In February 1928, Zora Neale Hurston ’28 made campus history when she became the first Black student to graduate from Barnard — 36 years after the College first opened its doors.
A century after the acclaimed author and anthropologist stepped onto the Morningside Heights campus as a student in 1925, the College is celebrating the launch of the Zora Neale Hurston Centennial and 100 Years of Black Students at Barnard. Coinciding with the Zora Neale Hurston Summit (January 31 – February 1) — hosted by the College and organized by the Zora Neale Hurston Trust — the multiyear interdisciplinary project will celebrate Hurston and Black students at Barnard and offer a chance to learn more about the opportunities and challenges for this renowned alumna and the students who followed her at Barnard.
“We are enormously proud to celebrate the legacy of our alumna Zora Neale Hurston. Novelist, playwright, essayist, ethnographer, editor, and a supporter of other artists and intellectuals in Harlem and beyond, Hurston is a key figure in the history of 20th-century U.S. literature and culture, especially African American literature, the literature of women’s experience, and literature by women writers,” said Rebecca L. Walkowitz, Provost and Dean of the Faculty and Claire Tow Professor of English. “Celebrating her legacy allows us to recover the history of Black students at Barnard, highlight the contributions of Black women writers and artists to the history and future of the Harlem Renaissance, and elevate Barnard’s ongoing commitment to the creative arts.”
After graduating from Barnard, Hurston went on to become the first trained Black anthropologist. Less than a decade after obtaining a degree in English, she published Jonah’s Gourd Vine, her 1934 semi-autobiographical novel, 1935’s collection of Black folklore Mules and Men, and her seminal 1937 novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God.
“Hurston was bold and supremely confident that she was destined for greatness,” said Monica L. Miller, professor and chair of the Africana Studies Department. Much of the centennial’s celebration will include reading Hurston’s texts and teaching her methodologies as well as exploring her legacy through courses for students, faculty seminars, undergraduate research, and archival projects.
Black Students at Barnard After Hurston
Though Hurston was the first, Barnard has been the academic home for a stunning array of Black women over the years. Alumnae have gone on to excel in a range of fields and include notable names like June Jordan ’57, playwright/poet Ntozake Shange ’70, Sheila Abdus-Salaam ’74 — the first African American woman appointed to New York’s highest court — and author Edwidge Danticat ’90.
The history of Black students at Barnard is a fascinating, complex part of the College’s story. Decades after Hurston’s 1928 matriculation, the numbers of Black enrolled students remained low. By the mid-’50s, there were only one or two self-identifying African Americans per class year. A little over a decade later, in 1968, there were approximately 80 Black students enrolled. These students faced a number of challenges, including a lack of Black professors and syllabi that did not contain works by African American authors and academics.
Black students decided to take collective action to better their experience. A newly formed group called BOSS (Barnard Organization of Soul Sisters) wrote a manifesto to then-President Martha Peterson. The December 1968 document demanded an interdepartmental major in Afro-American studies; a voluntary, separate living space for Black students; Black professors; courses that were relevant to African American experiences; improved financial aid; increased recruitment of Black students; soul food in the dining room; and an end to harassment by campus security guards.
As an organization, BOSS achieved a number of wins, both from that letter and in the years to follow. In 1972, the organization began a tradition — the Celebration of Black Womanhood — that thrived until 2019. Originally called the Black Women’s Conference, the weeklong event brought Black women from the arts and a range of professions together on campus. The first one featured poet Sonia Sanchez and author Toni Cade Bambara.
“We were a source of support for each other,” Tesha McCord Poe ’94 told Barnard Magazine for the Winter 2019 issue, “and also a resource for the school when it came to understanding and engaging Black women on campus.”
A Relay of ‘Resilience and Moxie’
In recognition of Black students’ experiences and the significant way in which these women irrevocably shaped Barnard’s history, the school is celebrating 100 Years of Black Students at Barnard.
“In the next three years, we want to learn more about the history of Black Barnard students, the challenges and joys they experienced [here], and their aspirations for the future,” said Miller.
Conceived and organized by Barnard’s Zora Neale Hurston ’28 Centennial Committee, 100 Years of Black Students at Barnard will reflect the expertise and resources of many on campus, including the departments of Africana Studies, American Studies, English; Theatre; and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; the Digital Humanities Center (DHC); the Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion; and the Archives and Special Collections.
ZNH
The project launched on January 21 with the multimedia installation “Black, Brilliant and Free,” on display at the Milstein Center for Teaching and Learning until May 5, featuring objects that pay tribute to Hurston. On February 20, author Edwidge Danticat ’90 will speak on her fellow alumna for the Lewis-Ezekoye Distinguished Lectureship Series in Africana Studies.
There will also be community programming, exhibitions, faculty seminars, the creation of new course curriculum, workshops, and more, culminating in the 2028 100th anniversary of Hurston’s graduation.
“This celebration of Hurston is designed to honor her determination to educate herself, as well as the resilience and moxie she brought to her life and gave to the independent, self-determined women in her work,” said Miller. “It is also designed to honor the students in her wake who face similar challenges securing a Barnard education and who push Barnard to be more diverse and equitable.”
