Our Ancestors Were Messy Zora Neale Hurston vs. Langston Hughes: The Pleasures & Perils of Working With Friends
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Apr 9, 2025 
Alicia Walters, an artist and writer, dives into the tumultuous relationship between Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes. They discuss their creative partnership during the Harlem Renaissance, fraught with ambition, patronage, and personal struggles. Walters highlights how outside pressures led to conflict over authorship of 'Mulebone,' revealing the emotional turmoil of their friendship. The conversation also touches on Hurston's enduring legacy and the value in understanding the messiness of historical relationships in creative collaborations today.
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Alice Walker Revives Zora's Legacy
- Alice Walker, a young writer in 1970, discovers Zora Neale Hurston's forgotten work while researching voodoo.
- She locates Zora's unmarked grave and raises money for a headstone, reviving interest in Zora decades after her death.
Charlotte Mason's Patronage Power
- Charlotte Mason, a white patron, funds Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston under primitivism beliefs.
- This patronage includes strict control over their work and monthly accounting, affecting their creative freedom.
Writing Mule Bone Together
- Zora and Langston collaborate on writing a comedy play, Mule Bone, based on Zora's folktales.
- Louise Thompson, Langston's secretary, types their work and becomes involved in their dynamic.
