Zora Neale Hurston: Jump at the Sun

The I.P. Stanback Museum and Planetarium at South Carolina State University will bring the documentary Zora Neale Hurston: Jump at the Sun on a tour of three major African American institutions in South Carolina in March 2011: SC State University, the Avery Research Center at the College of Charleston, and the Penn Center on St. Helena Island. SC Humanities supported this project through a Mini Grant in February 2011 and supported the documentary through a Major Grant in the 1990s.

Zora Neale Huston: Jump at the Sun is an 83-minute biography of this fascinating artist, anthropologist, and folklorist. Written and produced by Kristy Andersen, a filmmaker from Florida, the documentary  examines Hurston’s life, from her childhood in Eatonville, FL to her ethnographic research across the South to her rediscovery as a noted author of the 20th Century.  Zora Neale Hurston did some anthropological work in South Carolina on St. Helena Island about the worship rituals of the Gullah people, including ring shouts and praise house worship, and this work is documented in the film.

The documentary tour around South Carolina will include three stops: on March 23, 2011, the film will be screened at the Penn Center on St. Helena Island; on March 24, 2011, the film will be screened at the I.P. Stanback Museum and Planetarium at SC State University, and on March 25, 2011, the film will be shown at the Avery Research Center at the College of Charleston.  Each screening will be followed by a panel discussion with the writer/producer Kristy Andersen and several local scholars.

For more information about this documentary tour, please contact Ellen Zisholtz at the I.P. Stanback Museum, 803-536-8711.

The mission of SC Humanities is to enrich the cultural and intellectual lives of all South Carolinians. SC Humanities programs and initiatives are balanced, reflecting sensitivity to the diversity of ideas, encourage open dialogue, demonstrate integrity, and are ethical in operations.