In this special episode of The Ricochet Effect Podcast, Project Ricochet and The Urban Art Collective proudly present HooDoo You Think You Are, Zora?, a dynamic multimedia performance and community conversation celebrating the legacy of Zora Neale Hurston.
Recorded live at The Lyric Theatre & Cultural Arts Center in Lexington, Kentucky on October 4, 2025, this episode brings together voices from across art, scholarship, and community activism to explore the intersections of identity, spirituality, mental health, and creative expression in Black womanhood.
Listen to the artistry of Onshalique Winters, Kamau Baruti, Maya McCutchen, Taca Hollis, Anonimuss Rose, Laverene Zabielski, Yolantha Harrison-Pace, Johnetta Knight, and Ericka Prentice. Production recorded by Nicholas Davis of Aintitmane Productions.
About the Production
HooDoo You Think You Are, Zora? pays homage to the indomitable spirit of Zora Neale Hurston, an anthropologist, novelist, and guardian of Black Southern folklore. Through a fusion of live readings, poetry, movement, and dialogue, the production reimagines Hurston’s storytelling tradition for a contemporary audience. It uplifts her celebration of the divine feminine and the sacred within everyday life, connecting her cultural anthropology to modern conversations about resilience, mental wellness, and creative power.
The event was hosted by EmpowerHer Studios, in partnership with The Lyric Theatre, Project Ricochet, and The Urban Art Collective. This event was supported on behalf of Project Ricochet’s Justice Served: Pathways to Peace by The KY Six and One Lexington. Audience members experienced a night of reflection and revelation, where the ancestral meets the artistic, and the spiritual meets the social.
Themes Explored
- Cultural Memory and Identity: How Hurston’s fieldwork and folklore preserve the living pulse of African American heritage.
- The Art of Survival: The ways Black women’s narratives hold space for both trauma and transcendence.
- Mental Health and Expression: Bridging self-healing and storytelling through community dialogue and art.
- Hoodoo and Heritage: Understanding spiritual traditions as acts of resistance, restoration, and creative authorship.
Why It Matters
HooDoo You Think You Are, Zora? embodies the essence of The Ricochet Effect, the ripple created when creativity, culture, and consciousness collide. It invites listeners to honor their ancestral wisdom, reclaim their narratives, and reflect on how the arts can be a source of healing and empowerment in our communities.
