Westfield's Influence On Black Culture Examined In Latest Rialto Series

WESTFIELD, NJ — The Town of Westfield's role in the Harlem Renaissance takes center stage Thursday night in the latest installment of the Rialto Center for Creativity's "Spotlight Series."

Through history, art, and storytelling, guest speakers will dive into the legacies of two literary figures who spent time in Westfield while creating one of their works during pivotal moments in their careers.

Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston are both widely known for their books and poems that depicted the struggles of Black Americans during the 20th Century.

After meeting in 1926 at the Opportunity Magazine literary awards, they immediately bonded and began traveling together, speaking at lectures, and conducting readings throughout the South.

Their creative blend began to take shape as co-founders of "Fire!!", a magazine that showcased other Black writers and artists. In 1930, the duo lived in Westfield and started to lay down plans for a work that would mean the start to the end of their budding friendship.

Hughes and Hurston began to write the play, "Mule Bone: A Comedy of Negro Life," in the spring of 1930. During the process, the hiring of a typist eventually led to a major divide over royalties, jealousy, and unreturned attempts at communication.

Tanya Birl-Torres, a theater maker and choreographer, and Monica L. Miller, leading scholar of Black literature and culture, will take the Rialto stage Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. to break down what went wrong in what many have described as one of Black literature's greatest creative collaborations.

"By revisiting the stories of Hurston and Hughes through the perspectives of today's artists and scholars, we celebrate not just our town's history, but the ways it continues to inspire," added President of the Rialto Board of Trustees, Bill Crandall.

In-person tickets are currently sold out, but may become available on the Rialto website.

The event will be available, however, to watch on the Rialto's YouTube channel.

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