Sunday, February 21 at 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on WPBT2

Writer, cultural anthropologist, chronicler of folk roots and ethnic traditions, daughter of a former slave, Hurston was one of the most celebrated — and most controversial — figures of the Harlem Renaissance, the creatively expansive era in the 1920s when “the Negro was in vogue.” She attained unique success in all areas, but her words and her conclusions were often mired in contention — she was called everything from flamboyant to outrageous, unpredictable to bodacious. She collaborated with Langston Hughes, was criticized by Richard Wright and ultimately died a pauper’s death in total obscurity. Now considered a lioness of African-American literature, she was resurrected by Alice Walker; such works as Dust Tracks on a Road and Their Eyes Were Watching God are essential reading today. S. Epatha Merkerson (“Law & Order”) narrates the program.

Discover other programs honoring and celebrating African-American History Month on WPBT2 this month.

Visit the website at www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters.