeed the World was hailing the Supreme Court decision on ending segregation in public schools, Ms. Hurston asked, “How much satisfaction can I get from a court order for somebody to associate with me who does not wish me near them?” No commentary here. Would have been great to know who stood with Zora Neale Hurston and who issued full throated denunciations. In other essays her takes may surprise you, but the reasoning is always solid. So even when you disagree, you’ll always be clear about where she is coming from. You simply must add this book to your library immediately!

You Don't Know Us Negroes and Other Essays is a phenomenal collection of Zora Neale Hurston's nonfiction work. The introduction by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Genevieve West is an excellent overview of Hurston's place in the literary and cultural worlds both during her lifetime and more recently.Even if you have read many of these works the bringing together of them into a thematically organized collection offers new perspective on each one individually as well as her body of work as a whole. While her thought developed over time she also maintained many core ideas and beliefs throughout her writing life. Her core values and her nuanced changes shine through here as one reads.I think what the introduction does, in addition to giving the collection better context, is cue the reader to not read the essays too casually. You may not agree 100% with everything Hurston advocates for, you need to be careful not to dismiss her ideas too simplistically. Most of her reasons for why she took some of the stands she took show just how well she anticipated what was to come. It is hard to agree with her opposition to Brown v board of education until one understands what her concerns were. Then looking at how things have played out since then, she was far more correct than she was incorrect. If, like me, you are familiar with most of her work but have rarely studied more than a couple things at a time, this collection brings many of her theories and ideas together nicely. If you have only read a couple of her fiction works, then this is an excellent introduction to her thought. If she is mostly just a name you know and have been meaning to read, I would highly recommend this collection along with some of her fiction and her memoir, Dust Tracks on a Road.Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

Incredible. Read this one slowly and intentionally with the magnificent introduction of Dr Gates and Ms West to provide context and synthesis. This is an extraordinary collection of Zora Neale Hurston’s work and an important read for all. I’m so grateful I was given an advanced copy. I’ll treasure it and loan it to others.

Although I admire Hurston’s literary talent, I don’t care much for her politics and social commentary. She was like a right wing Republican with her anti feminist stance, hatred of communism, support of tokenism, badmouthing Howard U, and finger wagging at progressive folks. These were her unpublished essays and there is a reason why. They are just not that appealing. Focus more on her acclaimed novels, which were groundbreaking works of art.

I am honored, y'all. So very honored to read an advance copy of this collection of essays by one of the best essayists of our lifetime, Zora Neale Hurston. This anthology spans over 35 years of her work. It includes essays, criticisms and articles that give us a look into her world and time.Among my favorites are essays about High John de Conquer, the Clotilda, shouting during sermons, our contribution to language, the customary three days for seeking a vision and how whites don't know us negroes other than what is seen on our shows. I took my time reading this book, frequently saying "Preach, Zora!" and nodding my head in strong agreement.Thank you to all those that make it possible for fans to read the last prose Zora Neale Hurston wrote. For allowing her words into print for our consumption. Even if you've read all of her published work, it's just something different about it organized into this one collection. Need I say more? ~LiteraryMarie

The Ruby McCollum stories and the essay where she read Alain Locke for FILFTH were my fave parts. She really was amazing and her voice and experiences were so necessary. I especially the love the way she complicates and highlights nuances in ideas related to white supremacy, “Black excellence”, the and the “talented tenth”.

I am honored, y'all. So very honored to read an advance copy of this collection of essays by one of the best essayists of our lifetime, Zora Neale Hurston. This anthology spans over 35 years of her work. It includes essays, criticisms and articles that give us a look into her world and time.Among my favorites are essays about High John de Conquer, the Clotilda, shouting during sermons, our contribution to language, the customary three days for seeking a vision and how whites don't know us negroes other than what is seen on our shows. I took my time reading this book, frequently saying "Preach, Zora!" and nodding my head in strong agreement."Biddy, biddy, bend, my story is end." ~ 2%Thank you to all those that make it possible for fans to read the last prose Zora Neale Hurston wrote. For allowing her words into print for our consumption. Even if you've read all of her published work, it's just something different about it organized into this one collection. Need I say more?Happy Early Pub Day! You Don't Know Us Negroes and Other Essays will be available Tuesday, January 4, 2022. ~LiteraryMarie

I'm going to be up-front here at the top: I haven't read every essay in this book. I'm not even really "finished" with the book, per se. I'm going to skip around a bit and read through some of the shorter essays and call it a day with this one because, by virtue of other books distracting me and so on, I haven't given this book the attention that it deserves but I also don't think that it's necessary to read every single essay in an essay collection to get a feel for the author. And in this case, the author is Zora Neale Hurston, one of the most important and divisive figures in African-American literature (and in overall American literature). As such, this is an essential collection that also feels like a book one should dip into only in places; I'm not sure that it works as a book to be read back to back, all of the pieces. But the ones that work, they work, because Hurston was one of the best writers in her generation(s) (she famously fudged her original birth date in many instances, so it's fair to say that she might belong to more than one generation of American writers in a sense). Her work as a novelist is great (I've read "Their Eyes Were Watching God" and "Jonah's Gourd Vine" and plan to read more), but her essays bear the mark of her voice just as well. I think if circumstances had been different, I might've engaged with the book as a whole a lot more than I have so far (and I'm guessing that my efforts to finish it today or the next day might bear more fruit), but I'm going to go ahead and call this one. It's an essential collection nonetheless, and worth your time.

I really enjoyed my time with this collection of Huston's work. Most of the essays, reviews, etc have been published previously. What makes this collection fascinating is the way the book is organized. Everything is grouped by topic rather than chronology.The book has 5 sections: observations on the Black community, observations on Art, observations on race and gender, politics, and Huston's records of the Ruby McCullough case.I read one section a day which I think is the best way to read this book. You have time to absorb Hurstons nuanced and insightful thoughts on each topic. The more I read her work the more I admire her. She was a woman who absolutely knew who she was and knew her own mind.

I listened to the audible version of this book. It was very well done. This tome certainly gave me historical perspective on common race based issues that were the "norm" in the late 19th century and first four or five decades of the 20th century United States history. Most certainly "non-fiction". It seems that Zora Neale Hurston was quite engaged in "non-fiction essays". She remains one of my favorite writers . . . . AND she lived in my small LA community where I was raised. Altadena, CA. I wish we had crossed paths!!!