American Literature

Essential Questions

• How did Hurston's experiences and education shape her perspective as a writer and scholar?

• How did Hurston's work as a folklorist and anthropologist shape the way she documented Black culture and everyday life?

• How did Hurston's approach to representing Black life differ from some other Black writers of her time?

Start Here

• "Zora Neale Hurston" - EBSCO Research Starter

• "How novelist Zora Neale Hurston transformed American anthropology" - The Washington Post

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Try these searches in the library databases or Google:

• "Zora Neale Hurston" AND folklore

• "Zora Neale Hurston" AND anthropology

• "Zora Neale Hurston" AND Eatonville

Essential Questions

• What made Eatonville different from many other Black communities in the Jim Crow South?

• Why were independent Black communities significant after emancipation?

• How did growing up in Eatonville influence Zora Neale Hurston?

Start Here

• "Eatonville" - Britannica High School

• "Florida footsteps of a Harlem great: Zora Neale Hurston did heartfelt work in the countryside where she grew up." - The New York Times

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Try these searches in the library databases or Google:

• Eatonville AND Florida

• Eatonville AND "Black town"

• Eatonville AND "African American community"

Essential Questions

• What was Jim Crow, and how did it shape everyday life for African Americans in the South?

• How did Jim Crow laws and segregation affect where African Americans could live, work, learn, travel, and participate in public life?

• How did African Americans navigate and respond to life under Jim Crow?

Start Here

• "Jim Crow in the U.S. South" - EBSCO Research Starter

• "Jim Crow Laws" - Gale U.S. History Online Collection

Search for More

Try these searches in the library databases or Google:

• "Jim Crow" AND everyday life

• "Jim Crow" AND African American resistance

• "Jim Crow" AND segregation AND South

Essential Questions

• How did colorism develop within Black communities, and how was it connected to the history of slavery and white supremacy?

• How has colorism shaped acceptance and belonging within Black communities? 

• How can skin tone influence access to education, employment, and economic opportunity? 

Start Here

• "Color coding" - EBSCO Research Starter

• "The legacy of 'colorism' and prejudice within the Black community" - Fast Company

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Try these searches in the library databases or Google:

• colorism AND slavery AND history

• colorism AND "Black community" AND social status

• colorism AND employment AND wages

Essential Questions

• What was the Harlem Renaissance, and how did Harlem become a center of Black cultural life?

• How did the Harlem Renaissance change the way Black culture and Black life were represented in American culture?

• Why is the Harlem Renaissance still significant today?

Start Here

• "Harlem Renaissance" - Gale U.S. History Online Collection

• Aaron Douglas, Aspects of Negro Life: From Slavery to Reconstruction - NYPL Digital Collections

  • Spend a few minutes looking closely at Aaron Douglas's Aspects of Negro Life.  

    • What do you notice?

    • What do you think the artist is communicating?

    • How does the artwork connect to what you learned about the Harlem Renaissance?

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Find one additional work of Harlem Renaissance visual art to include in your presentation. Be prepared to briefly analyze the artwork and explain how it connects to the Harlem Renaissance.

• "Harlem Renaissance" AND visual art

• "Harlem Renaissance" AND painting

• "Harlem Renaissance" AND artist

Essential Questions

• What makes African American English a distinct, rule-governed variety of English?

• How did historical and social conditions shape the development of African American English?

• Why might an author represent characters' speech differently from Standard Written English, and what can that representation communicate to readers?

Start Here

• "African American Vernacular English" - EBSCO Research Starter

• "English, African-American" - Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History

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Try these searches in the library databases or Google:

• "African American English" AND development

• AAVE AND "regional variation"

• "Black English" AND literature

Essential Questions

• What is African American folklore, and what kinds of stories, traditions, and beliefs does it include?

• What made African American storytelling a distinctive way of sharing stories, knowledge, and culture?

• How did folklore and storytelling help African Americans preserve their culture and make sense of their experiences?

Start Here

• Tertiary source: "African American folktale" - Britannica High School

• Secondary source: "African American Storytelling " - Gale U.S. History Online Collection

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Try these searches in the library databases or Google:

• "African American" AND folklore AND traditions

• "African American" AND storytelling AND oral tradition

• "African American" AND folklore AND culture

Essential Questions

• What happened during the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane, and why was the disaster so devastating?

• How did race and occupation affect people's experiences during and after the hurricane?

• What did the disaster reveal about the working and living conditions of Black agricultural workers in South Florida?

Start Here

• "Okeechobee Hurricane of 1928" - EBSCO Research Starter

• "Storm's path remains scarred after 75 years." - USA Today

Search for More

Try these searches in the library databases or Google:

• "1928 Okeechobee hurricane" AND "migrant workers"

• "1928 Okeechobee hurricane" AND race

• "South Florida" AND "Black agricultural workers" AND 1920s