Eatonville: A Story of America’s First Black Town

Eatonville is a stunning picture book adaptation of a chapter from Zora Neale Hurston’s autobiography, Dust Tracks on a Road, by the #1 New York Times bestselling and National Book Award winning author, Ibram X. Kendi. With remarkable illustrations by Coretta Scott King–John Steptoe Award-winner, Briana Mukodiri Uchendu, this is the story of how Hurston's home became one of America's first Black towns.
In 1887, the first Black incorporated town in the U.S., Eatonville, was born.
Zora Neale Hurston’s 1942 autobiography opens to this time and place, the material that made her. A small area in Maitland, Florida was built by the hands of free Black people who settled there in 1880. The migrants cleared land, built homes, and laid the railroad system. All there was left to do was to establish the town as their own.
By what Zora calls hitting a straight lick with a crooked stick—by changing the course of history for Black land ownership—the tenacious townspeople of Eatonville created the home that cultivated the brilliant and beautiful mind of young Zora.
Kendi’s lyrical and illuminating adaptation introduces young readers to the history of Black resilience, sovereignty, and autonomy. Accompanied by Uchendu’s deeply resonant and warm illustrations, Eatonville is sure to be cherished forever.

Be sure to check out other books by Zora Neale Hurston and Ibram X. Kendi for kids!
Magnolia Flower
The Making of Butterflies
Barracoon Adapted for Young Readers
The Power of Our