This is a word, a podcast from Slate. I'm your host, Jason Johnson. The historic black

town of Eatonville, Florida, was celebrated in the work of legendary author Zora Neal

Hurston. But historic disenfranchisement and pressure from developers have been threatening

the community for decades. Could surviving this latest crisis finally put Eatonville back

on the map?

Most times, developers come in already with this plan of what this community needs, but

they never truly ask the community, what do you need and how can we help you?

Saving historic Eatonville, coming up on a word with me, Jason Johnson. Stay with us.

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Welcome to a word, a podcast about race, impolitex, and everything else. I'm your host,

Jason Johnson. In the years after the Civil War, dozens of small communities were founded

by formerly enslaved people. Only a handful of those towns survive in Eatonville, Florida,

was one of the first and perhaps the most famous. Known as the town that freedom built,

Eatonville was immortalized in the stories of native daughter, author, Zora Neal Hurston,

and the novel, their eyes were watching God, and in her other writing. While the community

lives on in her words, in real life, Eatonville, Florida is struggling. The town population

is just above 2,000 people, and the remaining land is under threat from developers. Although

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