As Black History Month draws to a close, University of South Florida professor of English and Frank E. Duckwall Professor of Florida Studies Julie Buckner Armstrong discusses Florida’s Black literary history.
Armstrong has been with USF for 24 years. A civil rights and Southern literature scholar, her research interests include literary engagements with segregation, the Civil Rights Movement, and other social justice issues. She is the recipient of the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Research and Creative Activity at USF’s St. Petersburg campus.
What can you tell us about Florida's Black Literary Arts History?
Florida has a rich Black literary history. Perhaps the earliest published work is
Briton Hammon's "A Narrative of Uncommon Sufferings", a 1760 first-person account by an enslaved man. Another early work set in Florida is Albery Allson Whitman's
Twasinta's Seminoles, or The Rape of Florida, from 1890. The literature of Black Florida began to explode in the early 20
th century, with writers such as
Zora Neale Hurston, who published multiple books set in the state and also works based upon her anthropological research, and
James Weldon Johnson, another key figure of the Harlem Renaissance and author of works such as "Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing" (known as the "Negro National Anthem"),
"Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man," and
"God's Trombones."
It's worth mentioning that Florida's Black history goes back even further than its literary heritage. The first Black individuals in the historical record include Estaban, one of the four survivors of the ill-fated Narvaez expedition to Florida. Three of those survivors (all but Estaban) published accounts of the expedition, the most famous being that by Cabeza de Vaca. A contemporary retelling of this story, from the perspective of Estaban (whose real name was Mustafa al-Zamori, a Muslim), can be found in Laila Lalami's 2014 novel,
The Moor's Account.
It is also hard to untangle Florida's Black history from its Native history. One of the reasons that Pedro Menendez came to St. Augustine was to stop the flow of enslaved people escaping through Florida. Some of these people mixed with Native groups (i.e., Black Seminoles) and lived in maroon communities (one local example is
Angola, near Sarasota). Another was
Fort Mose, in northern Florida. Still other enslaved people fled to the Caribbean through what is known as the
Saltwater Underground Railroad. Most of these early figures were not writing or did not have access to publication venues, so we do not have literature from them.
How did the early Florida poets/writers contribute to American Literature - In particular, Zora Neale Hurston?
Probably the most important contribution comes from Hurston and Johnson, who were major figures of the Harlem Renaissance, the flowering of Black art, literature, and culture that took place in the early 20
th century. Hurston was an anthropologist and prolific writer of short stories, novels, first-person nonfiction, and journalism. Her research helped to preserve a treasure-trove of Black vernacular, including songs, folk tales, and the dialect examples one sees in her fiction. She was one of the first American writers to address the taboo topic of domestic violence, in her short story "Sweat," and in her novel, ”Their Eyes Were Watching God,” we see one of the earliest depictions of Black romantic love and of a female protagonist undertaking a "hero's journey."
Hurston was a true pioneer as a person and a writer. Johnson gets less statewide attention than Hurston but is equally important. He edited one of the earliest anthologies of Black literature,
The Book of American Negro Poetry, published in 1922. I mentioned his other works above. He was also an activist (secretary to the NAACP) and diplomat, serving as U.S. consul to Venezuela and Nicaragua. Other Harlem Renaissance figures associated with the state include Gwendolyn Bennett (lived here) and Langston Hughes (wrote poetry connected to Florida's civil rights history — ballads about Sam Solomon and Harry T. Moore).
What do you want people to know about Florida’s Black History when it comes to literature?
The most important thing I want people to know is that the Black literary history of Florida goes back hundreds of years, and also extends beyond the state, to encompass what literary scholars call a "Gulf consciousness" or a "circum-Caribbean" identity.
We see that in figures mentioned above, such as Hammon, Hurston, and Johnson — each of whom saw themselves as part of a broadly international Black community. And we also see that in other writers associated with Florida, such as Cuban-American Lydia Cabrera, Haitian-American Edwidge Danticat, and Jamaican-American Jonathan Escoffery. What we get in through this history that is both deep and wide is a sense of the multifaceted richness that is Florida's Black literature.
What are your favorite works of Black History literature?
Too hard to pick just one! Hard not to love ”Their Eyes Were Watching God.” And James Weldon Johnson is one of my favorite Floridians in history.
Any other thoughts?
There is a book worth checking out, edited by John Wharton Lowe, called ”Black Hibiscus: African Americans and the Florida Imaginary” (University of Mississippi Press, 2024). It's a collection of scholarly essays.
Also, please tell your audience to look forward to a two-volume anthology of the 500-year history of Florida literature, edited by Thomas Hallock, Benjamin Brothers, and me. It will be a couple of years and no title yet, but definitely in the works.
For more information, go to Julie Buchner Armstrong