You Don’t Know Us Negroes and Other Essays

By: Zora Neale Hurston, Henry Louis Gates - introduction, Genevieve West - introduction

Narrated by: Robin Miles

Length: 15 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

Introduction by New York Times bestselling author Henry Louis Gates Jr.

Spanning more than 35 years of work, the first comprehensive collection of essays, criticism, and articles by the legendary author of the Harlem Renaissance, Zora Neale Hurston, showcasing the evolution of her distinctive style as an archivist and author.

“One of the greatest writers of our time.”—Toni Morrison

You Don’t Know Us Negroes is the quintessential gathering of provocative essays from one of the world’s most celebrated writers, Zora Neale Hurston. Spanning more than three decades and penned during the backdrop of the birth of the Harlem Renaissance, Montgomery bus boycott, desegregation of the military, and school integration, Hurston’s writing articulates the beauty and authenticity of Black life as only she could. Collectively, these essays showcase the roles enslavement and Jim Crow have played in intensifying Black people’s inner lives and culture rather than destroying it. She argues that in the process of surviving, Black people re-interpreted every aspect of American culture—"modif[ying] the language, mode of food preparation, practice of medicine, and most certainly religion.” White supremacy prevents the world from seeing or completely recognizing Black people in their full humanity and Hurston made it her job to lift the veil and reveal the heart and soul of the race. These pages reflect Hurston as the controversial figure she was—someone who stated that feminism is a mirage and that the integration of schools did not necessarily improve the education of Black students. Also covered is the sensational trial of Ruby McCollum, a wealthy Black woman convicted in 1952 for killing her lover, a white doctor.

Demonstrating the breadth of this revered and influential writer’s work, 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 mind.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2022 Zora Neale Hurston, Henry Louis Gates, Genevieve West (P)2022 HarperCollins Publishers

Great Cover on Who We Are

My favorite female author, Zora Neal Hurston has done it again. Her essays and cover on the Ruby J. McCollum case are thorough factual, and even entertaining. Ms. Zora reminds me of all the women I grew up admiring. The way they speak, the way they think, the way it is!

Robotic Reading

The robotic reader made the book unbearable. I don’t recommend the audiable book. Zora was full of life the reader is not.

I'm a Nora Hurston fan but this one...nahhhh

I got a little lost listening to this one. Had to keep rewinding to go back. Not one of her best!