Sunday, March 13, 2022
Join us as we welcome N.Y. Nathiri to lead us in an exploration of the life and work of Eatonville’s own Zora Neale Hurston. In addition to exploring Hurston’s literary accomplishments, Nathiri will delve into her important work as an anthropologist and activist; she’ll also highlight the community-driven effort to promote Hurston’s legacy in Central Florida. Nathiri serves as the executive director of The Association to Preserve the Eatonville Community, Inc. (P.E.C.) and is the compiler and editor of the award-winning volume, ZORA! Zora Neale Hurston: A Woman and Her Community (Sentinel Communications, 1991).
The Brechner Speaker Series honors the late Joseph L. Brechner, a longtime journalist, Central Florida community leader, and television pioneer who is also remembered as one of Orlando’s first clear public voices for civil rights.
This Brechner Speaker Series program is free and takes place at the History Center, 65 E. Central Blvd., Orlando. Parking is available at the Library Garage, 112 E. Central Blvd.
About the Speaker
N.Y. Nathiri has worked in the field of historic preservation for more than three decades, all of that time having been spent on behalf of her hometown, Eatonville, Florida, which Zora Neale Hurston popularized as “the oldest incorporated African American community in the United States.” She is a founding member and currently the executive director of the Association to Preserve the Eatonville Community, Inc. (P.E.C.), a historic preservation/cultural arts/community revitalization organization, best known for its sponsorship of the annual Zora Neale Hurston Festival of the Arts and Humanities (ZORA! Festival). Under her leadership, P.E.C. programs have received national recognition, including the ZORA! Festival’s being named “One of 25 Cultural Tourism Success Stories” by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The festival has also received the Regional Destination Award in the Humanities from the Cultural Olympiad (Atlanta, 1996).
Nathiri holds an undergraduate degree in history from Ithaca College in New York and a master of science degree in library science from Syracuse University. She is the compiler and editor of the award-winning volume, ZORA! Zora Neale Hurston: A Woman and Her Community (Sentinel Communications, 1991). She has received honors including the “Hero of Preservation” award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Mary Call Darby Collins Award, presented by the Florida Secretary of State “in recognition of dedication and volunteer action that has forever changed the course of historic preservation in Florida.” In addition, she is the recipient of an honorary doctorate from Rollins College.
Currently, she serves as vice president for Cultural Heritage Tourism on the Board of Directors for the Historic Black Towns and Settlements Alliance, Inc. (HBTSA), a multistate heritage preservation and economic development initiative.
