Why Now
Ninety years after the publication of Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston’s voice remains remarkably current. Her work continues to inspire conversations about identity, community, storytelling, and belonging. In 2027, readers
return to Hurston not only to understand the past, but
to better understand the present.
Featured Speakers
Join us to explore Hurston’s legacy in dialogue with some of the leading voices shaping our understanding of history, culture, and community.
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and creator of The 1619 Project.
Nikole Hannah-Jones expands the American story, centering truth, justice, and the lived experiences that shape our nation.
Author of How to Be an Antiracist and leading voice in antiracist scholarship.
Ibram X. Kendi challenges us to understand the past, confront the present, and build a more just and equitable future.
Academy Award-Nominated Actor
In conversation with
Yvonne Chireau
Peggy Chan Professor Emerita of Black Studies
Special Evening
Award-winning actor Delroy Lindo joins Eatonville Rising for a powerful evening of storytelling and reflection on Zora Neale Hurston’s enduring influence on art, culture, and the human experience.
September 19, 2027
Eatonville, Florida
Workshops
Two interactive workshops designed for educators, professionals, and community advocates who are ready to make an impact.
Tools. Texts. Transformation.
Explore innovative ways to bring Zora Neale Hurston’s work to life in classrooms and learning spaces. Designed for educators at all levels.
Story. Solidarity. Systems Change.
Build stronger communities through storytelling, cultural understanding, and advocacy. For leaders and changemakers working for equity and justice.
Calls for Exhibitions
We are inviting visual artists, textile makers, and creative storytellers to submit work inspired by the life, legacy, and cultural impact of Zora Neale Hurston.
Showcase original visual artwork.
Feature textile and fiber-based creations.
Orlando, Florida
Celebrating Zora Neale Hurston’s World: Exploring 90 Years of Their Eyes Were Watching God and 140 Years of Historic Eatonville through Arts and Culture offers a vibrant path into the humanities, connecting literature, history, folklore, anthropology, music, place, and memory. This conference will offer audiences an opportunity to explore how communities preserve knowledge, shape identity, confront injustice, and imagine freedom. Celebrating Hurston invites you to encounter Eatonville as a living archive and to consider how Black cultural expression continues to influence our understanding of American life today.
Stories, language, and literary impact.
Screenings and visual storytelling.
Eatonville, culture, and historical context.
Identity, community, and contemporary scholarship.
A call for papers will be released in the fall of 2026. Submit your email address to be notified.
Multi-Path Registration
Whether you’re an educator, scholar, or community member, stay informed about the programs most relevant to you.
Workshops, teaching resources, advocacy programs, and professional development.
Conference updates, featured speakers, call for papers, and literary programming.
Delroy Lindo, Nikole Hannah-Jones and Ibram X. Kendi.
One Movement. Six Moments.
August 9–12, 2027
A Scholastic Middle School Tournament
August 13 – 14, 2027
Two Arena Nights. The Architects of black music.
August 13 & 14, 2027
Two Nights Showcasing The Sound Track of a Culture, Genius of a People
Aug 19 – 22, 2027
A Celebration of Fashion, Food and Creative Enterprise
Aug 21 – 22, 2027
A Curated Experience of Historic Eatonville
Sep 15 – 18, 2027
A National/International Academic Conference
A Special Evening
Nikole Hannah-Jones is an award-winning investigative reporter who covers civil rights and racial injustice for The New York Times Magazine and the Knight Chair in Race and Journalism at Howard University, where she is the founding director of the Center for Journalism & Democracy.
Eatonville, Florida
A Special Evening
Dr. Ibram X. Kendi is one of the world’s foremost historians of racism and a leading antiracist scholar. He is the Carter G. Woodson Endowed Chair in History at Howard University, and the inaugural director of Howard’s Institute for Advanced Study.
Eatonville, Florida
