Eatonville: A Story of America’s First Black Town

In 1887, the first Black incorporated town in America, Eatonville, was born.Zora Neale Hurston’s 1942 autobiography, Dust Tracks on a Road 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.New York Times bestselling and National Book Award winning author, Ibram X. Kendi’s, lyrical and illuminating adaptation introduces young readers to the history of Black resilience, sovereignty, and autonomy. Accompanied by Briana Mukodiri Uchendu’s deeply resonant and warm illustrations, Eatonville is forever inspiring and is to be cherished.